Roman_Slaves

Roman slavery in ancient times was vital to both the economy and society, for they were apart of nearly every aspect of life, serving anyone on the social hierarchy. Many slaves, in antiquity, were prisoners of war, children that were abandoned or criminals. Of course criminals would have the worst fate, forced to work in mines and not expected to live long lives there. There has been centuries of controversy over the treatment of slaves with many for, and many against the harsh treatment of salves. In ancient Roman times it can be argued that harsh punishment was a necessity to be able to control the growing slave population. The slaves needed to be broken to understand who is in authority since many were prisoners of war, slaves were known to be lazy and since fear was a natural part of life it was therefore a useful tactic to gain control. Mos maiorum is the tradition of the ancestors of Rome, slaves had been around for hundreds of years before and therefore the treatment of slaves was traditional and a natural way of life. The slaves of ancient Rome were unpredictable and dangerous which made their masters feel the need to punish and beat them in order to trust them within their household. On regular occurrences, when slaves were made to testify they would only be trusted if their testimony was taken under torture. (Slavery as a Social Institution, T. Wiedemann, 23) These slaves were once Roman enemies, a known metaphor in Rome was, “…you have as many enemies as you have slaves.” (Seneca, Letter, 46) This metaphor signifies the number of prisoners of war in ones household. They were once attempting to take Rome and kill Romans, what is to stop them from doing the same within a household in Rome. Through harsh treatment, the master can intimidate these soldiers of war with the fear of being beaten, being executed or sold away from family they might have made, giving the slaves the incentive to perform the tasks they wish and to keep their mouths shut and do as they were told. (Slavery as a Social Institution, T Wiedemann, 26) Ultimately, the masters that bought slaves never knew where they had originally come from, they could simply be a very poor Roman selling himself to he trade, or someone willing to kill their master to prove a point, not caring of the consequences. The only way as paterfamilias to protect ones family was to demonstrate who is in charge, using any way necessary. The rich Romans had expensive taste, which included a number of luxurious mansions requiring hundreds of slaves working to keep these houses running smoothly. These Romans wanted to live the lives they wanted without worries or household issues. Having a lazy slave was just unacceptable, and if a slave were treated too nicely then they would most likely be more susceptible to be lazy because there would be no consequences. It is known that slaves were dirty, lazy, talkative and compulsive liars; these qualities are what make the slaves degrading to associate with other than being a slave. (Slavery as a Social Institution, T. Wiedemann, 25) Many slaves were forced to do jobs that nobody would do, therefore of course they would be lazy and not do them. These jobs would be tedious and disgusting but if they did not complete them no one would do them and the masters could not live as comfortably as they did. (Prelude to; The Institution of Gaius, The Legal Status of Slaves in the Empire, 42) Being a slave, meant that they had lost or never had any rights to share in society and in ancient Roman times, they were legally owned by a master. (Slavery as a Social Institution, T. Wiedemaa, 22) That means the master is allowed to do anything to the slave and ask anything from them because they already owe the master their lives. Laziness is not something a master would put up with and should be punished to motivate and teach. Motivation and respect can only be brought in through fear and intimidation in antiquity. Many argue the fact that harsh punishment is not a viable option because slaves can become angry and revolt against Rome. However on more occasions masters are kept safe because most slaves will not want to be sold away from their families or killed if one slave acts on behalf of the rest. Slaves must fear that their lives are in jeopardy at all times with so many slaves around, therefore they will keep their master safe and respect his wishes. (Annals, Tactius, 44) It is know that fear was a natural part of life in Roman. Any Roman was afraid of something in their life whether it is a slave afraid of their master or Roman citizens afraid of the Emperor, or invaders from another country. (Slavery as a Social Instituion, T. Wiedemann, 25) Even though all Romans were afraid of something, this also enforced the social hierarchy of their culture where everyone was below someone in class. The slaves were the lowest and the gods were the highest, everyone in between all feared the gods hoping that with enough sacrifices and temples to them their lives will be good. This established hierarchy is also in relation to a husband over a wife, parents over children, and free person over slaves. Slaves that had raised a family in the household of the master would also be afraid of never being set free or that their child would be sold away. It was the way things were in those times and it was the natural order of society. Ultimately fear, in its tradition, was all these people knew; therefore they pushed it to a higher level to get what they wanted from their purchased enemies. It is clear that while it is definitely inhumane to treat a fellow human being with such harsh punishment, it was safer for the families and masters in Rome. Harsh punishment was an inevitability to be able to control such a massive population of Rome filled with prisoners of war that could act out, or to ensure your slaves do not become lazy. A slave’s master could, at the time, treat slaves however they wanted because the slave was living on their property, eating their food and ultimately the owner’s property. Punishment, fear and intimidation were the only ways to handle slaves and be able to trust them. In actuality, the trust is in value the slave has for his life, and whether or not he will put the lives of your family and yourself ahead of theirs. Overall, slavery was a fact of life, with that, punishment and harsh punishment came along for the ride as well.