Roman Slavery
The practice of slavery dates back to the Bronze Age. Slaves in Rome were slightly better off than the slaves in Greece, in the sense tat they could buy back their own freedom.
In ancient Greece, a domestic slave was a ktema empsychon, meaning a piece of property that breathes.
Because the Romans considered that 1) the master owned the slave, therefore 2) the slave had to indemnify his master for her loss after the slavery service was over.
The liberation process, called manumission, is done in front of a public official. The ex slave is called a libertus, meaning a freed man.
Due to the hardship, poverty, and disease in the ancient world, being a slave might still be better off than being a free man.
In ancient China, some girls were sold into the brothel, and could only buy back their freedom if they could afford it. The girls were a revenue-generating asset to the brothel, hence to uninstall this piece of asset from service, the asset had to indemnify her owner for his loss.
Freedom is a relative concept. We appear to be freer than humans in antiquity, but we are still very much an object of our society, ie. we don't say what we think, we don't pursue what/who we love, etc.
Liberty. Is this only an ideal?
In ancient Greece, a domestic slave was a ktema empsychon, meaning a piece of property that breathes.
Because the Romans considered that 1) the master owned the slave, therefore 2) the slave had to indemnify his master for her loss after the slavery service was over.
The liberation process, called manumission, is done in front of a public official. The ex slave is called a libertus, meaning a freed man.
Due to the hardship, poverty, and disease in the ancient world, being a slave might still be better off than being a free man.
In ancient China, some girls were sold into the brothel, and could only buy back their freedom if they could afford it. The girls were a revenue-generating asset to the brothel, hence to uninstall this piece of asset from service, the asset had to indemnify her owner for his loss.
Freedom is a relative concept. We appear to be freer than humans in antiquity, but we are still very much an object of our society, ie. we don't say what we think, we don't pursue what/who we love, etc.
Liberty. Is this only an ideal?
Comments