Roman Slaves

Roman slavery in ancient times was vital to both the economy and society, for they were apart of nearly every aspect of life, serving anyone on the social hierarchy. Many slaves, in antiquity, were prisoners of war, children that were abandoned or criminals. Of course criminals would have the worst fate, forced to work in mines and not expected to live long lives there. There has been centuries of controversy over the treatment of slaves with many for, and many against the harsh treatment of salves. In ancient Roman times it can be argued that harsh punishment was a necessity to be able to control the growing slave population. The slaves needed to be broken to understand who is in authority since many were prisoners of war, slaves were known to be lazy and since fear was a natural part of life it was therefore a useful tactic to gain control. Mos maiorum is the tradition of the ancestors of Rome, slaves had been around for hundreds of years before and therefore the treatment of slaves was traditional and a natural way of life.
The slaves of ancient Rome were unpredictable and dangerous which made their masters feel the need to punish and beat them in order to trust them within their household. On regular occurrences, when slaves were made to testify they would only be trusted if their testimony was taken under torture. (Slavery as a Social Institution, T. Wiedemann, 23) These slaves were once Roman enemies, a known metaphor in Rome was, “…you have as many enemies as you have slaves.” (Seneca, Letter, 46) This metaphor signifies the number of prisoners of war in ones household. They were once attempting to take Rome and kill Romans, what is to stop them from doing the same within a household in Rome. Through harsh treatment, the master can intimidate these soldiers of war with the fear of being beaten, being executed or sold away from family they might have made, giving the slaves the incentive to perform the tasks they wish and to keep their mouths shut and do...