{"id":77,"date":"2017-07-14T21:43:00","date_gmt":"2017-07-14T21:43:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iipblog.wpengine.com\/?post_type=story&p=77"},"modified":"2021-10-27T13:07:58","modified_gmt":"2021-10-27T13:07:58","slug":"slavery-in-rome-a-badge-of-honor","status":"publish","type":"story","link":"https:\/\/www.iiptest.jewishstudies.digitalscholarship.brown.edu\/blog\/story\/slavery-in-rome-a-badge-of-honor\/","title":{"rendered":"Slavery in Rome: A Badge of Honor?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In what scenario might former slave status be a badge of honor? An epitaph of a middle-aged man from a prominent Jewish family near Jericho suggests that a slave\u2019s service in Rome\u2019s imperial palace may have conferred special honors following his manumission and return to Judea.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGoliath\u201d in More Ways than One<\/strong>
In the mid-1970s, excavators discovered a hillside necropolis in Jericho dating to the 1st century CE. This large cemetery contained over 120 burial chambers hewn into seven rocky hillsides.1<\/a><\/sup> The tombs were family tombs, each containing related family members over several generations. One monumental tomb from this necropolis was of particular interest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Ancient tombs carved into a Jericho hillside.2<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tomb itself was enormous–its perimeter measured 42.7 feet \u00d7 42.7!–and so, too, were the 32 related individuals interred inside.3<\/a><\/sup> At a time when the average adult male stood 5\u20195\u201d tall, four men from this family were over 6\u20191\u201d tall.4<\/a><\/sup> Three of the limestone ossuaries5<\/a><\/sup> also bore the moniker \u201cGoliath,\u201d a family nickname alluding to the young King David\u2019s towering adversary.6<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n


Fresco depicting vines and flowers from the Goliath family tomb.7<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This family was distinctive not only in their physical size but also in their social stature. The \u201cGoliath\u201d family tomb is both the largest in the Jericho necropolis and the richest in decoration. The rock walls were plastered and decorated with frescoes of bright floral motifs.8<\/a><\/sup> Two Jewish ritual bathing pools (miqvaoth) suggest that the \u201cGoliath\u201d family belonged to the priestly class, and the splendor of the tomb shows that the family must have been extraordinarily wealthy.9<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGoliath\u201d Captured<\/strong>
The names inscribed on the individual ossuaries inside the \u201cGoliath\u201d family tomb are all traditionally Jewish, with one remarkable exception:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u0398EO\u0394OTOY A\u03a0E\u039b\u0395Y\u0398EPOY BA\u03a3I\u039bI\u03a3\u03a3H\u03a3 A\u0393PI\u03a0\u03a0EINH\u03a3 \u03a3OPO\u03a3
The ossuary of Theodotos, freedman of Queen \u0391grippina (jeri0007<\/a>)10<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What are we to make of such an inscription, and what can these five short words in Greek tell us about Theodotos\u2019 world? The word \u201cfreedman\u201d recognizes Theodotos\u2019 former slave status and manumission. It is significant that the relatives in charge of burying their kinsman chose this epithet above all other possibilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reference to a \u201cQueen Agrippina\u201d is the only epigraphic mention of Agrippina the Younger, (15 – 59 CE), who married her uncle, the Roman emperor Claudius, in 49 CE. Claudius and Agrippina lived together in Rome in a palace on the Palatine Hill. In order to serve \u201cQueen\u201d Agrippina\u2019s household, Theodotos must have made the trip from Judea to Rome, a 30+ day journey of approximately 3,000 kilometers. Already, a fascinating story of displacement, long-distance travel, servitude, and subsequent homecoming begins to take shape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s in a name?<\/strong>
What can we learn from Theodotus\u2019 name? \u201cTheodotos\u201d is actually the Greek translation of the Jewish name Nathaniel. Many slaves were given Greek names during their captivity in the Roman Empire. Greek was the language of trade, scholarship, and aristocracy in Rome and abroad, while Hebrew was traditional, familial, and endemic to the region of Judea. Servitude in Roman society often led to slaves\u2019 \u201csocial death\u201d–cultural isolation resulting from stripped ethnic identity and broken family ties. Therefore, it\u2019s striking that Theodotos kept his Greek name after his manumission and return to Judea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps Theodotos no longer identified with the \u201cNathaniel\u201d of his youth. Maybe his time in Rome contributed to a loss of ethnic identity, or perhaps life alongside the imperial family caused Theodotos to develop a more cosmopolitan worldview. In any case, slavery abroad impacted Theodotos and his image within his family. He was an anomaly in his own community<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Limestone ossuary with typical six-petaled rosettes.11<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

for the rest of this life. The \u201cGoliath\u201d family often inscribed their relatives\u2019 ossuaries with genealogical information: \u201cSalome wife of Judah\u201d (jeru0390<\/a>) or \u201cYehoezer son of Eleazar (jeri0016<\/a>).\u201d12<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Theodotos had no such familial information. For whatever reason, the fact that Theodotos was a manumitted slave of the imperial family took precedence over the details of his ties to immediate relatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Silver Spoon to Servitude<\/strong>
In the first century CE, the political discourse of Rome and Judea was inextricably linked. Judean king Agrippa I, the grandson of Herod the Great, became involved in the succession battle of Claudius, the Praetorian Guard, and the Roman Senate after the assassination of Caligula in 41 CE. As a boy, Agrippa had been educated in Rome alongside Claudius. As an adult ruler, he wanted to see his friend Claudius seize power. After becoming Emperor of Rome in 41 CE, Claudius handed control of the Roman province of Judea over to Agrippa in recognition of his loyalty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Roman emperor\u2019s control over an outlying territory often coincided with physical control over parts of the local population. Slaves in the Roman Empire were almost all captives taken as spoils of war or as political prisoners from outlying territories. Theodotos was most likely sent to Rome as a political prisoner, though there is no conclusive evidence for this presumption.13<\/a><\/sup> Perhaps Theodotus became the property of Claudius\u2019 wife Agrippina after he or his family had some falling-out with Agrippa, Claudius\u2019 ally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Queen Agrippina14<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the circumstances of Theodotus\u2019 servitude remain uncertain, we can determine the time period of his enslavement with some certainty. The ossuary inscription refers to Agrippina as \u201cqueen\u201d: Agrippina married emperor Claudius in 49 CE but died in 59 CE. Theodotos must have served in Agrippina\u2019s household for part or all of this 10 year period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Manumission and Return<\/strong>
A large internal hierarchy existed among Roman slaves. Slaves who were well-educated, attractive, athletic, and \/ or from privileged backgrounds were in high demand and difficult to replace. Such slaves were able to attain specialized and high-status positions.15<\/a><\/sup> Theodotos\u2019 physical stature and privileged family background may have won him a coveted position directly serving the imperial family. One scholar has suggested that Theodotos was manumitted only because of Agrippina\u2019s fondness for the Judean Jews and the imperial family\u2019s ties to Agrippa, ruler of Judea.16<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After manumission, Theodotos\u2019 status as a freedman from Agrippina\u2019s household conferred Roman citizenship.17<\/a><\/sup> After Theodotos returned home, he retained marks of the identity he had been given in Rome. What we don\u2019t know is how Theodotos\u2019 ties to Rome interacted with the Jewish identity of his family and community. The ossuary inscription from the \u201cGoliath\u201d tomb suggests that Theodotos\u2019 service in the imperial household was valued by his family — Theodotos\u2019 former slave status became the final summation of his life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bibliography<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

Hachlili, Rachel. \u201cThe Goliath Family in Jericho: Funerary Inscriptions from a First Century A. D. Jewish Monumental Tomb.\u201d Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research<\/em>, no. 235 (1979): 31\u201366.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hachlili, Rachel. \u201cA Second Temple Period Jewish Necropolis in Jericho.\u201d The Biblical Archaeologist 43<\/em>, no. 4 (1980): 235\u201340.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hachlili, Rachel, Baruch Arensburg, Patricia Smith, and Ann Killebrew. \u201cThe Jewish Necropolis at Jericho.\u201d Current Anthropology<\/em> 22, no. 6 (1981): 701\u20132.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hachlili, Rachel, and Ann Killebrew. \u201cThe Saga of the Goliath Family\u2014As Revealed in Their Newly Discovered 2,000-Year-Old Tomb.\u201d Biblical Archaeology Review<\/em> 9, no. 1 (Jan. – Feb. 1983): 44\u201353.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Macfarlane, Roger T. \u201cHebrew, Aramaic, Greek, and Latin: Languages of New Testament Judea.\u201d Brigham Young University Studies<\/em> 36, no. 3 (1996): 228\u201338.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Patterson, Orlando. Slavery and Social Death<\/em>. Harvard University Press, 1982.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rodgers, Zuleika, Margaret Daly-Denton, and Anne Fitzpatrick Mckinley. A Wandering Galilean: Essays in Honour of Se\u00e1n Freyne<\/em>. BRILL, 2009.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
  1. Hachlili, \u201cA Second Temple Period Jewish Necropolis in Jericho,\u201d 235. \u21a9<\/a><\/li>
  2. By James Emery from Douglasville, United States (Jericho hill_1521) [CC BY 2.0 (http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons \u21a9<\/a><\/li>
  3. Hachlili and Killebrew, \u201cThe Saga of the Goliath Family,\u201d 44, 48. \u21a9<\/a><\/li>
  4. Hachlili and Killebrew, \u201cThe Saga of the Goliath Family,\u201d 50. \u21a9<\/a><\/li>
  5. An ossuary is a limestone chest in which the dry bones of one or more individuals are deposited. Most of the ossuaries found in the Jericho necropolis measure 50-60 cm long, 25 cm wide, 30 cm high and are incised with two or three geometric 6-pointed rosettes. One to three closely related individuals may be interred in the same ossuary box. See Hachlili, \u201cA Second Temple Period Jewish Necropolis in Jericho,\u201d 237. \u21a9<\/a><\/li>
  6. Hachlili and Killebrew, \u201cThe Saga of the Goliath Family,\u201d 49. \u21a9<\/a><\/li>
  7. By Carole Raddato from FRANKFURT, Germany [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons \u21a9<\/a><\/li>
  8. Hachlili and Killebrew, \u201cThe Saga of the Goliath Family,\u201d 47. \u21a9<\/a><\/li>
  9. Hachlili and Killebrew, \u201cThe Saga of the Goliath Family,\u201d 46, 52. \u21a9<\/a><\/li>
  10. Hachlili, \u201cThe Goliath Family in Jericho,\u201d 33. \u21a9<\/a><\/li>
  11. By Ricardo Tulio Gandelman from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (P1130180) [CC BY 2.0 (http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons \u21a9<\/a><\/li>
  12. Hachlili and Killebrew, \u201cThe Saga of the Goliath Family,\u201d 48, 50. \u21a9<\/a><\/li>
  13. Hachlili, \u201cThe Goliath Family in Jericho,\u201d 234. \u21a9<\/a><\/li>
  14. By Anonymous (Rome) (Own work (BurgererSF)) [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons \u21a9<\/a><\/li>
  15. Consider the fictional example of Ben-Hur, the wealthy prince from Jerusalem to Rome as a galley slave. With time Ben-Hur becomes a prized athlete, regains his freedom and fortune, and becomes the adopted son of Emperor Tiberius. See Rodgers, A Wandering Galilean<\/em>, 129. \u21a9<\/a><\/li>
  16. Hachlili, \u201cThe Goliath Family in Jericho,\u201d 235. \u21a9<\/a><\/li>
  17. Hachlili, \u201cThe Goliath Family in Jericho,\u201d 235. \u21a9<\/a><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Relevant Inscription(s):<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    \n\n\n\n
    JAFF0032<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>


    View this inscription<\/a>
    [View in XML]<\/a><\/td>    		Transcription:<\/strong>
    \u1f18\u03bd[\u03b8]\u03ac\u03b4\u03b5 \u03ba[\u1fd6]\u03c4\u03b5
    \u1f38\u03c3\u03b1\u03ba\u03b9\u03c2 \u03c0\u03c1\u03b5\u03c3-
    \u03b2\u03cd\u03c4\u03b5\u03c1\u03bf\u03c2 \u03c4\u1fc6\u03c2
    \u039a\u03b1\u03c0\u03b1\u03b4\u03bf\u03ba\u1ff6-
    \u03bd \u03a4\u03b1\u03c1\u03c3\u03bf\u1fe6 \u03bb\u03b9-
    \u03bd\u03bf\u03c0\u03ce\u03bb-
    \u03bf\u03c5<\/td>    		Translation:<\/strong>
    Here lies Isakis, elder of the (synagogue of) the Cappadocians, from Tarsus, linen merchant.<\/td>    		Languages:<\/strong> Greek
    Date:<\/strong> 301CE to 600CE
    Dimension:<\/strong> H: 26 cm.; W: 17.5 cm.; D: 3.2 cm. Letter Height: 2-2.5 cm.<\/td>    		\"\"\"\"<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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