employment and labor: Rome ROME BY KIRK H BEETZ Not much is known about employment and labor during the era of Rome’s first kings (ca 753–ca 510 b.c.e.) By the reign of Tullus Hostilius (r 673–642 b.c.e.) Rome seems to have developed an aristocracy, the patricians, and commoners, the plebeians A key moment in the history of labor in Rome occurred during the reign of Tarquinius Priscus (r 616–578 b.c.e.), who drained a swamp beside the Tiber River and built Rome’s Forum on it A rectangular open space, the Forum had a marketplace on one side, where farmers and craftspeople could sell their products A basilica, or place of public assembly, was built at one end of the Forum In the basilica laborers could find work During the Roman Republic (509–27 b.c.e.), Rome developed a large class of unemployed people, who gathered along one side of the Forum under a shelter the city provided for them There they collected free food from the government and sometimes found work as unskilled labor Throughout its existence the Roman Empire had a large number of unemployed people, probably because of slavery Slavery affected all aspects of Roman society Slaves served in households as nannies, cooks, and other servants On farms they held every working position, and slaves were often in charge of large farming estates, doing all hiring and firing and directing all tasks for their owners The effect of slaves on Roman society was primarily destructive Among the patricians, they made for lazy owners who were unprepared for leadership or hardship They took jobs that would otherwise have gone to free citizens who needed the employment Further, slavery took away the incentive for Romans to be innovative For example, when the steam turbine, called an aeolipyle, was invented in the first century of the Common Era, it languished because it was seen as a mere labor-saving device, and it was easier just to have slaves the labor instead Given how the steam turbine revolutionized European culture in the 1800s c.e., the aeolipyle could have given the Roman Empire an enormous technological lead over its rivals in the ancient world Slaves had no civil rights in Rome Their owners could kill them, torture them, and abuse them without penalties Slaves could earn money, but that money belonged to their owners However, it was customary to allow slaves to save their own money and to allow them to use that money as their own, even to purchase their own businesses Until the end of the 300s c.e Rome’s wars brought large numbers of slaves into the empire, so replacing a slave was usually easy Thus, freeing slaves was common According to custom, however, the former owner of a slave was still responsible for the freed slave’s welfare and was expected to be accountable for the freed slave’s debts In every form of employment slaves competed with free people Sometimes they were more respected than wage earners, who were usually treated with contempt Roman cities and towns were divided into areas of rich and poor, with trades- 433 people and crafts workers having their own sections Those who owned their own businesses lived in well-kept areas Wage earners lived in squalid areas of narrow streets with one-room homes and small apartments When a Roman city was built on the site of a conquered village or town, the wage earners lived in the old barbarian part of the city They were regarded as filthy and smelly, unfit for mingling in society As such, they formed a permanent underclass that existed throughout the empire at all times Wage earners sometimes rebelled against their maltreatment, and their riots were feared by other Romans There was a hierarchy among Rome’s laborers At the bottom were town criers and undertakers, who were forbidden by law to hold public office At its top were construction workers and musicians In the middle were mechanics, artists, bakers, weavers, among others Barbers were feared because their iron razors were difficult to control and could cut Clothes washers were avoided because the chemicals they used not only made them permanently smell awful but gave them skin diseases Physicians fell into two categories, one being wage earners, who had to go visit patients, and the other consultants, to whom patients had to come Greeks were generally regarded as crazy and immoral, but Greek doctors were well respected Marble relief of Jason the physician and patient, Roman, second century c.e.; Greek doctors were especially respected in Roman society, and all doctors were exempt from paying taxes (© The Trustees of the British Museum)