During University Day at the University of Maine at Presque Isle, there was a presentation on slavery in ancient Rome, mentored by Dr. John DeFelice.

     The main thing that DeFelice wanted people to get out of the presentation was that it took place in a “separate cultural time and place” from our own. The type of slavery the United States had was actually a bastardized version of the Roman equivalent. The people who were the more common slaves included POWs and kidnapped people. The slaves only had on collars at the auction, and their buyers had a six month period of buyer’s remorse. This meant they could return them within this time period for the original amount paid.

     If slaves were freed, they were the lowest on the social totem pole. Even former criminals were better off than a freed slave. Most gladiators were actually slaves who were deemed too violent to do normal work. The slaves were allowed baths on holidays. Slaves didn’t have conubium, the right to marry.

     Most of the time, the Romans tried to keep slave families together, and if they were separated, then the person who bought one often lived near the others so the family members could at least see one another. If a mother was free (former slave), her child was also free. If the mother was a slave, or was freed after the child was born, the child was a slave.

     Urban slaves tended to be treated better than rural slaves. Also, slaves could have almost any non-political job. Most slaves from Greece were given jobs as tutors and many nurses were slaves.

     Finally, senators could not marry slaves. They also couldn’t marry freedmen (former slaves), prostitutes actors, or anyone whose parents were actors. If female children married outside of their class, it was the fault of the fathers.

     This presentation really helped audience members jettison their preconceived notions that all slavery, regardless of time and place, was the same.  Although few would want to be slaves, those in ancient times often had a more humane experience than what people experienced in the pre-Civil War U.S.