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One of my favorite tidbits was that it was considered very fashionable to have a well-educated Greek slave -- they were often more well-versed in literature and
by ng12 8y ago
One of my favorite tidbits was that it was considered very fashionable to have a well-educated Greek slave -- they were often more well-versed in literature and philosophy than their masters.
- selestify 8y agoHow does an educated slave happen? Does someone somehow throw money at educating a slave child? Or does an educated person get enslaved?
- ckarmann 8y agoBoth situations happened. Rich families had slave and non-slave educators who would teach to the family children and to the slave children. A lot of slaves in Antiquity were given the occupation of shopkeepers, clerks or even lawyers, so they needed to be educated. Also the situation of slaves was quite fluid: you could be a slave by birth, but you could have been captured in war and conquest or you could have simply failed to pay your debts. Skilled slaves often had the possibility to earn some money and buy back their freedom. On the other hand, there were also unskilled slaves, often worked to death in mines or fields.
- ng12 8y agoAlso I'd add that educated Greek slaves were much more expensive than uneducated non-Greek slaves so there was economic value in continuing to educate them.