It seems strange to us that slaves were matched in size and color as carefully as horses were once matched, and that a well-matched pair of boys would bring a much larger sum when sold together than when sold separately.” |+|Ĭategories with related articles in this website:Įarly Ancient Roman History (34 articles) Very high prices were also paid for handsome and accomplished girls. Handsome boys, well trained and educated, sold for as much as $4000. In Rome male slaves varied in value from $100 paid for common laborers in the time of Horace, to $28,000 paid by Marcus Scaurus for an accomplished grammaticus. We are told that Lucullus once sold slaves in his camp at an average price of eighty cents each. There is a famous piece of statuary representing a hopeless Gaul killing his wife and then himself. Captives bought upon the battlefield rarely brought more than nominal prices, because the sale was in a measure forced, and because the dealer was sure to lose a large part of his purchase on the long march to Rome, through disease, fatigue, and, especially, suicide. Much depended upon the times, the supply and demand, the characteristics and accomplishments of the particular slave, and the requirements of the purchaser. The prices of slaves varied as did the prices of other commodities. Vilest of all the dealers were the lenones, who kept and sold women slaves for immoral purposes only. The trade of the mangones, on the other hand, was looked upon as utterly disreputable, but it was very lucrative and great fortunes were often made in it. Private sales and exchanges between citizens without the intervention of a regular dealer were as common as the sales of other property, and no stigma was attached to them. These were not exposed to the gaze of the crowd, but were exhibited only to persons who were likely to purchase. This was the rule in the case of all slaves of unusual value and especially of those with marked personal beauty. The dealer might also offer the slaves at private sale. If no warrant was given by the dealer, a cap (pilleus) was put on the slave’s head at the time of the sale, and the purchaser took all risks. For this reason they were commonly stripped, made to move around, handled freely by the purchaser, and even examined by physicians. “In spite of the guarantee, the purchaser took care to examine the slaves as closely as possible. The chief items in the titulus were the age and nationality of the slave, and his freedom from such common defects as chronic ill-health, especially epilepsy, and tendencies to thievery, running away, and suicide. If the slave had defects not made known in this warrant, the vendor was bound to take him back within six months or make good the loss to the buyer. From his neck hung a scroll (titulus), setting forth his character and serving as a warrant for the purchaser. When bids were to be asked for a slave, he was made to mount a stone or platform, corresponding to the “block” familiar to the readers of our own history. They were offered for sale with their feet whitened with chalk those from the East had their ears bored, a common sign of slavery among oriental peoples. These were under the supervision of the aediles, who appointed the place of the sales and made rules and regulations to govern them. Harold Whetstone Johnston wrote in “The Private Life of the Romans”: “Slave dealers usually offered their wares at public auction sales.
0 kommentar(er)
