Suburani Chapter 6 Culture Notes PDF

Suburani Chapter 6 Culture Notes I. Slavery in the Roman World 1. What was the status of a Roman slave? They had no status. 2. Put a check mark next to each concept that a Roman slave did NOT have. Liberty Rights Leave employment Choose what to do Power of life a...

Suburani Chapter 6 Culture Notes I. Slavery in the Roman World 1. What was the status of a Roman slave? They had no status. 2. Put a check mark next to each concept that a Roman slave did NOT have. Liberty Rights Leave employment Choose what to do Power of life and death Family life and marriage Own property Their own name 3. Were slaves distinguished by race or skin color? Nope 4. How do we know that slavery was widely accepted? There was no movement to abolish it. 5. Why are slaves considered part of a Roman familia? Familia meant “household” back then and they were part of the household. II. How Were People Enslaved? 1. During what period of time did the Romans acquire most of their slaves through war? The Second and First Centuries of B.C 2. One of the last big acquisitions of slaves through war happened in 70 A.D. Whom did the Romans enslave in this year? Jews 3. If a slave was sold on the Greek isle of Delos, how did they likely become a slave? They were captured by bandits or pirates and then brought to the island. 4. According to the quote from the historian Strabo, what events led to the Romans wanting more slaves? The destruction of Carthage and Corinth 5. What are vernae? What determines their status? Home-born slaves; whatever the mothers' status was, that was theirs as well 6. If a foundling were made a slave, what would they have to prove in order to become free? That they were a freeborn Roman. 7. What would make a Roman choose to be a slave? If they were in great debt or poverty. 8. Where were Rome’s two slave markets? In the Forum Romanum and Campus Martius III. The Life of a Slave 1. Look at the language from Columella about farm slaves. Where does he say they are kept, and how are they kept there? They are kept in the farm prison, chained. 2. Whom does Columella save he will sometimes free, and for what reason? Women; after they have raised several children 3. What kinds of jobs did Greek slaves often have? They were often teachers, doctors, and librarians. (NB: This is a distinct difference from Black slaves in the South – education was eventually forbidden and their native cultures were not promoted or encouraged) 4. Describe the attitude of Pliny toward his sick slave. Pliny feels bad for him since he knows the slave loves to read and he is unable to. 5. What fault did Vedius Pollio’s slave commit during a dinner with Emperor Augustus? How did Pollio punish him? The slave broke a crystal cup. He was punished by being thrown to the lampreys as food. 6. How does this contrast with the attitude of Martial to one of his vernulae? Martial mourned his salve who had died because he cared for her. 7. Would a slave want to be sent to the mines? Nope. 8. Give three reasons, according to Diodorus Siculus, why this is the case in the mines. 1.) Never allowed to pause to rest 2.) If they did, they were beaten until they started to work again. 3.) Could never do anything else with their lives IV. Seeking Freedom 1. What do you think Seneca meant when he said “You have as many enemies as you have slaves”? The slaves hate their masters, so they are going to be your enemies. 2. Why did the Senate ultimately decide not to require slaves to wear uniform clothing? It would give them a sense of unity and could encourage a revolt. 3. How many slave revolts took place during the Roman Republic, and where did they happen? Three; they were found in Sicily and southern Italy. 4. Who led the most famous of these revolts, and when did that happen? The most famous was the one led by Spartacus from 73 to 71 B.C. 5. What happened to the slaves not killed in battle during this revolt? They were crucified along the road from Capua to Rome. 6. Why do we not know if Spartacus wanted to abolish slavery or just win freedom for himself and his followers? We do not have any evidence documenting their motivation, only documents from the enslavers' point of view. 7. What small acts did slaves perform to resist their enslavement? Working inefficiently or stealing. 8. Besides professional slave hunters, what else did slave owners look to for help in returning runaways? Friends 9. Besides running away, what other crime did Dionysius commit against Cicero? He stole a large number of books. 10. What three things could happen to a runaway slave that was caught? 1.) Branding on face 2.) Wearing a collar 3.) Death V. Manumission 1. How does the author describe the kinds of homes that would regularly free slaves? A wealthy household 2. Could slaves buy their freedom? Yes (NB: slaves could earn money; this allowance was known as a peculium) 3. What do the two parts of the word manumissiō mean? Manus: Hand Missus: Sent 4. What was a slave’s new status when they were freed? Libertus or Liberta (NB: When this happened, male slaves took the first two names of their master, with their slave name as their third. So the Tiro that Cicero’s brother mentions would now be Marcus Tullius Tiro. This would help further the connection between freedperson and former master). 5. What two benefits did manumission have for slave owners? It gave an opportunity for incentive so their slaves would work harder. If their slave bought their freedom, the slave owner could use the money to buy a new slave. 6. How many slaves could a Roman free? Never more than 100. (NB: A master could free more. These extras were known as Julian freedmen. While the libertus or liberta was free during their lifetime, upon their death any wealthy they had accumulated reverted to their former master. This would disincentivize them from starting families as they would have no wealth to pass on) 7. What was the likelihood of farm or mine slaves being freed? Extremely small. NB: The book mentions a master’s will being one of the ways a master would free slaves. Masters would also use the occasion of Saturnalia to free slaves. This festival in December, lasting from the 17th to the 24th, was a celebration of the harvest. On one of the days, masters would give their slaves freedom for the day; when the slaves returned in the evening, the master and his family would have prepared dinner for them. That evening, the master would sometimes make the freedom of some of his slaves permanent.