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Moral discourse on slavery was concerned with the treatment of slaves, and abolitionist views were almost nonexistent. Inscriptions set up by slaves and freedpersons and the art and decoration of their houses offer glimpses of how they saw themselves. A few writers and philosophers of the Roman era were former slaves or the sons of freed slaves.
Freedmen in ancient Rome existed as a distinct social class (liberti or libertini), with former slaves granted freedom and rights through the legal process of manumission. The Roman practice of slavery utilized slaves for both production and domestic labour, overseen by their wealthy masters. Urban and domestic slaves especially could achieve ...
Rome differed from Greek city-states in allowing freed slaves to become Roman citizens. After manumission, a slave who had belonged to a citizen enjoyed not only passive freedom from ownership, but active political freedom (libertas), including the right to vote, though he could not run for public office. [18]
As a Roman letter expressing ambivalence about slavery from the 1st century, it has been compared to the early Christian writing in Paul's Epistle to Philemon. [5] And Gregory of Nyssa in the 4th century condemns slavery outright, in rhetorical terms that may draw from Seneca, but that go beyond him.
A strong distinction in skin color is frequently seen in the portrayal of men and women in Ancient Rome. Since women in Ancient Rome were traditionally expected to stay inside and out of the sun, they were usually quite pale; whereas men were expected to go outside and work in the sun, so they were usually deeply tanned. [16]
To varying degrees throughout Roman history, the existence of a pool of inexpensive labor in the form of slaves was an important factor in the economy.Slaves were acquired for the Roman workforce through a variety of means, including purchase from foreign merchants and the enslavement of foreign populations through military conquest. [1]
Two skilled ex-slaves acknowledge their master for setting them free (British Museum). Public inscriptions like this were expected and are an important source for scholars. Secondly, there was a peculiar funeral custom. Roman slaves, after years of labour for their owners, were fairly often manumitted (liberated). They were expected to be ...
Ancient Roman slaves and freedmen (6 C, 7 P) C. Crisis of the Roman Republic (6 C, 18 P) E. Epistle to Philemon (1 C, 6 P) N. Novels about slavery in ancient Rome (2 ...