Читать книгу Greek and Roman Slaveries - Eftychia Bathrellou - Страница 70

Daos and Getas, two male slaves, are friends.

Literature: Harris 2002.

Getas: What are you saying? Are you in love?!

Daos: I am.

Getas: Your master is giving you a double share of grain. That’s bad, Daos. You probably eat too much.

Daos: My heart aches when I see this girl who lives with us. A very good girl, of my own station, Getas.

Getas: Is she a slave?

Daos: Just so … to some extent, in a way. There was a shepherd, his name was Tibeios, and he lived here, in Ptelea.³⁶ He had been a slave at some point when young. He had these twin children, as he himself used to say: Plangon, the girl I love –

Getas: Now I see.

Daos: And the lad, Gorgias.

Getas: He who is now looking after the sheep here, at your place?

Daos: That’s the one. Already an old man, Tibeios, their father, took one mina from my master to feed them, and then another (for there was a famine). Then he … withered away.

Getas: Possibly because your master would not give him a third mina.

Daos: Perhaps. When he died, Gorgias took a little more cash, buried him, performed the usual rites, and came here to us, bringing his sister along. He is staying on here, working off the debt.

Getas: And what of Plangon?

Daos: She works the wool together with my mistress and does some housework too. A girl so … – Getas! Are you laughing at me?!

Getas: No! By Apollo!

Daos: Getas, she is so much like a free girl; really decent.

Getas: And you? What are you doing for your case?

Daos: I’ve attempted nothing in secret, by Herakles! But I’ve spoken to my master, and he’s promised to let her l[ive with me], after he discusses it with [her brother].

 What is the family history of Plangon and Gorgias? Are they slaves?

 How do the children of Tibeios try to pay back their debt obligations?

 How does Daos try to sort out his love life?

 How credible is this fictional source for understanding the lives of slaves and their descendants?