Slavery in Ancient Civilizations By: John Leach and Alexandrea Guzzo

1. Slavery in Ancient CivilizationsBy: John Leach and Alexandrea Guzzo Rome Egypt Greece Lesson and Quiz About Slavery in Ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome

2. Ancient Roman Slavery • In the Roman system of slavery, the tasks of slaves, such as farming, businesses, and public buildings all contributed to the wealth of the Roman economy. • Farms: On the farms, slaves produced the food and other materials on which the cities depended. Some of the most important crops produced by slaves were wheat, olives, vines and grapes which were eaten and used for making wine. • Businesses: Not only were the slaves working on the farms and households, they were also involved in business, such as shops and public buildings. In business, the slaves managed the shops for absentee owners. • Public Buildings: Besides working on the farms and businesses, the most famous task performed by slaves in the public buildings was working on the aqueduct systems, roads, and the arenas. Slaves were used to do the actual construction. The aqueducts supplied many Romans with water outlets, including public fountains in the streets from which most people fetched their water. Besides the aqueducts, the slaves also built long bridges and roads which were very important because they were built mainly to allow soldiers to move quickly in war time. Lesson and Quiz About Slavery in Ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome

3. Ancient Egyptian Slavery • Contrary to popular beliefs, there were no slaves in Ancient Egypt such as we know them in the histories of Greece or Rome or in pre-20th century America. • There were serfs, who, compared to our views on "slavery", enjoyed several freedoms, such as that of acquiring property. They were rewarded for their services; they could have families without fearing that the person they worked for would sell their children. Their children could enjoy education and break free of the life of servitude. • The prisoners brought to Egypt during its conquests in Nubia and Asia was put to work in several royal ateliers and workshops, but they could obtain their own freedom or the freedom of their children. It has even happened that descendants of such prisoners attained high ranking positions in the Egyptian government or in the military. Lesson and Quiz About Slavery in Ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome

4. Ancient Greek Slavery • If you were a slave in Ancient Greece, you would have about 250 jobs in one day. If you don’t do your job you would be whipped. The main jobs that slaves were assigned were working in the house, the fields, ship rowers, and police. • In the house, slaves were sometimes called a part of the family. A house slave may even take part in some of the family activities, like sacrifices. Most household slaves were women because men were needed more in the fields. The household slave had many jobs to do, like cleaning the house, keeping the fire going, and more. Usually the master’s wife would follow the slave around and keep giving her jobs to make sure that the slave does not stop doing the job that she was assigned. Lesson and Quiz About Slavery in Ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome

5. Bibliography • http://www.richeast.org/htwm/Greeks/Romans/slavery/slavery2.html • http://www.ancient-egypt.org/index.html • http://histclo.com/act/work/slave/anc/sa-egypt.html • http://library.thinkquest.org/J0112190/slaves.htm Lesson and Quiz About Slavery in Ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome

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