Text 6. Social Rank in the Empire

Read the text and do the tasks that follow.

Roman social status determined what people could wear, where they could sit – even what their job could be. Roman society was divided into three major classes – the elite, the “more humble,” and the slaves. Birth and wealth determined social class.

The best seats at the Colosseum were saved for the elite. This group included senators and other government officials and wealthy citizens. The elite made up less 2 per cent of the people, but they were the most powerful. They even had special legal rights. If they were guilty of a crime, they could not be punished as severely as ordinary citizens or slaves.

Only a few jobs were acceptable for a man of the elite class. The emperor appointed members of the elite class to serve as government officials. Also acceptable for the elite were jobs in law and ownership of farms. Jobs in business were not acceptable. If a man of the elite class wanted to make money in business, he would hire someone of the “more humble” class to do it for him.

The people seated above the elite in the Colosseum were the ordinary citizens, who belonged to the “more humble” class. The more humble class included most of the free men and women in the empire. Farmers, laborers, shopkeepers, soldiers, and other working people were in the more humble class. Some of the more humble were fairly wealthy. Others just scraped by.

Crammed together with the poorest people at the top of the Colosseum were the slaves – human property that could be bought and sold. Slaves could not own property. By some estimates, slaves made up as much as a third of the people of Roman Italy during the empire.

Besides working in household and on farms, trained slaves worked in mining, shipping, road building, and construction. Slaves also might hold office jobs in the provinces. Conditions for slaves varied widely. Slaves on the farms worked long hours in the fields. Sometimes they were chained together.

Slaves in cities usually worked as servants in the homes of wealthy masters. They had an easier life than the slaves on farms. Some city slaves even gained important positions as heads of household staffs. But all slaves were at the mercy of their masters, who could beat or torture them.

Some Romans complained about the mistreatment of slaves. However, no one in the ancient world thought seriously about the end of slavery. Apparently, people saw slavery as a necessary part of the social system.

Social divisions were clearly defined in ancient Rome. However, people were occasionally able to improve their social position. The key was gaining wealth, and for most, becoming wealthy was impossible According to Juvenal, the Romans decided the importance of man in this way:

The first question to be asked will be about his wealth the last about his character. How many slaves does he maintain?

How much land does he possess?

How many courses does he have served at table and how much does he provide for his guests?

Romans could improve their social position if they became wealthy. If they lost wealth, however, they could lose their social status. Raising one’s social level was not easy. The great majority of people in the “more humble” class worked on farms, and they were usually lucky just to get by each year. They had little chance of becoming rich. Soldiers had a better chance. Some earned promotions and wealth during long military careers. When they retired, they were rich and respected enough to join the elite class.

Even slaves had a chance to better themselves. Through a master’s kindness, an urban slave might be set free as a young adult. His master might even set him up in business, and then he might join the “more humble” class. Rural slaves had harder lives and fewer opportunities. They had little chance of gaining freedom or improving their lot in life.