Gladiators

3/13/12   Buying  Slaves  at  Rome   Slavery  at  Rome   -­‐  A  true  slave  society;  product  of  conquest   -­‐  By  end  of  First  Century  BC,  1  out  of  every  3   men  living  in  Italy  was  a  slave   -­‐  Slavery  increased  as  Rome  expanded  and   brought  hundreds  of  thousands  of  capGves   each  year  to  Italy   VarieGes  of  Slave  Experience   • pet  slave  (owner’s  liRle  darling;  young)   • The  businessman/bureaucrat     • Expensive–  (maybe  400  Gmes  avg.  daily  wage)   • The  sale:     – imported  slaves  have  feet  whitened  with  chalk   – each  slave  has  placard  around  neck  lisGng  aRributes   and  defects   – complete  physical  inspecGon  possible   – refund  within  6  months  unless  slave  wearing  a   parGcular  type  of  hat  signaling  no  guarantee   • Why  make  such  an  investment?   – – – – allows  for  absentee  landowners  to  run  la#fundia   slaves  worked  longer  hours  than  free  peasants   never  called  away  for  military  service   status  symbol   Gladiators   – could  own  his  own  slaves  (kind  of):  vicarii   – had  peculium:  his  money,  from  which  he  might   eventually  buy  his  freedom   • Skilled  professional:  doctor,  teacher…   • DomesGc  help:  maid,  hairdresser,  gardener…   • Agric.  labor:  “mortal  property;  arGculate  tools”   • Mine  workers:  essenGally  a  death  sentence   • Gladiators:  fight  for  popular  entertainment   1   3/13/12   Sources  of  slaves:     replacement  req.  to  maintain  pop.  (100,000/yr   for  Italy)   Conquest     Slaves  brought  in  from  outside  the  empire   Voluntary  slavery   Houseborn  slaves  (vernae)   Enslavement  of  inhabitants  of  the  empire   (brigandage,  piracy,  abandoned  children)   • Island  of  Delos  huge  slave  emporium  capable   of  moving  10,000  slaves  a  day  through  docks   • • • • • Slave  Revolts   • First  Servile  War:  135-­‐132  BC  in  Sicily   – led  by  Eunus,  a  former  slave  claiming  to  be  a  prophet   and  magician   • Second  Servile  War:  104–  100  BC  in  Sicily   –  led  by  Athenion     • Third  Servile  War:  73–  71  BC  mainland  Italy   –  led  by  Spartacus   • Also  small  groups  of  fugiGve  slave  brigands  and   robbers  preying  on  society  in  South  Italy   • The  more  Rome  conquers,  the  more  violence   increases  at  home  (by  slaves  working  both  for   and  against  their  masters)   Escape   • Different  clothing  and  collars:   – Eg.  “I  have  run  away.    Capture  me.    When  you   have  returned  me  to  my  master  Zoninus  you  will   receive  a  reward.”     • Posters  for  fugiGve  slaves   • Fugi#varius—runaway  slave  catcher—full-­‐Gme   job.     Agtudes  toward  slaves:   • Debate  about  “natural  slavery”   – Aristotle  (Greek):          “by  nature  some  are  free,  others  are  slaves”     – A  Roman  legal  definiGon  of  slavery:        “insGtuGon  of  the  law  of  naGons  whereby   someone  is  against  nature  made  subject  to  the   ownership  of  another.”       • ConstrucGon  of  slave  pop.  as  hosGle:  “a  man  has   as  many  enemies  as  he  has  slaves.”   • But  aware  of  essenGal  resemblance  between   slave  &  master:  -­‐many  slaves  have  skills  valued  by  elite   – Stoic  philosophy–  slaves  can  be  free  and  vice  versa   – Saturnalia  FesGval  =  role  reversal   2   3/13/12   LeRer  from  Seneca  to  his  friend   “I  am  glad  to  learn  that  you  live  on  friendly  terms  with  your   slaves.    This  befits  a  sensible  and  well-­‐educated  man  like   yourself.  "They  are  slaves,"  people  declare."  No,  they  are   men.  "Slaves!"  No,  they  are  friends.  "Slaves!"  No,  they  are   our  fellow-­‐slaves,  if  one  reflects  that  Fortune  has  equal  rights   over  slaves  and  free  men  alike.   That  is  why  I  smile  at  those  who  think  it  degrading  for  a  man  to   dine  with  his  slave.    But  why  should  they  think  it  degrading?     It  is  only  because  proud  eGqueRe  surrounds  a  householder   at  his  dinner  with  a  mob  of  standing  slaves.    The  master  eats   more  than  he  can  hold,  and  with  monstrous  greed  loads  his   belly  unGl  it  is  stretched  and  can  no  longer  do  the  work  of  a   belly;  so  that  he  is  at  greater  pains  to  discharge  all  the  food   than  he  was  to  stuff  it  down.    All  this  Gme  the  poor  slaves   may  not  speak.  The  slightest  murmur  is  repressed  by  the  rod;   even  a  chance  sound,  -­‐  a  cough,  a  sneeze,  or  a  hiccup,  -­‐  is   punished  by  the  lash.”     Monument  for  freedmen  (liber#)  physicians    Contrasts  with  slavery  in  America   • Not  racially  based   • Technical,  skilled  jobs  (doctor,  professor,  arGsan)   an  important  component  of  slave  labor.   • No  model  of  a  society  without  slavery   • Possibility  of  freedom  (manumission)  either   through  purchase  or  will.      Freed  slaves  (liber#)  =  Roman  ciGzens,  &  much  of   Roman  pop.  could  trace  family  back  to  a   freedman   Spartacus   • Leader  in  Third  Servile  War  (73  –  71  BC)  fought   in  mainland  Italy     – Escaped  with  70  slaves  from  gladiatorial  school  in   Capua  and  take  cover  in  forests  of  Mt.  Vesuvius   – Besieged  by  Roman  forces  but  escape  using  vine-­‐ ropes  and  rout  Romans   – Joined  by  thousands  of  slaves  and  rout  two  more   Roman  armies   • Finally  destroyed  by  eight  legions  under  the   general  Crassus  (and  reinforcements  led  by   Pompey)   3   3/13/12   Crassus  &  Pompey  end  Third  Servile  War   (led  by  Spartacus)   -­‐Spartacus  killed   -­‐6,000  crucified     along  Via  Appia   Spartacus  as  symbol  of  revoluGon  on   behalf  of  the  oppressed   • Karl  Marx  on  the  hero,  Spartacus:    "the  most  splendid  fellow  in  the  whole  of   ancient  history"  &  "[a]  great  general,  noble   character,  real  representaGve  of  the  ancient   proletariat."     • Spartakus-­‐Bund  (Spartacus-­‐League):   forerunner  of  Communist  Party  of  Germany   4