Cave Canem! (Beware of the dog)
In a recent exchange with a reader, he mentioned the Romans using slaves as watch dogs chained at the entrance of their homes.
As preposterous as this might seem, there is evidence to support this as shown in this painting of 1881 by the artist Jean-Leon Gerome.
Ancient Romans regarded their slaves as non-humans - indeed they were described as 'talking tools' and had the status of animals - and it follows that no task was considered too humiliating or too demeaning for a slave to perform.
On my visits to Pompeii, I have seen mosaics at the entrances of some of the bigger and grander homes that show a real dog on a chain with the words 'Cave Canem'. I had always assumed these referred to four-legged canines. Now I'm not so sure!
Picture in the public domain. Text is mine.
Chris,
ReplyDeletethanks for posting this dramatic painting by Gerome, a famous French painter, specialized not only in historical / ancient Roman paintings (he’s the author of the most famous painting about gladiators’ fights to the death, titled “THUMBS DOWN”) but famous also for several representations of SLAVE MARKETS set both in ancient Rome, as well as in the Arabia and northern Africa of the early 1800’s, so almost contemporary to him.
Anyhow he was not …. obviously ! …… an “eyewitness” of the use as “watchdogs ” that several Romans did of their strongest and athletic young male slaves, in substitution or in addition to real “canine” dog, cruelly chaining and leashing them at the entrance of their houses and villas.
Of this barbaric habit there are several evidences and testimonies in the ancient Roman literature: for example in the plays by Plautus and Terence (where the characters of slaves are numerous) there are several mentions of slaves chained and leashed at the doors of their Masters’ houses to work as “watchdogs”.
Moreover e.g. Pliny narrates the case of a strong and rebellious Illyrian slave who, unable to run away and unwilling to serve as a slave his Roman owner, preferred to commit suicide, dying in a long and excruciating agony, by hanging himself, through the iron dog-collar and the chain by which he was leashed outside of his owner’s entrance door, by hanging, during his night-shift as a watchdog, a ring of his neck-chain to the support of a lamp, hanging from the wall of the house.
The necessity of chaining these watchdog-slaves was imposed by the need of avoiding possible escapes, especially during the night-shifts when the house’s door was closed and the one or (in rich and vast villas) even two watchdog-slave (or slaves) were left alone and without any control outside of the house.
The most “humane” Masters chained their watchdog-slaves just by their ankles and just during the night, when the villa’s main door war closed; while the most ruthless and sadistic owners kept them chained, both during night and day, and leashed also by their neck, like real dogs, with heavy iron or leather collars.
Let me further observe that watchdog-slaves were not “alternative” to real “canine” watchdogs; and were often used together.
In fact a “canine” dog is unable to talk and to tell to the “steward” slave (higher in rank and who was waiting inside, in the entrance-hall of the house) about the visitors at the door, asking to meet the Dominus.
In fact this was one of the tasks of the robust “human-like” watchdog-slaves, chained outside of the door, besides blocking and in case repelling all the unknown and undesired visitors, i.e. to inform the steward-slave in the vestibule, that an important visitor was waiting for meeting the House Dominus. Certainly this task cannot be done by a “canine” watchdog; this is why all important Roman houses and even more villas, had at least one or two sturdy slaves as “watches” at the main entrance door, “supported” in case by a ferocious canine guard-dog.
Of course, the cruelest Roman Masters and Mistresses seized even this opportunity for sadistically treating and deeply humiliating, with “canine” collars, leashes and chains, their poor helpless slaves like animals …. and often even worse than animals ! because not rarely, real “canine” dogs and pups were treated, nourished and “coddled” MUCH MUCH BETTER than slaves !
Karel