Day in the life of a slave
The day of a slave in ancient Rome varied according to the work that has been allocated. This also depended on the skills of the slave. Slaves consisted of prisoners of war and Criminals who received the punishment of slavery and people who were born into slavery.
-Educated slaves
Well Educated slaves were respected way more than those who were not smart they served much easier jobs e.g tutors, Teachers, accountants, musicians, managers etc. Doing these jobs made there life a lot more better than the other slaves because they were highly valued. They were given clothes which were appropriate to there status.
-Unskilled or uneducated slaves
These slaves were subject to the worst jobs a slave could have. These slaves worked from dawn to dusk mostly 7 days a week. They were not highly valued and discipline was necessary to keep them in order. A slave recieved a tunic every year and a cloak and a pair of wooden shoes every 2 years. some of there jobs were; Builders, farm hands, Mines, Galleys, entertainers and gladiators (The fit slaves were often sent to gladiator schools to be trained to fight to the death in the bloody arenas of Rome).
Saturnalia:
Saturnalia was a traditional event just like Christmas. At this event slaves and masters swapped jobs. In this job the master became the slave and performed all the tasks of a slave and the slaves did the opposite. Slaves and masters showed loyalty to each other in many ways. In this action both slaves and masters were to show appreciation to each other and had a peaceful time together.
How bad were slaves actually treated?:
Some masters owned businesses in which they bought young females into prostitution to increase there wealth. Some masters abused there slaves.
http://www.richeast.org/htwm/greeks/romans/slavery/slavery2.html
The day of a slave in ancient Rome varied according to the work that has been allocated. This also depended on the skills of the slave. Slaves consisted of prisoners of war and Criminals who received the punishment of slavery and people who were born into slavery.
-Educated slaves
Well Educated slaves were respected way more than those who were not smart they served much easier jobs e.g tutors, Teachers, accountants, musicians, managers etc. Doing these jobs made there life a lot more better than the other slaves because they were highly valued. They were given clothes which were appropriate to there status.
-Unskilled or uneducated slaves
These slaves were subject to the worst jobs a slave could have. These slaves worked from dawn to dusk mostly 7 days a week. They were not highly valued and discipline was necessary to keep them in order. A slave recieved a tunic every year and a cloak and a pair of wooden shoes every 2 years. some of there jobs were; Builders, farm hands, Mines, Galleys, entertainers and gladiators (The fit slaves were often sent to gladiator schools to be trained to fight to the death in the bloody arenas of Rome).
Saturnalia:
Saturnalia was a traditional event just like Christmas. At this event slaves and masters swapped jobs. In this job the master became the slave and performed all the tasks of a slave and the slaves did the opposite. Slaves and masters showed loyalty to each other in many ways. In this action both slaves and masters were to show appreciation to each other and had a peaceful time together.
How bad were slaves actually treated?:
Some masters owned businesses in which they bought young females into prostitution to increase there wealth. Some masters abused there slaves.
http://www.richeast.org/htwm/greeks/romans/slavery/slavery2.html
Roman SlavesSlaves were very important to the Romans. Without slaves, the wealthy of Rome would not have been able to lead the lifestyles that they wanted to.
Who were slaves? They were people who were frequently captured in battle and sent back to Rome to be sold. However, abandoned children could also be brought up as slaves. The law also stated that fathers could sell their older children if they were in need of money.
A wealthy Roman would buy a slave in a market place. Young males with a trade could fetch quite a sum of money simply because they had a trade and their age meant that they could last for quite a number of years and, as such, represented value for money. Someone who was a cook by trade could be very expensive.
Once bought, a slave was a slave for life. A slave could only get their freedom if they were given it by their owner or if they bought their freedom. To buy your freedom, you had to raise the same sum of money that your master had paid for you – a virtually impossible task.
If a slave married and had children, the children would automatically become slaves. Young children were sometimes killed by their parents rather than let them become slaves.
No-one is sure how many slaves existed in the Roman Empire. Even after Rome has passed it days of greatness, it is thought that 25% of all people in Rome were slaves. A rich man might own as many as 500 slaves and an emperor usually had more than 20,000 at his disposal.
A logical assumption is that slaves lead poor lives simply because they were slaves. In fact, a good master looked after a good slave as an equally good replacement might be hard to acquire – or expensive. A good cook was highly prized as entertaining was very important to Rome’s elite and rich families tried to outdo each other when banquets were held – hence the importance of owning a good cook.
Those slaves who worked down mines or had no trade/skill were almost certainly less well looked after as they were easier and cheaper to replace.
A wealthy Roman would buy a slave in a market place. Young males with a trade could fetch quite a sum of money simply because they had a trade and their age meant that they could last for quite a number of years and, as such, represented value for money. Someone who was a cook by trade could be very expensive.
Once bought, a slave was a slave for life. A slave could only get their freedom if they were given it by their owner or if they bought their freedom. To buy your freedom, you had to raise the same sum of money that your master had paid for you – a virtually impossible task.
If a slave married and had children, the children would automatically become slaves. Young children were sometimes killed by their parents rather than let them become slaves.
No-one is sure how many slaves existed in the Roman Empire. Even after Rome has passed it days of greatness, it is thought that 25% of all people in Rome were slaves. A rich man might own as many as 500 slaves and an emperor usually had more than 20,000 at his disposal.
A logical assumption is that slaves lead poor lives simply because they were slaves. In fact, a good master looked after a good slave as an equally good replacement might be hard to acquire – or expensive. A good cook was highly prized as entertaining was very important to Rome’s elite and rich families tried to outdo each other when banquets were held – hence the importance of owning a good cook.
Those slaves who worked down mines or had no trade/skill were almost certainly less well looked after as they were easier and cheaper to replace.