Social Classes and Slavery in Ancient Rome


Roman woman with metal mirror and slave. Photo: Linda Spashett

Roman woman with metal mirror and slave.

Photo: Linda Spashett   

 

 

Focus Question: 

What were the characteristics of social classes and slavery under the Romans?

 

 

Topics on the Page

 

Slavery in the Roman World

 
Roman Slave Laws

 

Roman Gladiators

 

Slaves in Roman Society
 

Treatment of Slaves
 

Saturnalia
 

Resistance and Slave Revolts

 

 Overview of the Beginnings of slavery in North America in the 1600s and 1700s

 

Slavery in the Roman World


Though slavery was a widespread institution throughout the ancient world, ancient Rome was the most reliant on slave labor and had the most slaves among its population.

 

 

 

Source:  (Public Broadcasting Service. (2006). The Roman Empire in the First Century: Slaves and Freemen. Retrieved February 7, 2010.


Slaves in Rome

Slavery under the Romans was slowly replaced with new economic force during the late empire-- wage workers who provided cheap labor without initial cost that slave owners had to pay for slaves.

 

 

 

Video on Slavery in Ancient Rome 

 

Roman Slave Laws


Slavery was a part of daily Roman life. In the second century AD, Gaius, a Roman juror wrote a textbook detailing Roman law pertaining to slaves. The laws he recorded dealt with multiple concerns surrounding Roman slavery including:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Women and Slavery in Ancient Rome

 

 

Roman Gladiators

 

Who Were the Gladiators of Ancient Rome?

 

 

 

 

The Roman Gladiator

 

10 Things You May Not Know about Roman Gladiators from the History Channel

 

More information on Gladiators

 

 

  The Colosseum Virtual Walking Tour in 4k 

 

 Female Gladiators?

 

Gladiators were primarily male. However, there is strong evidence to suggest that not all Gladiators were male. The famed Roman Historian, Dio Cassius, discusses these female gladiators when talking about the transgressions of Emperor Nero.

"There was another exhibition...when men and women not only of the equestrian but even of the senatorial order appeared as performers in the orchestra, in the Circus, and in the hunting-theatre, like those who are held in lowest esteem…; they drove horses, killed wild beasts and fought as gladiators, some willingly and some sore against their will." Click here to see full quote.

More evidence of female gladiators can be found in the archaeological record. To your right there is a statue of a woman holding some kind of tool in a loin cloth.
external image Mujer-gladiadora.jpg 

This is odd to say the least as James Owen from National Geographic points out.


Link here for full article

 

Click here for Smithsonian Depiction of Female Gladiators


These female gladiators are suspected of being used as a way to bring something exotic to the colosseum.

This trend was clearly suspected within the historical community because a female gladiator makes an appearance in Ridley Scott's Oscar winning film, Gladiator.


  Click Here for Interactive Gladiator Learning game by BBC


Focus Question: What roles did slaves play in ancient Roman society?


Slaves served a number of functions. The institution of slavery impacted all areas of life in ancient Rome.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Public Broadcasting Service. (2006). The Roman Empire in the First Century: Gladiators. Retrieved February 7, 2010 from http://www.pbs.org/empires/romans/empire/gladiators.html)

 


Many slave owners truly respected their slaves, as did Cicero, whose slave became sick, on a journey. Cicero returned to Rome, but paid for the best doctor and care for him, until he returned.


Focus Question: How were slaves treated in ancient Rome?

 

Photo of artifact in the Archaeological Museum in Milan, Italy:  A slave brings to his master the tablets to write

A slave brings to his master the tablets to write. Photo of artifact in the # # English: Archaeological Museum in Milan, Italy

 


Though some masters claimed to treat their slaves humanely, this was the exception to the rule.

Slaves were subjected to severe punishments, torture, abuse, and deplorable working condition. Masters often sexually abused their female slaves.

There were strict laws that prohibited Roman citizens from hiding escaped slaves. There are reports of slaves revolting against their owners—an occurrence that sometimes resulted in the owner’s murder.

When slaves were executed by crucifixion when they were sentenced to punishment by death (Duiker, W.J. & Spielvogel, J.J. (2009). Essential World History Volume I (Enhanced 3rd Edition). Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth).

Roman owners sometimes freed their slaves-- either outright or by allowing them to purchase their freedom.

This possibility served as an incentive to be obedient and hard working. However, slaves who received their freedom in such an informal way did not become citizens, and any property they had amassed was given over to their former owners when the manumitted slaves died.

Formal manumission (granting of freedom) was performed by a magistrate. Freed slaves were entitled to full Roman citizenship, the only exception being that they were not allowed to hold government office. Just as enslavement was inherited, the granting of formal manumission also freed former-slaves' children (Public Broadcasting Service. (2006). The Roman Empire in the First Century: Slaves and Freemen. Retrieved February 7, 2010 from http://www.pbs.org/empires/romans/empire/slaves_freemen.html).

 

 Click here for PBS lesson plan on the importance of slavery in the growth of the Roman Empire

 

 

 Working IX to V in Ancient Rome and Greece. Short audio clip from NPR about the odd jobs that more unusual jobs the Romans employed slaves for

 

Saturnalia

 

Saturnalia by Antoine Callet (1783)

Saturnalia, Antoine Callet (1783)


During the winter solstice, the Romans would hold a week long festival to honor the Roman god of harvest, Saturn.

 

 

 

 

Saturnalia: Watch video and read article for more in depth overview

 

 

 

Focus Question: How did slaves resist the institution of slavery in ancient Rome?

 

Resistance and Slave Revolts


Toward the end of the 2nd century BCE, there were large-scale slave revolts in Sicily.

 

 

 

 

Spartacus is Killed, Nikolo Sanesi (painting before 1889)

Spartacus

 

Biography of Spartacus

 


The real Spartacus A documentary on Spartacus and his rebellion

 

 

 


"Resisting Slavery in Ancient Rome"- Article by Keith Bradley in the BBC.

 

Spartacus: More Than a Slave Revolt



Additional Information:

As Roman law was inconsistent on slavery, the master had power over each slave, including the option to kill them. Slaves did not have any rights and they were considered as property. There were also people whose jobs it was to torture slaves called the carnefices. They would impose punishments such as ripping off the fingernails of the slaves and also by crushing their hands with weighty objects (click here for more information).

Some masters were very kind to their slaves, offering them rewards for loyal service. Some slave-holders treated their slaves vary humanely, as Pliny writes about his slaves:
"I am very upset by the illness among my slaves. Some of them have actually died, including even younger men. In cases like this I find comfort in two thoughts. I am always ready to give my slaves their freedom, so I don’t think their deaths so untimely if they die free men. I also permit my slaves to make a “will,” which I consider legally binding."
Pliny, //Letters// VIII.16

Other slave-holders were not as humane in their relations with their slaves. Cato gives this advice to Romans about slaves and agriculture:
"Let the farmer sell olive oil, if he has a good price, also his wine and his grain. Let him sell his surplus too: old oxen, an old plow, an old slave, a sick slave."
Cato, On Agriculture 2.3 (extracts) Advice for Keeping Slaves.

Slaves were keenly aware of their inferior positions and by way of protest sometimes tried to run away. Escaped slaves, when re-captured were branded the letters FUG (fugitīvus, runaway) on their foreheads.

Good site on the institution and functions of slavery in Rome: www.tribunesandtriumphs.org.







Sources
1. Answers Corporation, (2007). Answers.com. Retrieved February 15, 2007, from Answers.com Web site: http://www.answers.com/topic/slavery-in-ancient-rome
2. Lyn , Mclean (Ed.). (1995). Ecce Romani, A Latin Reading Program. London: Longman Group Ltd.
3. Crystal, Ellie (2007). Slavery in Ancient Rome. Retrieved March 22, 2007, from Ancient Rome Web site: http://www.crystalinks.com/romeslavery.html
4. Mirza, Smair and Tsang, Jason (2006). Slavery. Retrieved March 22, 2007, from Rome Exposed Web site: http://www.classicsunveiled.com/romel/html/slavery.html
5. Saturnalia (2007). Retrieved May 11, 2013, from Encyclopedia Romana web site: http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/calendar/saturnalia.html