Review

Reviewed Work(s): Slavery and Society at Rome by Keith Bradley

Review by: Walter Scheidel
Source: Phoenix , Summer, 1996, Vol. 50, No. 2 (Summer, 1996), pp. 174-176
Published by: Classical Association of Canada

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/1192710

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174 PHOENIX

Chapters
Chapters2 and 3 on
2 the
andHellenistic
3 on andthe
the Roman
Hellenistic
Athenian bronzeand
coins (24-165)
the Roman
are
arethe the
core of core
the book.of
Six periods
the are book.
distinguished,
Six periods
mid-fourth to are
mid-third
distinguished,
century
B.C.,
B.C.,229-ca229-ca
183, ca 160s-87/6,
183,86-10s,
ca 160s-87/6,
120s to ca 175, 260s.86-10s,
Newfindings 120s
and hypotheses
to ca 175,
are
arepresented
presented
for all six, based
for on over
all twenty
six, years based of study
onbyover
three successive
twenty Agora years o
Numismatists,
Numismatists, Kroll, F. S. Kleiner
Kroll,(vii, 67,
F. et alibi),
S. Kleiner
and Walker. Of
(vii,
particular
67,interest
et alibi),
is and
the
the enormous
enormous
output of theoutput
last period, which
of the exhausted
lastca 800
period,
dies during the
which
middle exhau
260s,
260s,in thein
facethe
of the face
Herulian of
invasion
the (117,Herulian
with Table 9). invasion (117, with Ta
Further
Furtherevidenceevidence
and study may naturally
and study lead to revisions,
mayfor naturally
example in the lead t
interpretation
interpretation of denominations.
of Kroll
denominations.
sees five in the pre-RomanKroll
periods sees
(38): AE1,
five
an in th
eight-chalkous
eight-chalkouscoin worth 1 silver
coin obol;
worth
AE2, a four-chalkous
1 silver coin;obol;
AE3, a dichalkion;
AE2, AE4, a four-cha
aachalkous;
chalkous;
and AE5, a and
half-chalkous
AE5, coin.
a The
half-chalkous
weights of contemporary
coin.
issues do
Thenot always
weights of
support
supportthis scheme.
this No doubt
scheme.
weight is No
not everything,
doubt particularly
weight with
isbase-metal
not everything,
token
coinage.
coinage.The current
The fad current
for gilt, as in the
fadUnited
forKingdom
gilt,
pound
ascoin
in andthe
the Canadian
United Kin
"loonie,"
"loonie,"helps suggest
helpshow irrational
suggest we may
howbe-of course,
irrational
we feel, a token
we should
may not be-of c
have
havereal bullion
realvalue,
bullion
but of course
value,
it should
butseem of
valuable.
course
But Athenian
it should
irrationality seem va
may
may proveprove
more complex
moreand more
complex
changeable than
and
has yet
more
fully been
changeable
seen. than has
In
InPeriod
Period
2 (cf. Table
2 2),
(cf.
Kroll Table
has three groups
2), Kroll
of AE1 (64,
has66, 68)
three
with average
groups o
weights
weights of five or
of more
five
better-preserved
or more specimens
better-preserved
that themselves average 9.06
specimens
g., some th
AE2
AE2 and AE3,
and andAE3,
four groups
and of AE4
four
(71, 75,groups
81, 85) the averages
of AE4 of which
(71,average
75, 81, 85
1.72
1.72g. The
g.ratio
Theseemsratio
not 8:1 but
seems
perhaps 6:1.
not Kroll8:1
suggests
but because
perhaps
of the obverse
6:1.typeKroll su
that
thatthe AE1
thewereAE1
issued as
were
the equivalent
issued not ofasobols
thebut of
equivalent
triobols (49). May they
notnotof obols
rather
ratherhave been
have
three-quarter
beenobols,three-quarter
six chalkoi, with three-obol
obols, types six
and perhaps
chalkoi,
with with
nominally
nominallytwelve-obol
twelve-obol
weights (for a grossly
weights
inflated or token
(forratioaofgrossly
bronze to silver
inflated
of o
16:1)?
16:1)?Other Other
such questions
such
may bequestions
asked. may be asked.
Chapter
Chapter4, "Non-Athenian
4, "Non-Athenian
Coins" (166-290), catalogues
Coins"
2,197 specimens
(166-290),
from a widecatalogu
range
rangeof places
ofand
places
from all periods
and up from
to the beginning
all periods
of the fourth
upcentury
to the
A.D.; the
beginnin
better-represented
better-representedmints are naturally
mints
those of some
areimmediate
naturally
neighbours-Megara,
those the of some i
Boiotian
BoiotianLeague, Chalkis,
League, Corinth
Chalkis,
(but not Aigina)-and
Corinthof Macedon,
(but
particularly
not issues
Aigina)-an
of
ofAntigonos
Antigonos
Gonatas (166).Gonatas
There are two (166).
Appendices,There
a List of Deposits,
are two nine Tables,
Appendice
two
twoConcordances,
Concordances,
and two Indexes, and
of which
two
the second
Indexes,
has five sub-divisions
of which (291-376).
the secon
The
Theplates
plates
are excellent,
are andexcellent,
not least the last plate
and of not
coins (34),
least
which the
by illustrating
last plate o
most
mostof theof
obverses
the of obverses
a deposit shows how
of illegible
a deposit
bronze excavation
shows coinshow
normally
illegible
are b
and
andso helps
so suggest
helps howsuggest
great the work
how
of recovering
great information
the workfrom them
ofhasrecovering
been.

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO M. B. WALLACE

SLAVERY AND SOCIETY AT ROME. By KEITH BRADLEY

Press. 1994. Pp. xiv, 202.

IN HIS THIRD AND MOST GENERAL BOOK ON SLAVERY, Br

what it was like to be a slave in Roman society. In keepi
Key Themes in Ancient History series, he provides a high
to a minimum, and readers are referred to his earlier w
he only touches upon.l After introducing us to the divers

1 K R. Bradley, Slaves and Masters in the Roman Empire: A

= Oxford 1987); id, Slavery and Rebellion in the Roman World

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 BOOK REVIEWS/COMPTES RENDUS 175

the problems and the potential of ancient and comparative sources (1-9), he dem
why and in what respects Rome of the "central period" (ca 200 B.C. to ca A.D. 20
defined as a "slave society" (10-30).
In the chapter on the Roman slave supply he argues for the importance
natural reproduction prior to the Principate and of wartime enslavement after the R
operating in conjunction with a steady independent slave trade drawing on sour
within and outside the empire (31-56).2 In this, Bradley highlights often
facets of the slave supply such as the sexual dimension of slave breeding and
the grim reality of the slave market, of what it must have meant to be moved,
and sold like any other merchandise. The section on slave labour (57-80)
an overview, admirably rich and nuanced despite its briefness, not only of t
activities but also of how they and their work could be appreciated by them
by their masters. Bradley then considers the quality of life of the unfree (
paying special attention to their provisioning with food and cothes, and offers
of the novel Daphnis and Chloe as a text meant to capture the anxiety of slav
face of an absentee master's visit (102-105). In "Resisting Slavery" (107-131),
focuses on the day-to-day dealings with a truly troublesome property, again
comparative evidence in his interpretation of the recurrent complaints of th
as powerful testimony of the striving of slaves to assert themselves through
refusal to cooperate: a particular moral economy made what seemed to the ow
sloth and petty crimes an expediency or necessity for the slaves. Bradley also c
on the concerns of the masters for their own safety, which in a way comp
the apprehensions of the slaves discussed in the previous section, and on the
runaways. Under the heading of "Change and Continuity" (132-153), Bradley
in my view-by and large discounts the idea of a mitigating influence of eith
philosophy (Stoicism) or Christianity on the lot of the bulk of slaves, thereb
the occasional moralising sentiment and the early church's encouraging of subm
into the proper perspective. (Comparative evidence from the Americas, miss
this chapter, could again have provided illuminating parallels.) He subsequently t
manumission and reveals the gulf between the Roman and a modern underst
"humanity" with reference to judicial savagery directed at slaves (154-173).3 Sca
writings of the former slave Epictetus for fragments of an authentic vision of
Bradley poses once more the question of what it was like to be a slave of th
and forcefully argues the significance of a full appraisal of this category of
human beings for our understanding of Roman society as a whole (174-182).
bibliographical essay aimed at undergraduate students and a "bibliography-lite"
the book.4

2As I will show elsewhere, however, there can be no doubt that during the early empire, natural
reproduction was several times as important as all other sources of slaves combined.
3 Bradley's summing up of these last two chapters is straightforward and compelling: 'To assume
and to look for progress of a modern liberalising kind in the history of slavery at Rome is, therefore, to
indulge in anachronism. The mentality of the Romans concerning slavery was a steady-state mentality,
dependent upon deeply entrenched and unchangeable views of a social hierarchy that was impervious
to change" (173).
4 Reference might have been made to the riches of J. C. Miller, Slavery and Slaving in World
History: A Bibliography 1900-1991 (Millwood, N.Y. 1993; 10,344 entries including antiquity), or that
work's predecessor of 1985.

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176 PHOENIX

Constraints of space prevent an adequate discussion of a study so limited in size and

yet so wide in scope and rich in detail; for that, readers may be referred to the much
more extensive and generally very favourable review by W. H. Owens in BMCR 6 (1995)
675-681, with whom I find myself in broad agreement. One salient feature that needs
emphasizing is Bradley's exemplary handling of the evidence. Exploiting a wide variety
of sources encompassing historical and legal writings, poetry, novels, and mantic texts, he
seems able to produce the most striking passage to illustrate his every point and repeatedly
traces consistent trends and motifs in diverse bits of source material. Comparative evidence
from more recent slave systems is skilfully introduced to bridge over the more glaring gaps
in the ancient documentation. It deserves attention that Bradley puts greater weight on the
material from Brazil (with particular emphasis on one study of slavery in a modern city that
in this respect may well come as dose to imperial Rome as we can hope for, M. C. Karasch,
Slave Life in Rio de Janeiro 1808-1850 [Princeton 1987], cited twenty times) than on the
overwhelming body of evidence from North America, a preference justified by differences
between these two systems in the frequency of manumission, the relative importance of
urban life, and the impact of racism. One might regret, however, that further comparative
appraisals fell a victim to the rigid word count of the publisher. Without any doubt there is
room for more explicitly comparative studies of ancient and modern slavery,5 Bradley-as
in his earlier Slavery and Rebellion-again shows the way and would be superbly equipped
to expand this approach in future contributions.
This is an excellent introduction to Roman slavery and the best textbook-style work on
the subject currently available. Obtaining the rights for translations into other languages
should be high on the agenda of attentive academic publishers worldwide.

DARWIN COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE WALTER SCHEIDEL

5These have been rare and are often not readily accessible: e.g., A. Loria, "Die Sclavenw
modemen Amerika und im europiischen Alterthume," Zeitschriftfar Social- und Wirtscha
4 (1896) 67-118; L. Oppenheim, 'The Law of Slaves: A Comparative Study of the
Louisiana Systems," TulaneLaw Review 14 (1940) 384-406; C. A. Yeo, 'The Developme
and American Slavery," Finanzarchiv 13 (1951/52) 445-485, and id., "The Rise of Pl
Ancient Italy and Modem America," CJ 51 (1955) 391-395; R. Martin, "Du Nouve
monde antique: quelques problemes d'esclavage rural," Ktema 5 (1980) 161-175; J. E.
"Betragtninger over Paul Noerlund, E. D. Genovese og Moses I. Finley," in Slaveri o
i et komparativt perspektiv (Trondheim 1983) 19-31; J. Annequin, "Comparatisme/c
Ressemblances et hdtdrogndite des formes d'exploitation excavagistes," DHA (1985) 6
Cartledge, "Rebels and 'Sambos' in Classical Greece: A Comparative View," in id. and
(eds.), Crux (London 1985) 16-46; B. A. Crouch, "'Booty Capitalism' and Capitalism's B
and Slavery in Ancient Rome and the American South," Slavery andAbolition 6 (198
Austen, "How Unique is the New World Plantation?," in S. Daget (ed.), Dc la trai
(Nantes and Paris 1988) 1.55-71; I. Biezunska Malowist and M. Malowist, "L'Esclav
et moderne: Les Possibilites de recherches comparees," in M.-M. Mactoux and E.
MElanges LEv*que 2: Anthropoligie et socite (Paris 1989) 17-31; I. Weiler, "Schenk de
Freiheit, mein Sohn ...," in H. Ebner et al. (eds.), Geschichtsforschung in Graz (Graz
J. R. LeBlanc, "The Context of Manumission: Imperial Rome and Antebellum Alabam
Review 46 (1993) 266-287; V. J. Rosivach, "Agricultural Slavery in the Northern Co
Classical Athens: Some Comparisons," CSSH 35 (1993) 551-567; W. Scheidel, "Re
the Differential Valuation of Slaves in Diocletian's Price Edict and in the United St
(forthcoming).

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