pp. 175 - 182 (8)
p. 176 - Cato on Women
p. 178 - Fear of Slaves
p. 180 - Public Baths
Roman Law
One of Rome's chief
gifts to the Mediterranean world of its day and to succeeding generations was its
development of law. The Twelve Tables of 450 B.C.E. were the first codification of Roman
law and, although inappropriate for later times, were never officially abrogated and were
still memorized by schoolboys in the first century B.C.E. Civil law derived from the
Twelve Tables proved inadequate for later Roman needs, however, and gave way to
corrections and additions by the praetors. Upon taking office, a praetor issued an edict
listing his guidelines for dealing with different kinds of legal cases. The praetors
were knowledgeable in law, but they also relied on Roman jurists—amateur legal
experts—for advice in preparing their edicts. The interpretations of the jurists,
often embodied in the edicts of the praetors, created a body of legal principles.
In 242B.C.E., the
Romans appointed a second praetor who was responsible for suits involving a Roman and a
non-Roman as well as between two non-Romans. The Romans found that although some of their
rules of law could be used in these cases, special rules were often needed. These rules
gave rise to a body of law known as the law of nations, defined by the Romans as
"that part of the law which we apply both to ourselves and to foreigners." In
the late Republic, the influence of Greek philosophy, primarily Stoicism, led the Romans
to develop the idea of the law of nature—or universal divine law
Great progress was
made in the study and codification of the law during the Early Empire. The second and
early third centuries C.E. witnessed the "classical age of Roman law," a period
in which a number of great jurists classified and compiled basic legal principles. Most
jurists emphasized the emperor as the source of law: "What has pleased the emperor
has the force of law."
The Roman Family
At the heart of the
Roman social structure stood the family, headed by the paterfamilias—the dominant
male. The
Fathers arranged
the marriages of their daughters, although there are instances of mothers and daughters
having influence on the choice. In the Republic, women married "with legal
control" passing from father to husband. By the mid-first century B.C.E., the
dominant practice had changed to
"without legal control," which meant that married daughters officially remained
within the father's legal power. Since the fathers of most married women were dead, not
being in the "legal control" of a husband entailed independent property rights
that forceful women could translate into considerable power within the household and
outside it. Traditionally, Roman marriages were intended to be for life, but divorce was
introduced in the third century and became relatively easy to obtain since either party
could initiate it and no one needed to prove the breakdown of the marriage. Divorce
became especially prevalent in the first century B.C.E.—a period of political turmoil—when
marriages were used to cement political alliances.
Some parents in
upper-class families provided education for their daughters. Some had private tutors and
others may have gone to primary schools. But, at the age when boys were entering
secondary schools, girls were pushed into marriage. The legal minimum age was twelve,
although fourteen was a more common age in practice. Although some Roman doctors warned
that pregnancy could be dangerous for young girls, early marriages persisted due to the
desire to benefit from the dowries as soon as possible and the reality of early
mortality. A good example is Tullia, Cicero's beloved daughter. She was married at
sixteen, widowed at twenty-two, remarried one year later, divorced at twenty-eight,
remarried at twenty-nine, and divorced at thirty-three. She died at thirty-four, not
unusual for females in Roman society. By the second century C.E., significant changes
were
Upper-class Roman
women in the Early Empire had considerable freedom and independence. They had acquired the
right to own, inherit, and dispose of property. Wives were not segregated from males in
the home, but were appreciated as enjoyable company and were at the center of household
social life. Upper-class women could attend the races, the theater, and events in the
amphitheater, although in the latter two places they were forced to sit in separate female
sections. Moreover, ladies
Slaves and Their Masters
Although slavery was
a common institution throughout the ancient world, no people possessed more slaves or
relied so much on slave labor as the Romans eventually did. Before the third century
B.C.E., a small Roman farmer might possess one or two slaves who would help farm his few
acres and perform domestic chores. These slaves would most likely be from Italy and be
regarded as part of the family household. Only the very rich would have large numbers of
slaves.
The Roman conquest
of the Mediterranean brought a drastic change in the use of slaves. Large numbers of
foreign slaves were brought back to Italy. During the Republic, Rome's wars were the
chief source of slaves, followed by piracy; the children of slaves also became slaves.
While some Roman generals brought back slaves to be sold to benefit the public treasury,
ambitious generals of the first century, such as Pompey and Caesar, made
The Romans used
slaves in many ways. The rich, of course, owned the most and the best. In the late
Republic, it became a badge of prestige to be attended by many slaves. Greeks were in
much demand as household slaves where they served as tutors, musicians, doctors, and
artists. Many slaves of all nationalities were used as menial household workers, such as
cooks, valets, waiters, cleaners, and
gardeners. Roman businessmen would employ slaves as shop assistants or artisans. Slaves
were also used as farm laborers; in fact, huge gangs of slaves worked the large landed
estates under pitiful conditions. Cato the Elder argued that it was cheaper to work
slaves to death and then replace them than to treat them favorably. In addition, the
roads, aqueducts, and public buildings were constructed by contractors utilizing slave
labor. The total number of slaves is difficult to
It is also
difficult to generalize about the treatment of Roman slaves. There are numerous instances
of humane treatment by masters and situations where slaves even protected their owners
from danger out of gratitude and esteem. But there are also examples of slaves murdering
their owners, causing some Romans to live in unspoken fear of their slaves (see the box on
p. 178). Slaves were also subject to severe punishments, torture, abuse, and hard labor
that drove some to run away or even revolt against their owners. The Romans had stringent
laws against aiding a runaway slave. The murder of a master by a slave might mean the
execution of all the other house' hold slaves. Near the end of the second century B.C.E.,
large-scale slave revolts occurred in Sicily where enormous gangs of slaves were
subjected to horrible working conditions on large landed estates. Slaves were branded,
beaten, fed inadequately, worked in chains, and housed at night in underground prisons. It
took three years (from 135 to 132 B.C.E.) to crush a revolt of 70,000 slaves, and the
great revolt on Sicily (104-101 B.C.E.) involved most of the island and took a Roman army
of 17,000 men to oppress it. The most famous revolt on the Italian peninsula occurred in
73 B.C.E. Led by a Thracian gladiator named Spartacus, the revolt broke out in southern
Italy and involved 70,000 slaves. Spartacus managed to defeat several Roman armies before he was
finally trapped and
The number of
slaves probably peaked in the Early Empire. The defensive imperial policies pursued after
Augustus led to a decline in the supply of slaves from foreign conquest. Manumission
also contributed to the decline in the number of slaves. It had been customary in Rome
for "good masters" to free their slaves, especially well-educated ones or good
workers. While freedmen became Roman citizens, they were not given full rights of
citizenship. They could vote but not run for office.
Imperial Rome
At the center of
the colossal Roman Empire was the ancient city of Rome. Truly a capital city, Rome had
the largest population of any city in the empire. It is estimated that its population
was close to one million by the time of Augustus. For anyone with ambitions, Rome was the
place to be. A magnet to many people, Rome was extremely cosmopolitan. Nationalities
from all over the empire resided there with entire sections inhabited by specific groups,
such as Greeks and Syrians.
Rome was, no doubt,
an overcrowded and noisy city. Because of the congestion, cart and wagon traffic was
banned from the streets during the day. The noise from the resulting vehicular movement at
night often made
An enormous gulf
existed between rich and poor in the city of Rome. While the rich had comfortable villas,
the poor lived in apartment blocks called insulae, which might be six stories high.
Constructed of concrete, they were often poorly built and not infrequently collapsed. The
use of wooden beams in the floors and movable stoves, torches, candles, and lamps within
the rooms for heat and light made the danger of fire a constant companion. Once started,
fires were extremely difficult to put out. The famous conflagration of 64, which Nero was
unjustly accused of starting, devastated a good part of the city. Besides the hazards of
collapse and fire, living conditions were also poor. High rents forced entire families
Fortunately for
these people, Rome boasted public buildings unequaled anywhere in the empire. Its temples,
forae, markets, baths, theaters, triumphal arches, governmental buildings, and
amphitheaters gave parts of the city an appearance of grandeur and magnificence.
In addition to
food, entertainment was provided on a grand scale for the inhabitants of Rome. The poet
Juvenal said of the Roman masses: "But nowadays, with no vote to sell, their motto is
'Couldn't care less.' Time was when their plebiscite elected generals, heads of state,
commanders of legions: but now they've pulled in their horns, there's only two things that
concern them: Bread and Circuses." Public spectacles were provided by the emperor and
other state officials as part of the great festivals—most of them religious in origin—celebrated
by the state. Over one hundred days a year were given over
The Gladiatorial Shows
The gladiatorial
shows were an integral part of Roman society. They took place in amphitheaters, with the
first permanent one having been constructed at Rome in 29 B.C.E. Perhaps the most famous
was the Flavian amphitheater, called the Colosseum, constructed at Rome to seat 50,000
spectators. Amphitheaters were not limited to the city of Rome but were constructed
throughout
Gladiatorial games
were held from dawn to dusk. Contests to the death between trained fighters formed the
central focus of these games. Most gladiators were slaves or condemned criminals, although
some free men lured by the hope of popularity and patronage by wealthy fans participated
voluntarily. They were trained for combat in special gladiatorial schools.
Gladiatorial games
included other forms of entertainment as well. Criminals of all ages and both sexes were
sent into the arena without weapons to face certain death from wild animals who would tear
them to pieces. Numerous kinds of animal contests were also staged: wild beasts against
each other, such as bears against buffalo; staged hunts with men shooting safely from
behind iron bars; and gladiators in the arena with bulls, tigers, and lions. Reportedly,
five thousand beasts were killed in one
These bloodthirsty
spectacles were highly popular with the Roman people. The Roman historian Tacitus said,
"Few indeed are to be found who talk of any other subjects in their homes, and
whenever we enter a classroom, what else is the conversation of the youths." But
the gladiatorial games served a purpose beyond mere entertainment. The aristocratic
statesman Pliny argued that the contests inspired a contempt for pain and death, because
even slaves and criminals displayed a love of praise and desire for victory in the arena.
Most importantly, the gladiatorial games, as well as the other forms of public
entertainment, fulfilled both a political and a social need. Certainly, the games served
to divert the idle masses from any political unrest. It was said of the Emperor Trajan
that he understood that although the distribution of grain and money satisfied the
individual, spectacles were necessary for the "contentment of the masses."
p. 176 - Cato the
Elder on Women
During the Second
Punic War, the Romans enacted the
Livy, The History
of Rome
"If each of us,
citizens, hail determined to assert his rights and dignity as a husband with respect to
his own spouse, we should have less trouble with the sex as a whole; as it is, our
liberty, destroyed at home by female violence, even here in the Forum is crushed and
trodden underfoot, and because we have not kept them individually under control, we
dread them collectively. . . . But from no class is there not the greatest danger if you
permit them meetings and gatherings and secret consultations. ...
"Our ancestors
permitted no women to conduct even personal business without a guardian to intervene in
her behalf; they wished them to be under the control of fathers, brothers, husbands; we
(Heaven help us!) allow them now even to interfere in public affairs, yes, and to visit
the Forum and our informal and formal sessions. What else are they doing now on the
streets and
"If they win
in this, what will they not attempt? Review all the laws with which your forefathers
restrained their license and made them subject to their husbands; even with all these
bonds you can scarcely control them. What of this? If you suffer them to seize these bonds
one by one and wrench themselves free and finally to be placed on a parity with their
husbands, do you think that you will be able to endure them? The moment they begin to be
your equals, they will be your superiors. . . .
"Now they
publicly address other women's husbands, and, what is more serious, they beg for a law and
votes, and from sundry men they get what they ask. In matters affecting yourself, your
property, your children, you, Sir, can be importuned; once the law has ceased to set a
limit to your wife’s expenditures you will never set it yourself. Do not think,
citizens, that the situation which existed before the law was passed will ever return.
..."
p. 178 - The Roman
Fear of Slaves
The lowest stratum of
the Roman population consisted of slaves. They were used extensively in households, at the
court, as artisans in industrial enterprises, as business managers, and in numerous other
ways. Although some historians have argued that slaves were treated more humanely during
the Early Empire, these selections by the Roman historian Tacitus and the Roman statesman
Pliny indicate that slaves still rebelled against their masters because of mistreatment.
Many masters continued to live in fear of their slaves as witnessed by the saying,
"As many enemies as you have slaves."
Tacitus, The Annals
of Imperial Rome
Soon afterwards the
City Prefect, Lucius Pedanius Secundus, was murdered by one of his slaves [61 C.E.].
Either Pedanius had refused to free the murderer after agreeing to a price, or the
slave, in a homosexual infatuation, found competition from his master intolerable. After
the murder, ancient custom required that every slave residing under the same roof must be
executed. But a crowd gathered, eager to save so many innocent lives; and rioting began.
The senate-house was besieged. Inside, there was feeling against excessive severity, but
the majority opposed any change. Among the latter was Gaius Cassius Longinus, who when his
turn came spoke as follows. ...
'An ex-consul has
been deliberately murdered by a slave in his own home. None of his fellow-slaves prevented
or betrayed the murderer, though the senatorial decree threatening the whole household
with execution still stands. Exempt them from the penalty if you like. But then, if the
City Prefect was not important enough to be immune, who will be? Who will have enough
slaves to protect him if Pedanius' four hundred were too few? Who can rely on his
household's help if
Pliny the Younger
to Acilius
This horrible
affair demands more publicity than a letter—Larcius Macedo, a senator and
ex-praetor, has fallen a victim to his own slaves. Admittedly he was a cruel and
overbearing master, too ready to forget that his father had been a slave, or perhaps too
keenly conscious of it. He was taking a bath in his house at Formiae when suddenly he
found himself surrounded; one slave seized him by the throat while the others struck his
face and hit him in the chest and stomach and—shocking to say—in his private
parts. When they thought he was dead they threw him onto the hot pavement, to make sure
he was not still alive. Whether unconscious or feigning to be so, he lay there motionless,
thus making them believe that he was quite dead. Only then was he carried out, as if he
had fainted with the heat, and received by his slaves who had remained faithful, while his
concubines ran up, screaming frantically. Roused by their cries and revived by the
cooler air he opened his eyes and made some movement to show that he was alive, it being
now safe to do so. The guilty slaves fled, but most of them have been arrested and a
search is being made for the others. Macedo was brought back to life with difficulty, but
only for a few days; at least he died with the satisfaction of having revenged himself,
for he lived to see the same punishment meted out as for murder. There you see the
dangers, outrages, and insults to which we are exposed. No master can feel safe because he
is kind and considerate; for it is their brutality, not their reasoning capacity, which
leads slaves to murder masters.
p. 180 - The Public
Baths of the Roman Empire
The public baths in
Rome and other cities played an important role in urban life. Introduced to Rome in the
second century B.C.E. as a result of Greek influence, the number of public baths grew at a
rapid pace in the Early Empire as the emperors contributed funds for their construction.
The public baths were especially noisy near the end of the afternoon when Romans stopped
in after work to use the baths before dinner. The following description is by Lucian, a
traveling lecturer who lived in the second century and wrote satirical dialogues in Greek.
This selection is taken from Hippias, or the Bath.
Lucian, Hippias or
the Bath
The building suits
the magnitude of the site, accords well with the accepted idea of such an establishment,
and shows regard for the principles of lighting. The entrance is high, with a flight of
broad steps of which the tread is greater than the pitch, to make them easy to ascend. On
entering, one is received into a public hall of good size, with ample accommodations for
servants and attendants. On the left are the lounging rooms, also of just the right sort
for a bath, attractive, brightly lighted retreats. Then, besides them, a hall, larger than
need be for the purposes of a bath, but necessary for the reception of richer persons.
Next, capacious locker rooms to undress in, on each side, with a very high and brilliantly lighted hall
between them, in which are three swimming pools of cold water; it is finished in Laconian
marble, and has two statues of white marble in the ancient style.. ..
On leaving this
hall, you come into another which is slightly warmed instead of meeting you at once with
fierce heat; it is oblong, and has an apse on each side. Next to it, on the right, is a
very bright hall, nicely fitted up for massage. . . .Then near this is another hall, the
most beautiful in the world, in which one can stand or sit with comfort, linger without
danger, and stroll about with profit. It also is refulgent with Phrygian marble clear to
the roof. Next comes the hot corridor, faced with Numidian marble. The hall beyond it is
very beautiful, full of abundant light and aglow with color like that of purple hangings.
It contains three hot tubs.