Freed Persons in the Roman World: Status, Diversity, and Representation

How were freed people represented in the Roman world? This volume presents new research about the integration of freed persons into Roman society. It addresses the challenge of studying Roman freed persons on the basis of highly fragmentary sources whose contents have been fundamentally shaped by the forces of domination. Even though freed persons were defined through a common legal status and shared the experience of enslavement and manumission, many different interactions could derive from these commonalities in different periods and localities across the empire. Drawing on literary, epigraphic, and archaeological evidence, this book provides cases studies that test the various ways in which juridical categories and normative discourses shaped the social and cultural landscape in which freed people lived. By approaching the literary and epigraphic representations of freed persons in new ways, it nuances the impact of power asymmetries and social strategies on the cultural practices and lived experiences of freed persons.

Sinclair W. Bell is a Professor of Art History and Presidential Teaching Professor at Northern Illinois University. He previously served as Editor of the Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome (2018-21) and, with Teresa Ramsby, edited Free at Last! The Impact of Freed Slaves on the Roman Empire (London 2012).