Micaela Donatio
2/10/15
Prof. Perrone
Spartacus Doc.
Columella: Agricultural Slaves and the Slave Barracks The following document follows Roman writer Columella as he discusses the different types of slaves. Doing so he also offers his own advice on how one should treat their agricultural slaves. This overall document puts emphasis on how slaves need considerable care to create a disciplined workforce. In the introduction it states that the landowners were given many slaves and that they usually worked in units of ten to twelve men. However, with the large amount of them owners wanted to maintain a high level of security over their slaves and that the owners often, “… confined them in barracks at night and when they were not working in the field.” (33). It was “… usual practice for all careful masters to make certain that the slaves in the barracks are inspected, to check that they have been securely chained and that the places for housing them are secure and well guarded.” (34). Columella’s advice with the discipline of the slaves is that, “… As long as they have not misbehaved, I have tended to converse more often with my rural slaves in a more informal and familiar way than with my slaves in the city.” (34). He talks about how they have endless, intense and hard labor and if they don’t misbehave and rebel then they should not be punished. While they were his slaves and performed hard labor on his fields he would “… often arrange to talk with them about any new work …” (34). Columella advised slave owners to treat them with dignity, as little as it may be, and treat them like people. Columella also stated that, “ The master should test the bread and drink issued to the slaves by tasting it himself, and he should also inspect their clothing, gloves and leggings.” (34). Allowing the slaves to be in a safe and civil environment would make for