Slavery in the Roman Empire

Slavery was the backbone of the Roman Empire’s economy. One-third of the population in Italy and one-fifth of the entire empire’s population were slaves, serving in all areas of Roman life. Slaves were considered a necessity for Roman citizens. They were typically prisoners of war, descendants of slave mothers, or people who had been kidnapped, and they were sold in slave markets. Some public slaves built roads and other public facilities for the empire and served as city clerks and tax collectors. Accountants, doctors, and prostitutes in ancient Rome were often slaves. Slaves had no rights or status and had to do whatever their masters demanded. Escaped slaves could be put to death. If a slave killed their master, all other slaves in the household would be executed.

Some slaves from Greece were well-educated and became “pedagogues” for their master’s children. Children in ancient Rome did not become Roman citizens until they were 16 or 17 years old and had no rights before then. Most children were educated at home. If a family could afford it, boys could also go to school to learn reading, writing, math, rhetoric, and how to be a good Roman citizen. Educated slaves often served as their teachers, and Greek slaves were especially sought after. Once a child became an adult, they had the legal right to take charge of the household, inherit property, and were no longer subject to the discipline of servants. Similarly, once the “way of salvation by faith” came, we received the life of God’s children through faith in Christ and became “sons of God.” The old system of guardianship was then abandoned, and “we are no longer under a guardian” (Galatians 3:23-26).