Ancient women and
freedom
Human trafficking, according to a recent study, generates
about $31.6 billion in revenue for traffickers all over the world. Never mind
that it is a crime. And never mind that the victims of human trafficking are
subjected to various kinds of abuse.
When we read studies on human trafficking it is easy to
forget that in many parts of the ancient world trafficking was legal and even
encouraged by the authorities. In ancient Rome, for example, taxes had to be
paid on the sale of a slave. And the many wars fought by the Romans led to the
enslavement of countless human beings.
Lacking diaries written by slaves, female or male, in the
ancient world, it is difficult to know exactly how they felt about being
enslaved and abused. But we know that many of them didn’t simply accept their
fate: they ran away. They could also use other forms of resistance, such as
poisoning a master or using magic; whether this last form was effective is
anybody’s guess.
In most of my historical fiction novels I have included
strong female slaves who resist slavery and/or abuse in subtle or overt ways. My
most recently-published book (Kindle) is Selene
and Pompey’s Son: A Novel of Caesar’s Civil Wars. You may also want to read
The Roman Misogynist and Kyrene’s Amulet, also available as an
e-book.
