The Importance Of Prostitution In Roman Slaves

The result for many women and children who were sold into slavery was prostitution. Slaves were allowed to be used sexually by the owner as well as by other slaves. Even individuals who never worked in a brothel their purpose a lot of times was to serve the needs and desires of the free. If a slave did not please their owners, they were considered troublesome. An exponential amount of men even high class men would go to brothels they were very popular. Prostitution was considered a useful job for certain slaves usually ones considered to be very beautiful. Albeit, it more than likely was not the most pleasant job a slave could have to endure. The slave owner did not see anything wrong with allowing the slaves to have sexual relations so if

The majority of slave owners saw their slaves as animals “Varro lists slaves and free workers together with bellowing animals and dumb wagons” so most owners treated their slaves as such. All owners were under a strong obligation to provide the basic necessities such as food, clothing, and shelter but they were under no obligation to provide any luxuries. Slaves were given food rations their diets usually consisted of all the lower-grade bread or the grain the bread was made from along with water, wine, oil, salt, and grapes as well as other fruits. Most slave owners seemed to understand that if the slave was adequately fueled they would work efficiently. Many slaves had to fend for themselves in receiving a wider range of food since their rations would not usually be increased. Domestic slaves from wealthy households, especially the kitchen staff, could take anything the owners did not want; this allowed the slaves to be able to eat all sorts of meat, vegetables, fruits, and desserts. The domestic slave would be housed in a small room called a cell usually used for storage. Most domestics lived under the same roof as their owners. The size as well as the furnishings varied depending on the owner’s resources and the slave’s ability to improve on it. Some were more comfortable and spacious while others were small, cramped areas. Farm slaves could also enjoy nice cells in villas but because of

A slaveholder considered a good slave to be loyal, obedient, diligent, and hardworking. A good slave did what they were told to do with attention and care. A good slave also did not cheat or waste their owner’s resources. This also included not wasting their own time. A slave should follow their master’s orders quickly without backtalk, a slave does not sleep on the job, and he also looks after his master’s interests whether the master is present or not. The slave should have a healthy sense of fear and self-preservation which means that many slaves if they were caught misbehaving in the owner’s eyes were whipped mercilessly. Slave owners considered this to be for the slaves own good. A slave had to do whatever the master said with no exception. If a slave’s master requested, it a slave had to kill their owners as well as themselves usually. Some slaves were even forced to be killed in their master’s place and “still others, like the slave of the orator Marcus Antonius, endured torture but did not inform on their masters.” Some slaves were so loyal they would beg to be tortured for their testimony if it might help their master. A bad slave was considered to not be able to control their bodies; they eat and drink too much as well as being oversexed. They are greedy as well as obstinate and cannot control their tempers. Some were accused of being religious fanatics, superstitious, and altogether