Slaves ‘a necessity’
Noel Lenski, an associate professor of classics at CU and recent Guggenheim Fellowship recipient, notes the long history of slavery and the fact that ancient economies were built with the sweat of slaves. “The glory of Greece and the grandeur of Rome would not have been possible without slaves and slave labor,” Lenski says.
But slave-holding was not unique to Greek or Roman antiquity, he observes. “That should give moderns some pause, that slavery was so prevalent in Western culture, and really in world culture.”
We shouldn’t assume that slavery is a thing of the past, he adds. Like drugs, alcohol abuse and gambling, slavery seems to be a human tendency, Lenski says. Modern slaveholders know that slaveholding is seen as depraved. But “the ancients saw slavery not as a vice, necessarily. They saw it as a necessity,” Lenski says.
Lenski became interested in slavery during a graduate course at Princeton University. Slaves are always in the background of ancient material, but slaveholders often captivate scholars’ attention. “That class made me realize how important slaves were.”
Slaveholders through history have justified their actions as beneficial to slaves, Lenski observes. “They wanted to believe they were providing these wretched people with food and shelter.”
Ultimately, the 19th century abolitionist movement made it socially unacceptable to hold slaves. That movement was based in two separate intellectual traditions. One was the Enlightenment, which held that individuals had certain inalienable rights. The other tradition was Christianity, “which in many ways was antithetical to the Enlightenment,” Lenski notes.
“Most abolitionists were hard-core Bible-thumpers, essentially,” he adds.
But given the rise of Christianity in Rome, why didn’t the religion generate abolitionists much earlier? It might have, had it not been for the collapse of the Roman Empire and the invasion of the barbarians, who brought a new enthusiasm for slave-holding with them.
By the fourth century A.D., Lenski notes, some Christian writers were expressing discomfort with the idea of “owning” a being created in the likeness of God. Meanwhile, the Roman legal system reflected a discomfort with slavery, especially with some of its worst elements, such as sexual slavery.
The nascent move against slavery faltered after the barbarians overran Roman territory and introduced new slave-holding practices. Germanic people were “very comfortable holding slaves,” and many Islamic people were comfortable holding slaves until the 1980s, Lenski notes.
In the West, slavery was replaced with fiefdoms during the Middle Ages. People were still property, but they belonged to the land. “Very quickly, the Christian establishment got on board with slaveholding,” Lenski says. “Christian sources were defending slavery as part of God’s plan.”
Those authorities cited the story of Noah’s son Ham, whose children were condemned to be slaves forever. That became the biblical justification for the enslavement of Africans, based on the mistranslation of the word in Hebrew for Ham, as “black.”
Lenski is an authority on slavery, having devoted much of his academic career to the study of it. Lenski is writing a book on slavery in Late Antiquity which he says will chart “the fate of this peculiar institution” in the period between roughly A.D. 300 and 600. “Previous studies have tended to posit a decline in slaveholding in this era, whether as a result of economic collapse or of Christianization,” Lenski notes.
“I will argue that there was no such decline, indeed that if anything, the military and political chaos of Late Antiquity led to an increase in the practice of slavery.”
This year, Lenski won a prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship, which will help him complete this work. Lenski is the 76th CU-Boulder faculty member in 60 years to receive this honor.
Lenski notes that slavery isn’t universal in all cultures but does occur throughout the world. “There is no easy explanation of why some cultures favor slaveholding and others don’t,” he adds.
At the same time, two elements are common in slave-holding cultures: imperialism and certain modes of production, such as pastoralism. A recent study argues that pastoralism—sheep-, goat- and cattle-rearing—can be statistically correlated with slaveholding.
Nonetheless, slavery has existed even in the absence of imperialism or pastoralism. Roman culture had slaves before Rome became an imperial power. Imperialist expansion did, however, yield many war captives, which boosted the number of prospective slaves.
To the Romans, Lenski notes, slaves were even considered fortunate people; they were those saved in battle. The Latin word for slaves, “servus” came from their word “to save (servare)” since slaves were often battle captives who were preserved rather than killed. By this reasoning, slaves were in the Romans’ debt.
Imperialist states claimed the right to exert control over human bodies. “Ultimately, slavery is a matter of the law. … It’s forcing people to comply with your system of law in the most brutal way.”
That’s a key difference between ancient and modern slavery, he adds. “It’s no longer protected by the law.” Now, it’s perpetuated by individual force and generally outside the law.
Debt bondage, a modern form of slavery, is especially prevalent in India. Lenski notes that some might question whether it really is slavery, because the person could theoretically buy her way out of bondage. But, “In practice, it is slavery.”
Even in bondage, however, slaves can influence the dominant society.
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Next: Invisible citizens
But slave-holding was not unique to Greek or Roman antiquity, he observes. “That should give moderns some pause, that slavery was so prevalent in Western culture, and really in world culture.”
We shouldn’t assume that slavery is a thing of the past, he adds. Like drugs, alcohol abuse and gambling, slavery seems to be a human tendency, Lenski says. Modern slaveholders know that slaveholding is seen as depraved. But “the ancients saw slavery not as a vice, necessarily. They saw it as a necessity,” Lenski says.
Associate Professor of Classics Noel Lenski
Lenski became interested in slavery during a graduate course at Princeton University. Slaves are always in the background of ancient material, but slaveholders often captivate scholars’ attention. “That class made me realize how important slaves were.”
Slaveholders through history have justified their actions as beneficial to slaves, Lenski observes. “They wanted to believe they were providing these wretched people with food and shelter.”
Ultimately, the 19th century abolitionist movement made it socially unacceptable to hold slaves. That movement was based in two separate intellectual traditions. One was the Enlightenment, which held that individuals had certain inalienable rights. The other tradition was Christianity, “which in many ways was antithetical to the Enlightenment,” Lenski notes.
“Most abolitionists were hard-core Bible-thumpers, essentially,” he adds.
But given the rise of Christianity in Rome, why didn’t the religion generate abolitionists much earlier? It might have, had it not been for the collapse of the Roman Empire and the invasion of the barbarians, who brought a new enthusiasm for slave-holding with them.
By the fourth century A.D., Lenski notes, some Christian writers were expressing discomfort with the idea of “owning” a being created in the likeness of God. Meanwhile, the Roman legal system reflected a discomfort with slavery, especially with some of its worst elements, such as sexual slavery.
The nascent move against slavery faltered after the barbarians overran Roman territory and introduced new slave-holding practices. Germanic people were “very comfortable holding slaves,” and many Islamic people were comfortable holding slaves until the 1980s, Lenski notes.
In the West, slavery was replaced with fiefdoms during the Middle Ages. People were still property, but they belonged to the land. “Very quickly, the Christian establishment got on board with slaveholding,” Lenski says. “Christian sources were defending slavery as part of God’s plan.”
Those authorities cited the story of Noah’s son Ham, whose children were condemned to be slaves forever. That became the biblical justification for the enslavement of Africans, based on the mistranslation of the word in Hebrew for Ham, as “black.”
Lenski is an authority on slavery, having devoted much of his academic career to the study of it. Lenski is writing a book on slavery in Late Antiquity which he says will chart “the fate of this peculiar institution” in the period between roughly A.D. 300 and 600. “Previous studies have tended to posit a decline in slaveholding in this era, whether as a result of economic collapse or of Christianization,” Lenski notes.
“I will argue that there was no such decline, indeed that if anything, the military and political chaos of Late Antiquity led to an increase in the practice of slavery.”
This year, Lenski won a prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship, which will help him complete this work. Lenski is the 76th CU-Boulder faculty member in 60 years to receive this honor.
Lenski notes that slavery isn’t universal in all cultures but does occur throughout the world. “There is no easy explanation of why some cultures favor slaveholding and others don’t,” he adds.
At the same time, two elements are common in slave-holding cultures: imperialism and certain modes of production, such as pastoralism. A recent study argues that pastoralism—sheep-, goat- and cattle-rearing—can be statistically correlated with slaveholding.
Nonetheless, slavery has existed even in the absence of imperialism or pastoralism. Roman culture had slaves before Rome became an imperial power. Imperialist expansion did, however, yield many war captives, which boosted the number of prospective slaves.
To the Romans, Lenski notes, slaves were even considered fortunate people; they were those saved in battle. The Latin word for slaves, “servus” came from their word “to save (servare)” since slaves were often battle captives who were preserved rather than killed. By this reasoning, slaves were in the Romans’ debt.
Imperialist states claimed the right to exert control over human bodies. “Ultimately, slavery is a matter of the law. … It’s forcing people to comply with your system of law in the most brutal way.”
That’s a key difference between ancient and modern slavery, he adds. “It’s no longer protected by the law.” Now, it’s perpetuated by individual force and generally outside the law.
Debt bondage, a modern form of slavery, is especially prevalent in India. Lenski notes that some might question whether it really is slavery, because the person could theoretically buy her way out of bondage. But, “In practice, it is slavery.”
Even in bondage, however, slaves can influence the dominant society.
Previous: Introduction
Next: Invisible citizens