Welcome! Here you will find all the necessary instructions for our next class assignment. The assignment will be based on what you learn from reading this passage, so be sure to pay close attention as you move along.

1.)INSCRIPTIONS: Below you will find the inscriptions from three tombstones of Ancient Roman slaves. Read each inscription and think about the questions asked. You may want to take notes to help keep track of your thoughts.

Inscription #1

ILS 7479; Philippi, Macedonia (North of Greece)

Vitalis, Gaius Lavius Faustus' slave and also his son, born a slave in the house, is buried here.  He lived 16 years, a clerk for the Aprian Shop, accepted by the people, by the gods taken away.  Please, travelers, if I ever gave you  less than a full measure of food or wine to add that much more to my father, forgive me.  Please, by the gods above and below, accept the care for the best interests of my father and mother.  Farewell.

  • Who is being spoken of in this inscription? [HINT: focus on line 1]
  • For how long did this person live? What did he do during his life?
  • Did the person spoken of seem to have ever been free in his life? How would you feel if you were him? What do you imagine his life was like?

NOTES:

  1. Romans were married at a very young age (from about 14 - 17 yrs of age), it is therefore quite possible that in Ancient Rome a 16 year old could have had a son.

Inscription #2

ILS 1831; Rome

To the departed spirits.  To Titus Flavius Ganymedes, freedman of Augustus, paedagogus of the slave-boys of our Caesar, this monument was made by Ulpia Helpis, for her excellent and well-deserving husband, and for her own freedmen and freedwomen.

  • Who made this tombstone?
  • Why would they have made it for their slaves?
  • What does this say about their relationship with their slaves? Was it a good or a bad one?

NOTES:

  1. Freedman/Freedwoman: This was the term the Romans used when referring to someone who had purchased their own freedom.
  2. Pedagogus: Roman word for a private family tutor; Slaves with an education often did this for work.

Inscription # 3

ILS 1980; Ravenna, Italy (Northern Italy)

Gaius Julius Mygdonius, by descent a Parthian, born free, captured in my youth, given over to be sold as a slave in the land of the Romans.  When I was made a Roman citizen with the help of fate, I got together a money-chest for the time when I would be 50 years old.  My ambition since a young man was to reach my old age.  Now receive me gladly, tombstone.  With you I will be free from trouble.

  • Who is speaking in this inscription?
  • What did he do in his life?
  • How did he seem to feel about being a slave? Did he like it or not? What makes you think that?

NOTES:

  1. Parthian: A person from Parthia, located in what is now Iraq. To see where Iraq is click here and type in "Iraq."

3. IMAGES: Below you will find some depictions of slaves in Ancient Roman civilization. Look at each object posted below and read more about what they are through the provided links. As you explore each of these objects, think about what they tell you about how slaves lived. As above, you may want to take notes to help keep track of your thoughts.

A Syrian Slave. Read more about this here.

A Slave collar: Some slave would wear these so people would know to whom they belonged. They usually included language such as "If found please return to...."

Gladiators were considered part of the slave class as well. Read more about this by clicking here.

An African Slave boy. Read more details here.

4.ASSIGNMENT: Now that you have had a chance to explore what life was like for Ancient Roman slaves, it is time to imagine what life would be like for a slave. Your assignment is to describe a day in the life of any one of the slaves mentioned above. Feel free to include in your descrition any of the objects you looked at as well. You may describe a day in the life of a slave through one of two ways:

1.) A journal entry

OR

2.) A picture or cartoon strip