---
title: "The life of slaves in Pompeii - Pompeii Online"
description: "New finds expose the harsh life of Pompeii's slaves. From bakery-prisons (IX 10, 1) and tight confinement to child drawings of gladiators, exploring an invisibl"
url: "https://www.pompeionline.net/en/archaeological-park-of-pompeii/pompeian-curiosities/the-life-of-slaves-in-pompeii"
date: "2026-08-07T22:59:56+00:00"
language: "en-GB"
---

#  The Life in Chains: Slaves, Freedmen, and Forced Labor in the Last Pompeii

 ![Graphic work by Franco Gracco](https://www.pompeionline.net/images/slave-franco-gracco.jpg "Graphic work by Franco Gracco") Graphic work by Franco Gracco Pompeii, a city extraordinarily preserved by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 A.D., offers a unique and detailed glimpse into Roman daily life, including its harsher and often neglected aspects. Beyond the elite and the middle class, recent excavations are illuminating the daily lives of the **subordinate population, including slaves and children**, revealing the spatial constraints and **interconnection** within which their existence unfolded.

## A silent majority: origins and roles

In Roman times—and in Pompeii—slaves made up a largely predominant component of the population, mostly of foreign origin. The city’s first season of prosperity, between the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC, coincided with the influx of resources from Rome’s wars of conquest: together with booty, **enormous masses of slaves** fueled the agrarian and manufacturing economy.

Servile labor was omnipresent and diversified:

- **Economy and trade.** Prominent figures such as the banker **L. Caecilius Iucundus** dealt in goods and **slaves**, collecting rents on behalf of others with commissions between **1–4%**. His wax tablets reflect a society in which rank and wealth were tightly interwoven.
- **Production and baking.** In the *pistrina* (bakeries) slaves operated the mills—a task shared with blindfolded donkeys and horses. Even insolvent debtors could be forced to “work at the mill,” as Plautus recalls.
- **Exploitation and vulnerability.** The **House of the Vettii** reveals the shadows of exposed lives: the Greek slave **Eutychis**, “of good manners,” practiced **prostitution** inside the house for two asses.
- **Public and religious service.** There were also **public slaves**: **Marcus Venerius Secundio** served as custodian of the Temple of Venus before his manumission.

## Tight spaces, intertwined lives

Recent research has shifted attention to modest environments that sustained the dreams and fears of the majority. **Slave quarters**, often adjacent to workplaces, are now a privileged object of study; emblematic is the discovery of a **“slave room”** in a suburban villa.

- **Servile quarters.** At **Civita Giuliana**, about 700 meters northwest of the city, the **servile sector** of a large villa has reemerged, with a **stable** and the remains of three harnessed horses.
- **Houses without atria and lofts.** Most Pompeian dwellings lacked the canonical atrium: workshops with back rooms, small apartments, **lofts**. In the **House of the Lararium (IX 10, 1)** two rooms on the upper floor, reached by a loft, yielded furnishings of **extreme simplicity**.
- **Public spaces and separations.** Even the **theater** reaffirmed hierarchies: the upper **crypta** was adapted to accommodate **foreigners, slaves, the poor, and perhaps women**. Access via **modest external stairways** prevented mingling with the rest of the audience, in line with the Augustan ideology of **strictly separated orders**.

## Back-breaking labor: men, women… and animals

In Pompeii, slave labor was often “embedded” in the place of production. The **House with Bakery of Rustius Verus (Reg. IX, Ins. 10, no. 1)** combines a residential part with high-quality Fourth Style frescoes and a productive sector devoted to baking. Ancient sources (such as Apuleius) evoke the **“discipline of the odious workshop” (inoptabilis officinae disciplina)**: a work organization that choreographed the movements of people and animals. Material traces such as the **circular ruts (curva canalis)** carved into the volcanic basalt pavement speak to the relentless repetition of the mill rounds.

## Fleeting writings, engraved histories

Walls and amphorae speak. **Parietal epigraphy**—*tituli picti* and graffiti—is essential for reconstructing **exploitation, escapes, and identities**. In **Insula IX 8** a graffito mentions the escape of a slave; across the broader body of inscriptions, social stratification and the everyday realities of bodies at work come into focus.

Alongside this is a Pompeii of **children** who observe and reproduce the adult world: in the **House of the Second Colonnaded Upper Room** (Insula of the Chaste Lovers), charcoal drawings by **children aged 5–7** depict gladiators, boxers, and **venationes**. Not copies of artworks, but childish attempts—the so-called “cephalopods”—to render **the blood spilled in the arena**: a humanity suspended between handprints on the wall and a time when **violence was entertainment for all ages**.

## Imported religions and support networks

Not identifying with their masters’ cults, **slaves and freedmen** helped spread **imported deities** and maintained ties with their own native gods. The **cult of Isis** was particularly widespread thanks to these groups. For the poorest—slaves included—there were **collegia funeraticia** (funerary associations): monthly contributions to guarantee a **funeral** and the associated rites. Even men of low status could **wear the toga** at funerals—**at least in theory**—as a satirist notes, for many it was **the only occasion**.

## The road to freedom: the rise of freedmen

Slavery was not an immutable condition. Pompeian society displayed **strong social mobility**: **freedmen (liberti)** could achieve notable **status** and wealth, often embracing a more direct, “plebeian” taste in figurative culture. In the city’s final phase, the **freedman class** reached a high point: in various Italic centers, families of freedmen became part of a new **plutocracy**.

**Emblematic cases of upward mobility:**

- **Marcus Venerius Secundio**, once a public slave and custodian of the Temple of Venus, became an **Augustalis** after manumission, gaining prestige and means.
- **Numerius Popidius Ampliatus**, probably a **freedman** without access to magistracies, amassed wealth—likely through trade—sufficient to **rebuild the Temple of Isis** after the AD 62 earthquake. In return, his son **Numerius Popidius Celsinus**, just **six years old**, was appointed **decurio**, setting him on the path to the city’s aristocracy.

After the **AD 62 earthquake**, many wealthy families **left Pompeii**, entrusting the management of their damaged assets to their **freedmen**. The protracted reconstruction paved the way for **“social climbers”** and for owners of **medium-sized houses** who had rapidly accumulated wealth through commerce and business. In parallel, a transformation in housing—**“houses without atria”** in the **Insula of the Chaste Lovers**—reflected new residential models shaped by freedmen and merchants.

## The eruption and after: labor even amid disaster

The catastrophe of **AD 79** spared no one. Yet, in the immediate aftermath, when survivors—or those returning to recover objects—moved among the ruins, **slaves** were employed to **strip** houses more efficiently: one more turn of servile labor within tragedy.

## Conclusion: material traces of difficult lives

The **life of slaves in Pompeii** shows how rank and wealth determined every aspect of existence: from being born into servitude to the **attempt at ascent** through manumission, shared cults, funerary networks, and—at times—family advancement. The **material and epigraphic traces** of these lives, often silent and difficult, tell of a city where servile labor sustained prosperity, while children, women, and men internalized—and sometimes overcame—an everyday reality of **constraints**, **separations**, and **hopes**.

---

### Context references cited in the article

- Banker **L. Caecilius Iucundus** (wax tablets; slave trading; 1–4% commissions).
- **House of the Vettii** (Eutychis, prostitution).
- **Public slave**: **Marcus Venerius Secundio** (later Augustalis).
- **Civita Giuliana** (servile sector; stable with three harnessed horses).
- **House of the Lararium (IX 10, 1)** (simple rooms; loft).
- **Theater** (separate spaces for slaves, foreigners, the poor, and perhaps women in the upper *crypta*).
- **House with Bakery of Rustius Verus (Reg. IX, Ins. 10, no. 1)** (coexistence of residence/production).
- **Insula of the Chaste Lovers** (houses without atria; children’s drawings in the House of the Second Colonnaded Upper Room).
- **Collegia funeraticia**; **cult of Isis** spread by slaves and freedmen.
- **Numerius Popidius Ampliatus** and **Numerius Popidius Celsinus** (rebuilding the Temple of Isis; appointment as decurio).
- Post-eruption: use of **slaves** in **stripping** houses.

---

## FAQ – Slaves and Freedmen in Pompeii

**Who were most of Pompeii’s slaves?**
Largely of **foreign origin**, they arrived especially following Rome’s **wars of conquest** in the 3rd–2nd centuries BC, when the influx of slaves fueled the agrarian and manufacturing economy.

**Which sectors did they mainly work in?**
Everywhere: in **commerce** (as in the operations of banker L. Caecilius Iucundus, who also dealt in slaves and collected rents with **1–4%** commissions), in **production** (especially **mill-bakeries**), in **public and religious service** (public slaves assigned to temples), and even in activities tied to **sexual exploitation**, as the case of Eutychis in the House of the Vettii shows.

**What does *pistrina* mean?**
It is the **bakery** equipped with mills and ovens. Here, slaves drove the millstones together with **blindfolded donkeys or horses**; in some cases, insolvent debtors were forced to “work at the mill.”

**What is the *curva canalis* mentioned for the mills?**
They are the **circular ruts** carved into the volcanic basalt paving by the ceaseless rounds of people and animals around the mill: material marks of the “**discipline of the odious workshop**” recalled by Apuleius.

**Where did slaves live?**
Often in **quarters attached** to workplaces or in **dedicated rooms** of extreme simplicity. Recent examples include the **“slave room”** in a suburban villa and the servile spaces of the **villa at Civita Giuliana**, with a stable and the remains of three harnessed horses.

**Did Pompeian houses always have an atrium?**
No. Many were **workshops with back rooms**, small apartments, and **lofts**. The **House of the Lararium (IX 10, 1)** shows upstairs rooms reached by a loft with **essential furnishings**. Excavations in the **Insula of the Chaste Lovers** have also revealed **“houses without atria,”** indicating housing models linked to freedmen and merchants.

**How did segregation work in public spaces?**
In the refurbished **theater**, the **upper crypta** hosted **foreigners, slaves, the poor, and perhaps women**. Access via **modest external stairways** prevented mingling with the rest of the audience, consistent with the Augustan ideology of **separate orders**.

**What role did slaves and freedmen play in religious cults?**
They helped spread **imported deities**, seeking protection in cults alternative to those of their masters. The **cult of Isis** is the clearest example.

**What were the *collegia funeraticia*?**
Associations to which members—**including slaves and freedmen**—paid **monthly contributions** to secure **funerals and rites**. At funerals, even men of low status could **wear the toga**, often the only occasion in their lives.

**Was slavery forever?**
No. **Manumission** was possible and with it **social mobility**. The **freedman class** grew strongly in Pompeii’s final phase, at times reaching an urban **plutocracy**.

**Who are some emblematic freedmen?**
**Marcus Venerius Secundio**, a former public slave and custodian of the Temple of Venus, became an **Augustalis**. **Numerius Popidius Ampliatus** financed the **rebuilding of the Temple of Isis** after AD 62, securing for his son **Numerius Popidius Celsinus** (six years old) **appointment as decurio**.

**What is the link between the AD 62 earthquake and the rise of freedmen?**
After the quake, many wealthy families **left Pompeii** and delegated the management of their assets to their **freedmen**. The long reconstruction favored the rise of **newly enriched** individuals and owners of **medium-sized houses**, often tied to trade.

**What do graffiti and inscriptions tell us about slavery?**
**Tituli picti** and **graffiti** are fundamental for reconstructing **exploitation**, **escapes** (as in **Insula IX 8**), and social dynamics. They are “fleeting writings” that preserve stories otherwise invisible.

**How did children reflect the culture of violence?**
In the **House of the Second Colonnaded Upper Room** (Insula of the Chaste Lovers), **charcoal drawings** by children (ages 5–7) show **gladiators, boxers, and venationes**: not copies of art, but **visual memories** of brutal spectacles—the “**blood spilled in the arena**.”

**Do slaves appear even after the AD 79 eruption?**
Yes. During the **stripping** of houses, survivors or those returning to retrieve objects **employed slaves** to facilitate operations among the ruins.

**What does *Augustalis* mean in the case of Marcus Venerius Secundio?**
A member of the **priestly college** in charge of the **imperial cult**. For a **freedman**, admission among the **Augustales** signaled **prestige** and public recognition.

**Why are “houses without atria” important for understanding Pompeian society?**
Because they indicate a **shift in housing models** linked to the rise of **freedmen and merchants**, less interested in the atrium’s display and more in the **practical needs** of integrated work and residence.

**What does the “slave room” teach us?**
That **servile everyday life** unfolded in **tight spaces**, functional to labor. The analysis of these rooms—poor furnishings, proximity to productive areas—sheds light on **rhythms, habits, and relationships of dependency**.

**Why is the House with Bakery of Rustius Verus a textbook case?**
Because of the **coexistence** of a **well-appointed residential sector** (Fourth Style frescoes) and an **intensive productive sector**: a microcosm where the **movements** of slaves and animals were **choreographed** by infrastructures such as **rotation ruts**.

**What are the limits of our knowledge?**
Sources are **partial** and often filtered through the **elite’s viewpoint**; hence, **recent excavations** of modest spaces—servile quarters, workshops, lofts—are crucial for restoring the **voices, gestures, and objects** of the silent majority.

![Slaves, Freedmen, and Forced Labor in the Last Pompeii](https://www.pompeionline.net/images/infografiche/Pompeian_Slavery_and_Social_Mobility.jpg "Slaves, Freedmen, and Forced Labor in the Last Pompeii")

---

ESSENTIAL BIBLIOGRAPHY
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