Images of Black Slaves in the Roman Empire

Although not an operative principle in Roman slavery, race did have consequences for the tasks of black slaves and for their representation in Roman art. Although they developed from varied Greek artistic precedents, Blacks occur most often in Roman art as slaves. As signs of their masters’ wealth and status, images of black slaves evoked exotic locales and were invested with apotropaic powers. The somatic differences of Blacks reinforced their visible difference from Italian aesthetic norms and facilitated a connection with slaves, the proverbial aliens in Roman thought. Thus, although their numbers among the slave population were relatively small, the presence of Blacks in Roman art is dominated by the slave context.