Reply to Slavery in Rome thread.

[guidoLaMoto]

For some reason, a "reply" option does not appear after that original post, but it's an interesting question deserving of contemplation.

We could present a plausable arguement that a tendency to take captives is a behavior pattern innate to humans and helped improve chances of survival for our species when our numbers were few, helping to avoid the pitfalls of inbreeding.

Concerning ancient Rome and slavery- a few thoughts--

Hollywood has tainted our views. While Romans had the legal power & rights of "paterfamilias," the ultimate power of life or death was rarely exercised. Slaves were generally treated well, often playing integral roles in the household, including companionship as well as nursemaid/governess/teacher.

Roman slaves were often given wages/"spending money"above and beyond room & board, and were oftrn in a position to take on extra work for pay outside the household. It was not at all unusual for slaves to buy their own freedom. Freedmen wore a felt hat (the pileus) somewhat like a modern fez.....The largest, most ostentatious tomb sitting in a very prominent position just outside the gates of Pompeii was built for a freedman who became quite wealthy.

The more menial tasks including construction work was accomplished by slaves as well as by citizens. Cf- recent discoveries showing that the Great Pyramids of Egypt were constructed mostly by citizens, not slaves as previously thought....Those jobs needed to be done by large numbers of people whether they were paid or not. Either way, their room & board needed to be covered, so it's really just a paper shuffle of how that got done and the poor masses needed to earn a living.