Slavery in Ancient Greece and Rome

1110 Words3 Pages

Slavery was the practice of taking a human being and making them do the work of another by force. This was practiced through out the ancient world and especially in Rome and Greece. Slaves were nothing more than just property to the ancient peoples. They didn't have the rights of citizens nor were they able to do what they want in most cases. Slaves had many tasks that they had to do, many of which included taking care of the masters house and kids, cooking and cleaning that house, herding the cattle for the farming families, being guards for some prisons, fighting for entertainment of the masses, and more common was sexual activities with the slaves. The most common use of a slave was to have the around the house to do common tasks such as cleaning the house, washing the clothing, cooking, and taking care of the infants with supervision from the mother. Although these were the major uses of a slave there were a few that also educated and were allowed to teach others what they have learned. Plutarch told a story of a man named Cato that had born a son, but he did not wish that his son to be taught by a lowly servant. He wanted his son to have a good education and to not have to owe respect to a slave. Cato wrote many books for his son so that he may never leave the house and encounter false teachings from others. He also taught his son everything that he needed to know about grammar and law. He not only showed his son about the exercise of the mind, he also showed him the exercise of the body also. Cato showed his son how to box, how to stay in shape and get ready for war. Cato wanted none of these things were to be learned from a slave, and none of them were. Slaves were teachers and house hold workers but also since they co... ... middle of paper ... ...re. Although slave revolts were uncommon in Greece, there were several in Rome. The most historical revolt was led by Spartacus and lasted about two years. This came about because Spartacus and several other gladiators broke out and started fighting the armies that came after them. This led to a more kind way to treat the slaves with the hope that they would not rise up again. In some places a slave could earn their freedom by either purchasing it with the small amount of money that their owners let them make or they could be set free in a masters last will and testament. Bibliography Lynn Hunt et al., The Making of the West: peoples and cultures, a Concise History (Boston:Bedford/St. Martin's, 2003), 43, 45, 132, 136, 179-180 "Plutarch, The Spartacus Slave War" In Spartacus And Slave Wars, ed. Brent D. Shaw (Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin's, 2001) 131-138

Show More
Related

  • Francois Dominique Toussaint L'Ouverture, Letter to the Directory

    1234 Words  | 3 Pages

    Coffin, Judith G., and Robert C. Stacey. "CHAPTER 18 PAGES 668-669." Western Civilizations: Their History & Their Culture. 16TH ed. Vol. 2. New York, NY: W. W. Norton &, 2008. N. pag. Print.

    Read More

  • Slavery In Pseudolus, By Titus Maccius Plautus

    1208 Words  | 3 Pages

    According to the Marvin Perry, “ slaves was practiced in ancient times, in many lands, and among most people.”(Perry, 112) Especially in ancient Roman, when Roman armies expand to other countries and areas successfully, they captured people during the battle and send back to Rome to be sold to the wealthy Romans as their slaves. During the last centuries of Republic and the early centuries of the imperial age, the Roman war brought back to a huge amount of slaves as their spoils of the wars. Slaves was considered legally to be a piece of property without their own freedom. In ancient Roman, people called their slaves as the “Speaking Tools” . Slaves did not treat as a human beings with legal citizen rights. They sold as products to the market and valued by their demographic characteristics including age, gender, personal skills, ethnic,manner, appearance, and personality. The lives of slaves conspicuously harsh by their tough works and cruel tortures from their inconsidered masters. The more brutal oppression of masters, the more intense of slave revolt, and finally to cause the massive revolt in Roman.

    Read More

  • Charlemagne and the Saxon War

    1617 Words  | 4 Pages

    Clifford R. Backman, The Cultures of the West: A History. Volume 1: To 1750. New York: Oxford University Press, 2013.

    Read More

  • Hitler's Powerful Leadership

    1220 Words  | 3 Pages

    Perry, Marvin., et al. Sources of the Western Tradition. Volume II. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company., 1995.

    Read More

  • The Political Decay of the Roman Republic

    1035 Words  | 3 Pages

    The first crisis that the late republic had to face was the slave revolt in 73 B.C. The slave army had about 70,000 men led by a gladiator named Spartacus. He was a gladiator who escaped from a training facility and attracted t...

    Read More

  • Racial Equality: A Struggle within the Church

    817 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the Greco-Roman period slavery was not determined “by race, religion, kinds of work, clothing, ownership of property, or formal schooling.” In many cases slaves were treated fairly and were valued. The institution of slavery in the 19th century was vastly different, usually always depraving “the slave of dignity and the slave owner of humanity.” It was “a model…for the most extreme forms of exploitation, otherness, and even social death.” Aside from the oppression of early American slavery, this form of the institution was based on race. In contrast, the slavery of the Greco-Roman period was based in large part on class or social status. This difference highlights the fundamental problem with 19th century slavery, which is its explicit racism. Understanding the difference between the modern institution of slavery and the Greco-Roman slavery is very important in applying Ephesians to slavery in

    Read More

  • Slavery In Colonial America Essay

    791 Words  | 2 Pages

    Slavery as it existed in America was a practice founded on the chattel principle. Slaves were treated as human chattel to be traded, sold, used, and ranked not among beings, but among things, as an article of property to the owner or possessor.

    Read More

  • Has Slavery Changed since Ancient Times?

    928 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the ancient times slavery was a common and normal thing. In 70 A.D it was estimated that there were slaves in Rome. There were no troubles or controversies over it. Slavery was widespread and most families owned at least one slave. Today there is only one real way to become a slave but in Roman Times (rise of Rome) there were three. 1=Slavery due to crime committed. 2=Not being a Roman citizen. 3=Taken prisoner by Romans. An example is war.

    Read More

  • Arguments Against African Slave Trade

    772 Words  | 2 Pages

    The word “slavery” comes from the Eastern European word “slav”. “The traditional definition of slavery was legal. Slaves were peoples’ property and could be bought and sold, traded, leased or mortgaged like a form of livestock.” Old World slavery, that was pre-European exploration, differed from New world, post- European exploration, slavery by a great deal. The percentage of slaves in the Old world was not as vast as it was in the New World. Old World slavery also was not raced based or hereditary, meaning not all of the slaves were Africans or Native Americans and their offspring were not considered slaves as well.

    Read More

  • the development of slavery in America

    1202 Words  | 3 Pages

    Colonist started to import slaves from South America in hopes that they would live longer and be more manageable to control. The slaves that were imported were trained past their first year of slavery, so that they would not die as fast. The first imported slaves came to America in the early 17th century. When they received the slaves they found out some of them were baptized, and were under the Christian religion. So they could not be treat as slaves under the religion so they were turned into indentured servants. There were very few vague laws on slavery, but it was always a permanent servitude. At first slaves had limited right, and were aloud to own land, after their period of slavery was over. They were allowed to marry and have children. The slaves kids that were born while they were enslaved were not consider to be slaves, but to be free under the law.

    Read More

  • The History of Slave Music and its Impact on Modern Music

    2049 Words  | 5 Pages

    Slavery is a form of forced labor in which people are taken as property of others against their wishes and will. They are denied the right to leave or even receive wages. Evidence of slavery is seen from written records of ancient times from all cultures and continents. Some societies viewed it as a legal institution. In the United States, slavery was inevitable even after the end of American Revolution. Slavery in united states had its origins during the English colonization of north America in 1607 but the African slaves were sold in 1560s this was due to demand for cheap labor to exploit economic opportunities. Slaves engaged in composition of music in order to preserve the cultures they came with from Africa and for encouragement purposes..

    Read More

  • Similarities and Differences in Ancient and Modern Slavery

    957 Words  | 2 Pages

    Slavery has been a main problem in the world for centuries. Slavery goes back to Babylon over 2,500 years ago and it is still a growing problem in the modern society. Slavery is not just one dimensional; it involves gender, race and physical appearance of a slave. In this paper, I am going to compare and contrast David Brion Davis’ view of ancient slavery along with modern day slavery by Ryan J. Dalton, and discuss why they are not similar with each other. In Modern Day Slavery by Ryan J. Dalton, discuss the problem of human trafficking in Tennessee. Dalton mention that women and children were forced into prostitution by gangs and other organized crime groups to earn money. This is different from ancient slavery discussed by David Brion Davis in Inhuman Bondage, slaves were captured and they could be raped and quickly sold. The difference between modern and ancient slavery in sex are modern slave trafficking’s main goal is to earn profit by the owner while ancient slave owner rape their slave without profit.

    Read More

  • The Crusades: Short Term and Long Term Effects

    1023 Words  | 3 Pages

    Katharine J. Lualdi, Sources of The Making of the West: Peoples and Cultures (Bedford/St. Martins: Boston, MA, 2012) 194. (Named as Primary Sources for the Middle Ages on our angel for History 102.)

    Read More

  • Slavery in Ancient Rome

    1484 Words  | 3 Pages

    The experiences of enslaved women differed from the experience of enslaved men in ancient Rome; slavery within ancient Rome can be traced back to the first century BCE and was based primarily on the chattel slave system. Slavery within the ancient roman society was highly normalised as it was considered a part of roman culture. Slavery within ancient Rome was so heavily normalised that it is considered to be described as a “slave society” Joshel (2010, p. 6) states that “For slaves living in the Roman world, there was no outside – no place without slavery and no movement that declared slavery wrong. Slavery was a normal part of life, and this was true not only for the Romans but for every neighbouring ancient culture”. Not only was slavery considered a normal part of Roman life, but it affected a great proportion of the Roman population. According to historian Walter Scheidel (2007, p. 6) “ There were somewhere between 5 to 8 million slaves in the Roman empire, some 250,000 to 400,000 new slaves were required every year to maintain the numbers”. A majority of these figures were men, children and - women; either being enslaved through birth, kidnapping or captured through war. Roman slaves were not seen as victims nor was slavery considered to be a crime at that time, as slavery was considered to be to a ‘natural law of the nations’ as stated by Joshel (2010, p.6) “For the Roman lawyer, slavery is not a crime, and the enslaved are not victims; rather, as Gaius and other Roman jurists nations. Natural law applies to all animals, not only human beings, but it concerns little more than the union of male and female, procreation of children, and their rearing”. With an estimated 5 to 8 million slaves within the Roman Empire, whether...

    Read More

  • The Daily Life of Ancient Greeks

    941 Words  | 2 Pages

    Slaves would take on the tasks of motherhood, some would even breast feed the babies. The slaves also worked the fields and helped the mother with other household duties, such as making clothes (The Study of Women, online). Education Boys will begin school at age seven. They were also given paid agogos, a slave that accompanied them everywhere. The paid adolescents taught the boy manners, punished him when he did wrong, and even sat through classes with the boy to make sure he did his work.

    Read More

More about Slavery in Ancient Greece and Rome

Open Document