Similarities Between Greek And Roman Slavery

University of the People

HIST 1421-01 Greek and Roman Civilization - AY2023-T3

Week 6: Learning Journal

Slavery in Rome and Greece

The slaves were an important part of ancient society throughout history. Greece and Rome also had slave classes embedded in their society and civilization. The way they treated their slaves had some significant similarities and differences between them. In my opinion, the life of a Greek slave was said to be parallel to that of a Roman slave. Let us explore how the Roman and Greek slaves were treated and what rights they were given.

The Greek slaves were either born from slave parents, or war captives, which was the same case as the Roman slaves. Slaves were also obtained from piracy, or trading through

Both the Romans and Greeks perceived the slaves as a part of their property, not specifically as human beings. Slaves could serve many roles, such as in the agriculture, mines, military, manufacturing and other economic sectors (Cartwright, 2013). Some wealthy Roman families even appointed slaves to tutor their children. According to Cartwright (2013), slaves in Rome were considered the lowest class of society, and they had no right to create families of their own, or could own any property. The only way Roman slaves and Greek slaves could be freed was through the process of buying themselves, or if their owners decided to free them. The agricultural slaves in Rome were said to be the worst as they were often kept in chains (Cartwright, 2013). In Greece, especially in Athens, slaves were treated more nicely and could enjoy freedom to a certain degree compared to other city

They could not even choose their own husband. All of their rights were in the hands of their fathers or husbands. They had to marry at around 13 or 14, and their main duty was to bear children. However, they played an important role in managing household activities and the upbringing of their children, including education. Despite these similarities, Greek girls could not go to school and had proper education, while some Roman girls went to primary schools, and girls from wealthy families even had private tutors at home. Therefore, we can assume that Roman women received more education than Greek women did. Moreover, Roman women were allowed to own land, property, have a job or do business and could inherit alongside any male heir (UNRV Roman History, n.d.) unlike the women of Greece, who had no right to own any property, or inherit. Female babies were sometimes abandoned at birth because their parents prefer male offspring more(Cartwright,2016). On the other hand, there were no misogynistic preferences for sons in Rome, and Roman parents would proudly present their daughters to visitors as with their sons (UNRV Roman History, n.d.). These are the reasons why I think Roman women were more active in society than the women of