by Jerry Toner
It was not until the late fourth century that Gregory of Nyssa provided the first Christian text that attacks slavery as an institution (Fourth Homily on Ecclesiastes). Many have seen this as the first ancient text, pagan or Christian, to call for the abolition of slavery, although it is not clear that he is taking what would have been an extreme position for its time. He may simply have been trying to persuade Christian owners to treat their slaves better. Even if he is arguing for abolition, his remained a lone voice in antiquity.
The story of the crooked slave Callistus, who was later to become pope, from c. AD 217–222, is told by his rival Hippolytus (in The Refutation of All Heresies 9.12.1). This means that we should probably take the story with more than a pinch of salt. It also underlines that we should be careful about seeing one universal Christian attitude towards slavery. Christian views of slavery were as varied as those of the Romans, and changed significantly over time.
An example of a Christian sermon assuming that slaves are morally inferior can be found in Salvian The Governance of God 4.3. For stricter Christian attitudes towards the sexual exploitation of slaves by their masters see also Salvian 7.4. The Christian emperor Constantine’s law against forcing a slave into prostitution is in the Theodosian Code 15.8.2. Paul sending back the runaway slave Onesimus to his owner is in his Letter to Philemon.
EPILOGUE
FAREWELL!
THESE THEN ARE THE PRINCIPLES that apply to the ownership and management of slaves. If you have read and studied my words with the same care and diligence you should expect of your slaves, then you will have acquired the knowledge you need to manage an efficient and successful household. You will know how to command authority and demand respect among your underlings. You will know something of the theory of slavery. You will understand what makes a slave function well, how best to treat him, and how best to get pleasure from your assets. You will know when the time is right to set your slaves off on the path of freedom, as loyal clients to your cause. You will also appreciate the pitfalls that occupying a high-status position and a leadership role can bring. But you will be all the better able to avoid them. In short, you will know how to be the Master.
COMMENTARY
No one now argues, like Falx, that slavery is acceptable or justifiable. But before we congratulate ourselves on how far we have come, we should remember that it is a tragic fact that even though slavery is illegal in every country in the world, it still exists widely. The NGO Free the Slaves estimates that there are 27 million individuals who are forced to work under threat of violence, without pay or hope of escape. There are more slaves in the world today than there were at any point in the life of the Roman empire.
FURTHER READING
GOOD TRANSLATIONS OF THE PRIMARY texts can mostly be found in the Loeb Classical Library or Penguin Classics. The three sourcebooks listed below also contain a range of textual selections relating to ancient slavery. The original Latin and Greek texts are most easily accessed in the Loeb Classical Library, which has a facing translation. More thorough editions of the original sources can be found in the Teubner series.
General works on ancient slavery
Finley, M. I., Ancient Slavery and Modern Ideology, revised ed. by B. D. Shaw, Princeton, NJ: Markus Wiener Publishers, 1998.
Finley, M. I. (ed.), Classical Slavery, with a new introduction by W. Scheidel, London: Cass, 1999.
Garnsey, P., Ideas of Slavery from Aristotle to Augustine, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996.
Heuman, G., and Burnard, T., (eds), The Routledge History of Slavery, Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, 2011.
Sourcebooks
Lewis, N., and Reinhold, M. (eds), Roman Civilization: A Sourcebook, New York: Harper Row, 1966.
Shelton, J., As the Romans Did: A Sourcebook in Roman Social History, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998.
Wiedemann, T. E. J., Greek and Roman Slavery, London: Croom Helm, 1981.
Works on Roman slavery
Beard, M., ‘Ciceronian Correspondences: Making a Book out of Letters’, In T. P. Wiseman (ed.), Classics in Progress: Essays on Ancient Greece and Rome, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002, pp. 103–44.
Bradley, K., Slavery and Rebellion in the Roman World 140 B.C.–70 B.C., Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana University Press, 1989.
Bradley, K., Slavery and Society at Rome, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994.
Bradley, K., Slaves and Masters in the Roman Empire: A Study in Social Control, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1984.
Fitzgerald, W., Slavery and the Roman Literary Imagination, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000.
Glancy, J. A., Slavery in Early Christianity, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.
Harper, K., Slavery in the Late Roman World, AD 275–425, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011.
Harris, W. V., ‘Demography, geography and the sources of Roman slaves’, Journal of Roman Studies, 89 (1999), 62–75.
Hopkins, K., Conquerors and Slaves, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1978.
Hopkins, K., ‘Novel evidence for Roman slavery’, Past & Present, 138 (1993), 3–27.
Joshel, S. R., Slavery in the Roman World, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010.
Mouritsen, H., The Freedman in the Roman World, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011.
Rathbone, D., ‘The slave mode of production in Italy’, Journal of Roman Studies, 73 (1983), 160–68.
Scheidel, W., ‘Human Mobility in Roman Italy, II: The Slave Population’, Journal of Roman Studies, 95 (2005), 64–79.
Scheidel, W., ‘Quantifying the sources of slaves in the early Roman Empire’, Journal of Roman Studies, 87 (1997), 156–69.
Schiavone, A., Spartacus, trans. J. Carden, Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2013.
Shaw, B. (ed. and trans.), Spartacus and the Slave Wars: A Brief History with Documents, Boston, Mass.: Bedford, 2001.
Toner, J., Popular Culture in Ancient Rome, Cambridge: Polity, 2009.
Wiedemann, T. E. J., Slavery (Greece & Rome New Surveys in the Classics 19), Oxford: Clarendon, 1987.
Works on Greek slavery
Cartledge, P. A., ‘Like a worm i’ the bud? A heterology of classical Greek slavery’, Greece & Rome, 40 (1993), 163–80.
Cartledge, P. A., ‘Rebels and Sambos in Classical Greece: A Comparative View’, in P. A. Cartledge & F. D. Harvey (eds), Crux: Essays Presented to G.E.M. de Ste. Croix on his 75th Birthday, London: Duckworth, 1985, pp. 16–46.
Finley, M. I., ‘Was Greek civilisation based on slave labour?’, in his Economy and Society in Ancient Greece, B. D. Shaw and R. P. Saller (eds), London: Chatto & Windus, 1981.
Fisher, N. R. E., Slavery in Classical Greece, Bristol: Bristol Classical Press, 1993.
Garlan, Y., Slavery in Ancient Greece, trans. J. Lloyd, Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1988.
Jameson, M., ‘Agriculture and Slavery in Classical Athens’, Classical Journal, 73 (1977–78), 122–45.
Osborne, R., ‘The economics and politics of slavery in Athens’, in A. Powell (ed.), The Greek World, Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, 1995, pp. 27–43.
Smith, N. D., ‘Aristotle’s theory of natural slavery’, Phoenix, 37 (1983), 109–23.
Wood, E. M., Peasant-citizen and Slave: The Foundations of Athenian Democracy, London: Verso, 1988.
INDEX
A
abolition 11, 204
Aesop 158, 164
Alans 1–2, 11, 13, 200
Alexander the Great 136
ambition 181, 183–4, 193
American slave trade 97
Androcles 113–15, 118
anger 107–8, 117
Aristotle 79
Army’s use of slaves 170–71
arson 155–6
Artemidorus 68–9, 75
Asclepius 171
assimilation 176–7, 179–80, 184–5, 194
Augustus 91–2, 102–3, 116, 122–3, 129, 149, 166, 167–8, 180, 184
&
nbsp; B
bad masters 83–6, 96–7
bad slaves 26, 71–2, 159
bandits 142, 149–52, 162–3
Batavians 69
bonuses 39–40, 43, 52–3
branding 112, 142, 181, 200, 203
breaking slaves 18–19, 64–5
breeding slaves 18, 32–3, 72–3, 74–5, 169
British slave trade 97
Britons 17, 108
Bulla Felix 150–52, 162–3, 164
burial clubs 136–7
burial, 176, 180
burning 122
buying slaves 14–36
C
Callistus, Pope 198–200, 204
Cannae 171
Cato 29–30, 48–9, 67, 171
causes of growth in slavery 6–8
chain gangs 45, 65, 67
character of slaves 22–3, 24
child tutors 27, 36, 136
children 15, 43–4, 47, 50, 66, 71, 108, 125, 174, 175
Christians 34, 196–204
Cicero 193
Circus Maximus 113–15, 137
Claudius 171–2, 180, 183, 188
clever slaves 24, 46, 158
clothing 42
collars 112
conspicuous consumption 28, 34–5, 65, 192
Constantine 203, 204
contractors 9, 105–6, 107
contracts 25, 173–4
corrupting slaves 63
cost of keeping slaves 32
country slaves 11, 26, 74, 137, 157, 178
Crassus 147–9
crucifixion 105–6, 148, 149
cruelty 37, 49, 61–2, 67, 88–9, 103, 155
Curule Aediles’ Edict 17, 35
D
damaged goods 24
death penalty 104–6, 109–10, 126, 129, 153
decimation 147
defects in slaves 17, 23–4, 25–6
deference 193
Delphic manumission contracts 77, 179
depressed slaves 25
Diogenes 31
domestic slaves 11, 23, 26, 32–3, 48, 64, 74, 77, 137, 138, 178
Domitian 126–7
doorkeepers 49–50, 66
dream interpretation 68–9, 75–6, 101–2
E
Easter 200–201
educated slaves 28, 36, 187–8
Egyptian boys 17, 69
electioneering 159, 164
emperors 108–9, 116, 126, 128–9, 151, 172
estate management 50–61, 65
estate visits 59–61, 66
eunuchs 15, 23–4
exposing babies 15, 35
F
fables 160
familiarity 135–6
family life 53, 71–2, 203
farm manageress 57–8, 73–4
farm manager 50–60, 66, 67, 73–4
favourites 69–70, 76–7
See also pet slaves
female slaves 26–7, 57–8, 70–2, 94–5, 98, 108, 169, 201
First Slave War 141–3, 164
flogging 105–6, 122
food 39–42, 65
fraud 58–60
Free the Slaves (NGO) 206
freedmen 175–7, 180, 181–95
freeing slaves see manumission
G
gambling 18, 35, 137
Germans 1, 18, 35, 146
gladiators 144, 146
good slaves 26, 89–95
gossip 159, 164
Gracchus, Gaius 94
Greek views on slavery 4–5, 11, 79–83, 97–8
Gregory of Nyssa 204
guarantees 25–6
H
Hadrian 103, 106–7, 116–17, 124–5
Hannibal 155–6, 164, 171
herdsmen 30, 45–8, 67
hired labour 46–7
home-bred slaves 18, 64
hooks as torture 122
household management 3–4, 8–9, 177
I
illegitimate children 70
imperial freedman 151, 187–9, 194–5
J
Jews 199
jokes 70, 135–6
Julius Caesar 16, 169, 180
L
labourers 46
Larcius Macedo 154–5, 164
law courts 120–29
leg-breaking 2, 13, 122
legal rights 12, 13, 127, 128
length of servitude 169, 178–9
leniency 19, 36, 86–7, 102, 111–12
loyal slaves 84, 89–95, 99–100
M
magic 54, 111, 143, 161, 186, 195
maintaining slave value 63, 102, 138
manumission 165–80, 194
limits 167–8
bad reasons for, 171, 180
selling, 172–3
tax 167
Marcus Aurelius 68–9, 75
Mark Antony 21–2, 93–4
marriage 168–9
master-murder 123–5, 128, 129, 152–5
Master, being the 4–5, 205
Master’s obligations 37–8, 49, 61–2, 64, 98–9, 152
masters as slaves 88
millstones 106, 118
mines 104, 117, 118, 121
Modern slaves 206
moral problems 35, 43, 65
mosaics 105
motivational techniques 39, 42, 43–6, 52–3, 61–2, 67, 165
N
Name-callers 28
naming 32, 36, 182
nature of slaves 4–5, 11–12, 80–83, 89, 98
necessity of slaves 11
Nero 22, 196
new slaves 18–19
numbers of slaves 5, 12–13, 29, 35
nursemaids 176, 180
O
old slaves 47, 49–50, 65–6, 171–2, 180
olives 41
Oracles of Astrampsychus 117–18, 178–9
origin of slaves 17, 19–20
oversupply of slaves 141–2, 162
P
patronage 175–7, 180, 195
Paul, Saint 197, 203, 204
peculium 172–3
Pedanius Secundus 152–4
pet slaves 17
Petronius 194
philosophy of slavery 79–100
pirates 15, 20, 35, 61, 67
Plautus 116
Pliny the Younger 29, 138–9
ploughmen 46
Pompey 94
pregnancies, unwanted 70, 76
prices for slaves 20–22, 34–6
prison 106
prostitution 70–71, 203, 204
psychological health 77–8
punishment 3, 19, 29, 37, 62, 84, 88–9, 101–20
injuries suffered administering 107, 118
R
racking 122
ransoms 16
rebellions 141–9
relationships 49, 53, 71, 72–3
See also marriage
relaxation 130–39
religion 39
See also magic
resistance 140–64, 203
runaways 110–15, 117–18, 118–19
S
sacking cities 16, 35
salvation 203
sanctuary 109, 112, 119, 126
Sassia 125–6, 128, 129
Saturnalia 130–35, 138–9
second-hand slaves 29
Sejanus 22
self-esteem 77–8
self-sufficiency 31, 44–5, 67
Seneca 64–5, 97, 99–100, 118, 163, 186
Septimius Severus 150–52
sex 48–9, 68–78, 133, 201
sexual abuse 76–8, 203
shelter 42–3
shepherds 46–7, 73
Sicily 141–3, 164
sickness 48, 49, 57–8, 65–6, 180
slave traders 14–15, 17, 23–4
slaves
as enemies 85, 140
as friends 87–8
as humans 83–9, 95–6
as morally worthless 125
sleep 48
social mobility 193–4
soothsayers 54
sources of slaves 15, 17–18
Spartacus 140–49, 161–2, 164
State-owned slaves 28–9, 36, 170
Statilia 108, 118
status of slaves 9–10, 12
Stoicism 64, 97–9, 202
suicide 25, 77, 94
T
Tiberius 91
tombstones 189–90, 193
tools 38, 44
torture 84, 94–5, 120–29
trade 182, 184
training slaves 18–19, 38–9, 54–5, 64, 74
Trajan 29
trickster tales 160, 164
Trimalchio 184, 190–92, 194
triumph 149
U
urban slaves 136, 137, 157, 178
uses of slaves 10, 11, 26
V
Vedius Pollio 102, 116, 118
Vespasian 70–71
Vesuvius 144–5
vineyards 46, 29–30
W
wild beasts as punishment 104–5, 113–15, 117
wills 108, 166, 170, 174
wine 40, 41, 136
work 39, 43, 44–6
JERRY TONER is Fellow and Director of Studies in Classics at Churchill College, Cambridge. He is the author of Roman Disasters, Homer’s Turk, and Popular Culture in Ancient Rome.
MARY BEARD is a Cambridge professor and author of more than a dozen books, including Confronting the Classics.
Jacket design by Anthony Morais
Jacket illustration: Roman mosaic from Dougga, Tunisia,
from Wikimedia Commons
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