WEEK THREE

BECOMING A SLAVE

Sources: Wiedemann Sourcebook chs. 2 and 6; Augustine, Letters 10* and 24* (in library under Classics LE 52); Jerome, Life of Malchus (in library under Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers 2^nd series vol. 6 [Ancient History Quartos X 65 Nic] or Penguin Classics Early Christian Lives [Ancient History X 65 Whi] or on-line at www.roman-empire.co.uk)

NOTE: There will be discussion in class on Jerome’s Life of Malchus to which all are expected to be able to contribute

Questions to think about:

What are the different ways in which someone can become a slave? In what ways do these vary in importance over antiquity? What are the different ways in which someone can acquire a slave? Why might someone acquire a slave? What do we know of slave prices? From where do slaves originate? What do we know of the mechanics of the slave trade itself?

What problems are caused for historians by ancient statistics or lack of them relating to population size in general and slave numbers in particular? Does it matter? How far can modern demographic ideas be utilized to investigate ancient slavery? What are the crucial issues at stake?

Bibliography: Bradley 1994 ch. 3; Garlan in Finley 1987 and Gabrielson 2003 (on piracy); Braund 1989; Finley 1981 ch. 11; Bradley in Finley 1987; Pritchett 1991, III.2 and VI.3; Thompson 2002 ch. 1;

For the Roman law of slave status and buying/selling slaves, see Buckland 1908 chs. 2-3, 17-18; more briefly in Watson 1987; Rodger 2007; on slave sale rules, see Hughes 2006 and Cloud 2007

Slave trade/traders: Bodel 2005 and Fentress 2005; Bosworth 2002

For demography in general, see introduction by Parkin 1992, but now especially Scheidel 2001 ch. 1.

For current discussion of slave demography, see contrasting pair of articles by Scheidel 1997 and Harris 1999 (also Harris 1980; 1994) and see now Scheidel 2005a and 2007; also the view of Jongman 2003

On Italian population, see Brunt 1971 (note list of census figures pp. 13-14 and App. 7), Lo Cascio (1994) 23-40; Morley 2001; Scheidel 2004 and 2005

On Helot demography: see Figueira (2003) and Scheidel (2003) in Luraghi and Alcock 2003

On the Aegina slave figures, see suggestion by Sekunda (2002)

On slave prices, see Scheidel 1996 [in teaching collection] and 2005b; Duncan-Jones 1982 App. 10; for ransom prices, see Pritchett 1991, III.3