The complex use of gestures in classical Roman oratory added a substantial physical dimension to the speeches of Roman politicians. Standardized hand movements provided an almost "sign language" counterpart to the spoken word, adding emphasis and nuance, and improving comprehension for distant audience members in an age before microphones.

Phaeton's Ancient Historian Greg Aldrete studied this hitherto overlooked element of Roman oratory for his Ph.D. dissertation, and later published the work in a book for Johns Hopkins University Press. Greg found through experimentation that the complicated formal toga worn by all Roman politicians played an important part in restricting the kinds of gestures a speaker could make. Greg's research in this area is ongoing. Wearing a carefully reconstructed toga replica, Greg now delivers lectures to his college classes in Roman dress about once a year. All this first-hand experience has afforded him a number of insights which clarify previously cryptic references about speakers in Roman historical records. Mentions of orators with their togas in disarray from vehement arguments were generally dismissed as unlikely exaggeration until Greg's work showed that the references simply reflect the physical effort required to deliver a lengthy Roman speech in the vigorous style of the Late Republican era.

In traditional academia, Roman oratory has long been a purely text-based study. However, Phaeton Group's "il faut aller voir" approach shows that there is usually something more to be learned when you take the trouble to "see for yourself."