There are two serious slave rebellions in sicily at the end of the second century. They hold out against increasingly large roman armies for a surprisingly long time. Partly this is they accumulate sheer numbers, and they tend to retreat up into the hills where they are difficult to deal with. The big one was t the only one in three or four centuris, was spartacus. There is no sign that theyare launching a war to overthrow slavery. It is about their own situation.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the role of slavery in the Roman world, from its early conquests to the fall of the Western Empire.
The system became so entrenched that no-one appeared to question it, following Aristotle's view that slavery was a natural state. Whole populations could be marched into slavery after military conquests, and the freedom that Roman citizens prized for themselves, even in poverty, was partly defined by how it contrasted with enslavement. Slaves could be killed or tortured with impunity, yet they could be given great responsibility and, once freed, use their contacts to earn fortunes. The relationship between slave and master informed early Christian ideas of how the faithful related to God, informing debate for centuries.
With
Neville Morley
Professor of Classics and Ancient History at the University of Exeter
Ulrike Roth
Senior Lecturer in Ancient History at the University of Edinburgh
And
Myles Lavan
Senior lecturer in Ancient History at the University of St Andrews
Producer: Simon Tillotson.