In this travel log, we focus on the travels and life of a slave named Thallus who goes on to participate in the third servile war, led by Spartacus. The travel log begins at the home of Thallus’s master. We observe the day to day hardships which slaves such as Thallus had to endure. The constant conflict between the master and his slave. Slaves made up almost third of the population in Rome and Italy during the four centuries between 200 BCE and 200 CE. Throughout history, millions of men, women, and children have existed in a state of social and legal non-existence, with no legal or social rights. They couldn't buy property, marry, or have legal families because they were non-persons. Their main purpose of roman society was to either provide labor or to raise their owners' social status as evident wealth indicators, or both. While some slaves were handled well, their owners' powers were largely unrestricted, and physical punishment and sexual assault were widespread. In the case of Thallus, being whipped and treated harshly in general was a daily occurrence and was seen as a norm in roman society.
There was nothing much slaves such as Thallus could do in defense other than escaping, which was almost punishable by death if you were to be caught. Moreover, a Roman slave's life was made hellish if he or she ended up working in agriculture, mines, or quarries. Agricultural slaves were usually held in chains in an ergastulum, or cage, and worked to death. The majority of rebellions were led by farm slaves for this cause. From 73 to 71 B.C.E, agricultural slaves from southern Italy made up the majority of Spartacus' armies in the largest slave rebellion of all time. His rebel army must have numbered anywhere between 70,000 and 120,000 men. Slaves in the mines had such deplorable living and working conditions that they lacked the capacity to rebel.
Comentários