Week 5 Blog: Roman Slavery

I thought the article, "Roman Slavery in the Republic," was very interesting and thought provoking. I am reading a book, The Age of American Unreason by Susan Jacoby, and one of the chapters discusses much about the ways slaves were treated in the South on plantations. Marking most notably the fact that slaves were simply considered possessions. A distinct difference between these new Americans and the Romans can be seen by looking at the value that the latter group puts on slaves. If a southern plantation owner died, his slaves were either freed or sold to the next plantation owner. The Romans however, put a much higher value and importance on the slave with regard to the family. So much, as the article explains, that if the roman slave owner died, the slaves were also killed because it was their duty to protect him. If a roman committed suicide, the slaves were killed because they were thought to have not done their duty in helping the owner pursue a happy life. The Southerners saw slaves as merely working tools--not agents to benefit the mental stability of their owners, like the Romans.