House of the Faun, Pompeii.
This house is dates from the 2nd century BC and is one of the biggest and grandest homes in Pompeii. Obviously, its owners were extremely wealthy and prominent to afford a home of this size. Co-incidentally, i found this picture on the internet today and it awakened memories of my time visiting it.
i visited it in 2009 and was impressed by its sheer size and magnificence and it was as a result of that visit that i began my efforts at writing stories about slaves and slavery.
As one who has a slave's persona, i was overwhelmed by visions of the large retinue of household slaves that served the owners and after viewing the secret passages used by the slaves to move around the house unseen by their owners, in my imagination, i identified with them. i felt a great sadness on their behalf as i thought about the humiliation and degradation of being a chattel slave owned body and spirit by another.
Throughout history, there have been countless slaves of all races, colour or creeds; no one was immune to being enslaved if the circumstances were right. We know very little about most slaves; they are nameless and by and large they are silent and without a voice to speak for themselves and to tell us of the their pain and suffering. Denied of their humanity, they were reduced to objects or as the Romans described them "talking tools" and confronted by the unimaginable horrors of their daily lives.
i was overcome with a great sadness at man's inhumanity to his fellow man and i wanted to speak on their behalf and write what it is like to be a chattel slave; it that was possible.
i stood on this exact spot alongside the pool and looked at the statue of the Faun which gave the house its name. This statue is a replica of the original which, i believe is in a museum in Naples.
For some reason this statue interested me and i recall wondering if the Roman owner valued it more highly than one of his many slaves. I expect he did!
Inexplicably, i had the idea of writing a short story with this as its theme. On returning home, and for the first time in my life, i attempted to write. i wrote "An Object of Desire" under my nom-de-plume, Jean-Christophe and followed it up with "The Aftermath".
Since then, i have written other slave stories and always i try to write from the perspective of the slave though occasionally i have written from a Master's point of view. But, reflecting my slave mentality, my focus is always with my slave characters.
himar
Picture sourced from the internet. The text is mine.
Jean-Christophe,
ReplyDeletea particular thank you for this very fascinating and learned post and for your moving, beautiful words.
Indeed I too always felt similar feelings and thoughts (even if from a Master's perspective)when visiting not only the magnificent House of the Faun, but also the ruins of several other sumptuous villas and palaces of stunningly rich ancient Roman Lords ..... starting for the immense Villa Adriana, the Imperial Palace of Emperor Hadrian in Tivoli, that had- under the Villa's vast gardens huge and buildings- a true "subterranean city" in whose galleries and caves many hundreds of slaves were cruelly obliged to live and work, apart from the few slaves called to serve for some hours, here and there, the Emperor and his courtiers.
What a cruelty ! The majority of those hapless slaves were obliged to live underground most of their lives, for not "disturbing" the haughty Roman Lords and Ladies with the sight of their miserable bodies and "vile" persons !
Karel
Karel, thank you for your thoughts about my post. One cannot help but be moved by a visit to Pompeii. Here, we see the grandeur and magnificence of the Roman world superimposed on the earlier Greek civilisation and at the same time, we glimpse what life was like for her citizens, both free men and slaves. I am not altogether a believer of the supernatural but during a visit to Pompeii, one senses the lingering spirits of its long dead inhabitants and the lives they lived.
DeleteAlso, I have visited Tivoli on two occasions and I stood in awe of the achievements of the Romans. Who wouldn’t be impressed by the hydraulics of the gardens. But as you say, it came at a cost to the hundreds of slaves who toiled out of sight so that their Roman Masters and Mistresses could enjoy a spectacular lifestyle which still rivals our present day achievements.
J-C
Jean-Christophe, beautiful words of a noble soul and of a very learned and cultured gentleman. And about the “gardens’ hydraulics” we do not know details about how it was managed in the past in the Villa Adriana and in the nearby and later Villa d’Este. However this recalls to me what Strabo tells about the immense villa and gardens (7 hectares-17.3 acres!) that the hugely rich Gaius Sallust Crispus built on two hills of Rome (Pincio and Qurinale). Those enormous marvelous gardens were so vast that they included two “artificial rivers” with countless beautiful waterfalls, ponds and fountains for the delight of Sallustius and his noble Roman guests.
DeleteFor supplying the huge quantity of water necessary for all those waterfalls, fountains and artificial watercourses, Strabo tells that in two vast caves, dug under the hills, Sallustius kept a multitude of brawny slaves condemned to unceasingly turn many big water-wheels that pumped the water from wells to two large reservoirs, on the top of the hills, from which the rivers, the waterfalls, the fountains and the water-features were fed.
Many dozens of poor young men forced to toil in inhuman conditions, under restless whips, just for allowing haughty and vicious Roman Lords and Ladies to enjoy the beauty of those gardens and fountains !
Karel
A further point, Jean Christophe: the owner of this sumptuous Villa was a member of the Satria gens (family), an obscure plebeian family that, in the late Republic / early Empire, had surged to a huge wealth with "shady deals & businesses" (as their political adversaries gossiped).
ReplyDeleteWe do not know exactly the name of the owner of the House of the Faun. He might have been a certain Satrius Rufus, a very rich minor politician and landowner that Pliny the Younger mentions briefly in his works. Certainly we do not know whether he was a cruel and sadistic Master for his many slaves, or vice versa a benevolent and kind owner. But in all cases, I have few doubts that he valued and loved his exquisite marvelous bronze statue of the "Dancing Faun" MUCH MORE than most of his slaves. Such a masterpiece of sculpture was unique ! ...... while a slave, when killed by excessive hard-labour or nailed on a cross for punishment, could be easily at once substituted with little money at the Slave Market !
This mentality, typical of most Roman high classes, was not even a sign of a particularly cruel and sadistic mind. Even the kindest and most benevolent Roman Lords, after all, thought this of their numerous slaves, given the abundance of their supply and their often low prices (especially after victorious wars) !
Karel