Susan Treggiari

Jobs in the Household of Livia

It is a commonplace that slaves in upper-class Roman households of the imperial period were numerous and specialised. The elaborate entourage of the slave civil servant Musicus (5197=EJ 158) implies the far greater luxury of his imperial master, Tiberius. But detailed discussions of Roman domestic arrangements tend to generalise, to take examples from widely separated areas and from any epoch between Augustus and the Severi, and thus to obscure chronological development and class differences. Freedmen in charge of bejewelled gold plate are attested in the imperial house in the Flavian period and later: we cannot infer that they existed before, or in other houses. Conversely, the earliest inscription known to us does not give us the date for the introduction of a post, only a terminus a quo . Some posts are confined to the imperial house. Numbers of slaves and the variety of their functions are dictated by the rank, wealth, family connections, requirements, sex and age of their owner.

Roman social history

This lively and original guidebook is the first to show students new to the subject exactly what Roman social history involves, and how they can study it for themselves. After presenting a short history of the development and current position of the discipline, the author discusses the kinds of evidence that can be used, and the full range of resources available. Two case-studies provide practical examples of how to approach sources, and what we can learn from them. Clear, concise and accessible, with all text extracts translated into English, this is the ideal introduction to an increasingly popular subject.

The Freedmen of Cicero

The private life of one of the great figures of history, indeed, as a discerning judge has recently put it, ‘perhaps the most civilized man who ever lived, attracts and deserves attention. A considerable, though subordinate, part in the life of a Roman of the upper classes was played by his servants, who ministered to his comfort, supported his dignitas, and were essential agents in his political work. In the case of Cicero these servants are known to us from his letters, while the staffs of other republican magistrates are much less completely revealed. An investigation of his more trusted and important servants, that is his freedmen, should cast light both on Ciceros private character and on the extent to which he relied, in his political and private life, on his subordinates.