Transportation of Greek slaves to Rome

[Cassia13]

Hi,

 

I'm doing some research for a novel I am writing and was wondering if anyone could suggest a book, etc. that would detail how slaves were transported between Greece and Rome. My book will be set during the mid-first century (approx. 60 A.D.)

 

Thanks for your help.

[Lanista]

Hi,

 

I'm doing some research for a novel I am writing and was wondering if anyone could suggest a book, etc. that would detail how slaves were transported between Greece and Rome. My book will be set during the mid-first century (approx. 60 A.D.)

 

Thanks for your help.

 

I'm guessing by ship - I had to transport a character from Asia Minor to Italy and a ship can do - on average - about 100 miles a day (I got that from Rome on x Sesterces a day - I forgot the author now, but the book's reviewed on this site).

 

Cheers

 

Russ

[Klingan]

The means of transportations would depend on the number and importance of the slaves. What do you have in mind?

[sylla]

Hi,

 

I'm doing some research for a novel I am writing and was wondering if anyone could suggest a book, etc. that would detail how slaves were transported between Greece and Rome. My book will be set during the mid-first century (approx. 60 A.D.)

 

Thanks for your help.

Circa 60 AD (early Nero's reign) chattel slavery was still fundamentally fueled by frontier wars; the major contributors must have been then the Parthian wars, Britannia (it's the year of Boudicca's defeat) and the high Danubian border.

 

Greece was then by large a net consumer of slaves; if most (at least 2/3) of the Roman slaves had Greek names, that was just for fashion and not for their ethnicity (in fact, only 2-3% bore Semitic names). However, Greece was always the preferred source for expensive specialized professional slaves (eg, physicians).

 

Like for any other commodity, the maritime transport of slaves was faster, cheaper and far more efficient than by land; Brundisium and Ostia were the main ports of entry from Greece.

 

60 AD is also when the imprisoned Paul of Tarsus would have come to Rome and within the accepted range of dating for the Epistle to Philemon; may you be thinking about Onesimus or any other Christian-related story for your novel?

Edited September 12, 2009 by sylla

[Cassia13]

Hi,

 

I'm doing some research for a novel I am writing and was wondering if anyone could suggest a book, etc. that would detail how slaves were transported between Greece and Rome. My book will be set during the mid-first century (approx. 60 A.D.)

 

Thanks for your help.

Circa 60 AD (early Nero's reign) chattel slavery was still fundamentally fueled by frontier wars; the major contributors must have been then the Parthian wars, Britannia (it's the year of Boudicca's defeat) and the high Danubian border.

 

Greece was then by large a net consumer of slaves; if most (at least 2/3) of the Roman slaves had Greek names, that was just for fashion and not for their ethnicity (in fact, only 2-3% bore Semitic names). However, Greece was always the preferred source for expensive specialized professional slaves (eg, physicians).

 

Like for any other commodity, the maritime transport of slaves was faster, cheaper and far more efficient than by land; Brundisium and Ostia were the main ports of entry from Greece.

 

60 AD is also when the imprisoned Paul of Tarsus would have come to Rome and within the accepted range of dating for the Epistle to Philemon; may you be thinking about Onesimus or any other Christian-related story for your novel?

 

Thank you for the information.

 

I won't be using any sort of Christian-related story. This book is the first in a planned series of at least three. My main character here is the mother of the main character in the second book.

 

My novel's main character is a wealthy young woman from Thebes who is sold into slavery by her cousin when she runs away rather than marry him. He catches up to her and sells her as revenge. I was wondering if anyone knew of a book (or had the information) which tells where slaves would have departed from Greece. My best guess is the port of Athens. Also, since my main character is from Thebes, she will have to be transported by land for a certain portion of the journey. There will be only a few slaves at this point, perhaps 10, and are being taken to Rome intended to be sold as pleasure slaves and oddities(a hunchbacked man and a mentally disabled girl are among them). Would they have been chained together and made to walk, or would there have been wagons to make the journey faster? These are questions I haven't been able to answer through my research thus far.

[Cassia13]

The means of transportations would depend on the number and importance of the slaves. What do you have in mind?

 

I guess I was pretty vague, sorry. There will be a small number of slaves, traveling from Thebes to Rome. I am trying to track down some details to make the journey as authentic as possible.

 

I put some more details in the above reply.

[Cassia13]

Hi,

 

I'm doing some research for a novel I am writing and was wondering if anyone could suggest a book, etc. that would detail how slaves were transported between Greece and Rome. My book will be set during the mid-first century (approx. 60 A.D.)

 

Thanks for your help.

 

I'm guessing by ship - I had to transport a character from Asia Minor to Italy and a ship can do - on average - about 100 miles a day (I got that from Rome on x Sesterces a day - I forgot the author now, but the book's reviewed on this site).

 

Cheers

 

Russ

 

Thanks, Russ. I'll see if I can track that one down on here.

[Klingan]

The means of transportations would depend on the number and importance of the slaves. What do you have in mind?

 

I guess I was pretty vague, sorry. There will be a small number of slaves, traveling from Thebes to Rome. I am trying to track down some details to make the journey as authentic as possible.

 

I put some more details in the above reply.

 

Ok, I would say that a guardian of some kind, probably a freedman to the owner (and perhaps one or two guards) would take a ship from Greece to Rome. Whats important to remember here is that sailing was nothing like taking a ferry today. It was much more like hitchhiking on the sea, you took one ship that would get you closer to your destination, no matter where it sailed, then take another and another again.

 

You will find a good example of this in the bible actually (Acts of the Apostles 27-28).

[Lanista]

Just a small point - and I stand to be corrected on this - wasn't Thebes destroyed by Alexander the Great (apart from Pindar's gaff).

[sylla]

Just a small point - and I stand to be corrected on this - wasn't Thebes destroyed by Alexander the Great (apart from Pindar's gaff).

Thebes was restored by Cassander in 315 BC; in the first century AD it was just a village, mentioned by Strabo.

[Cassia13]

Ok, I would say that a guardian of some kind, probably a freedman to the owner (and perhaps one or two guards) would take a ship from Greece to Rome. Whats important to remember here is that sailing was nothing like taking a ferry today. It was much more like hitchhiking on the sea, you took one ship that would get you closer to your destination, no matter where it sailed, then take another and another again.

 

You will find a good example of this in the bible actually (Acts of the Apostles 27-28).

 

Thanks, that is very helpful. I do have a guardian already and was planning on two others at least to make certain no one escaped. The small number of slaves from Thebes will be joining another group at some point also.

 

Would an affluent slave trader have his own ship for such purposes? Or is that something that would have developed during a later time period?

[sylla]

Ok, I would say that a guardian of some kind, probably a freedman to the owner (and perhaps one or two guards) would take a ship from Greece to Rome. Whats important to remember here is that sailing was nothing like taking a ferry today. It was much more like hitchhiking on the sea, you took one ship that would get you closer to your destination, no matter where it sailed, then take another and another again.

 

You will find a good example of this in the bible actually (Acts of the Apostles 27-28).

That biblical quotation may be useful for literary purposes, as long as we remember that Paul (and presumably the other prisoners) were criminal convicts, not slaves.

[Klingan]

Thanks, that is very helpful. I do have a guardian already and was planning on two others at least to make certain no one escaped. The small number of slaves from Thebes will be joining another group at some point also.

 

Would an affluent slave trader have his own ship for such purposes? Or is that something that would have developed during a later time period?

 

He would perhaps have a ship, or a number of ships, (depending on how wealthy he was) but I doubt that it/they would be used for slave transportation exclusively and certainly not for such a small group of slaves. I would stick to hitchhiking if possible.

 

 

That biblical quotation may be useful for literary purposes, as long as we remember that Paul (and presumably the other prisoners) were criminal convicts, not slaves.

 

A good point no doubt. Paul was (presumably) appealing to the emperor (would that mater?) and he was given some freedom (much more than any new captured slave would have) to walk around on his own in the cities they passed, if we accept the account. Now I won't ever go into the source criticism of the bible, it's like a highly toxic minefield.

Edited September 23, 2009 by Klingan

[Cassia13]

Thanks, that is very helpful. I do have a guardian already and was planning on two others at least to make certain no one escaped. The small number of slaves from Thebes will be joining another group at some point also.

 

Would an affluent slave trader have his own ship for such purposes? Or is that something that would have developed during a later time period?

 

He would perhaps have a ship, or a number of ships, (depending on how wealthy he was) but I doubt that it/they would be used for slave transportation exclusively and certainly not for such a small group of slaves. I would stick to hitchhiking if possible.

 

Ah, I see. So perhaps if he were trading in other goods as well he would put the slaves on that ship. I planned for the other group of slaves they meet up with to be property of the same slave trader. Now you've got me thinking. I appreciate the help very much.