Last week I harked on how the Greeks were very aware that the Romans manumitted their slaves at a greater rate than they did. Today I’ll write on how one of the most famous slaves in Greek literature proves this point. That particular slave in Eumaeus, Odysseus’ swineherd.
Eumaeus is introduced in Book 14 of the Odyssey (although he is alluded to in Book 4) and it is apparent that he is a perfect match for his cunning, generous and brutal master Odysseus. Eumaeus’ life should also make clear that we can’t use the American experience of slavery as a model for understanding Greek slavery: Eumaeus spends most of his days away from the household of his owners. When Odysseus comes and asks him for shelter, Eumaeus doesn’t worry about having to get approval to let Odysseus stay. Instead, he simply points out that since Zeus is the protector of travelers, he would pretty silly to turn anybody away. His hospitality is important to Odysseus’ revenge on the parasitical suitors as Eumaeus tells him about the current state of Ithaca. This alone would make Eumaeus very useful to Odysseus. But Eumaeus accompanies Odysseus, even though he’s disguised as a beggar, to the palace and introduces him to Penelope. Later, Odysseus trusts Eumaeus enough to reveal his true identity. Eumaeus then helps Odysseus kill the suitors in the bloody climax of the epic poem.
Throughout the poem, Eumaeus is constantly depicted as a fiercely loyal slave, which is a bit odd as we learn in Book 15 that Eumaeus was not born a slave but was captured by pirates and sold into slavery after spending his childhood as the son of a king. Eumaeus’ loyalty to the royal house of Ithaca apparently precludes any resentment that he might feel about his fate. But what is important to us is how Odysseus rewards Eumaeus for all of his extraordinary service. When Odysseus is recruiting Eumaeus, and another slave named to help him fight the suitors, he promises the following as rewards:
εἴ χ᾽ὑπ᾽ἐμοί γε θεὸς δαμάσῃ μνηστηρᾶς ἀγαυούς,
ἄξομαι ἀμφοτέροις ἀλόχους καὶ κτήματ᾽ὀπάσσω
οἰκία τ᾽ἐγγὺς ἐμεῖο τετυγμένα. καί μοι ἔπειτα
Τηλεμάχου ἑτάρω τε κασγνήτω τε ἔσεσθον. (21.213-16)
And if, through me, a god destroys the braggart suitors,
I will procure for you both wives and property
near my settled house. And to me then
you two will be as comrades and brothers to my Telemachus. (Translation is my own).
So Eumaeus will have his own property, he will have a wife, he will even be considered practically a son of Odysseus. But he is not promised his freedom. He will still be a slave.
Obviously Eumaeus is a literary character, but, as the famous historian Moses Finely points out, this treatment seems pretty indicative of how infrequently Greeks freed slaves.
Eumaeus is introduced in Book 14 of the Odyssey (although he is alluded to in Book 4) and it is apparent that he is a perfect match for his cunning, generous and brutal master Odysseus. Eumaeus’ life should also make clear that we can’t use the American experience of slavery as a model for understanding Greek slavery: Eumaeus spends most of his days away from the household of his owners. When Odysseus comes and asks him for shelter, Eumaeus doesn’t worry about having to get approval to let Odysseus stay. Instead, he simply points out that since Zeus is the protector of travelers, he would pretty silly to turn anybody away. His hospitality is important to Odysseus’ revenge on the parasitical suitors as Eumaeus tells him about the current state of Ithaca. This alone would make Eumaeus very useful to Odysseus. But Eumaeus accompanies Odysseus, even though he’s disguised as a beggar, to the palace and introduces him to Penelope. Later, Odysseus trusts Eumaeus enough to reveal his true identity. Eumaeus then helps Odysseus kill the suitors in the bloody climax of the epic poem.
Throughout the poem, Eumaeus is constantly depicted as a fiercely loyal slave, which is a bit odd as we learn in Book 15 that Eumaeus was not born a slave but was captured by pirates and sold into slavery after spending his childhood as the son of a king. Eumaeus’ loyalty to the royal house of Ithaca apparently precludes any resentment that he might feel about his fate. But what is important to us is how Odysseus rewards Eumaeus for all of his extraordinary service. When Odysseus is recruiting Eumaeus, and another slave named to help him fight the suitors, he promises the following as rewards:
εἴ χ᾽ὑπ᾽ἐμοί γε θεὸς δαμάσῃ μνηστηρᾶς ἀγαυούς,
ἄξομαι ἀμφοτέροις ἀλόχους καὶ κτήματ᾽ὀπάσσω
οἰκία τ᾽ἐγγὺς ἐμεῖο τετυγμένα. καί μοι ἔπειτα
Τηλεμάχου ἑτάρω τε κασγνήτω τε ἔσεσθον. (21.213-16)
And if, through me, a god destroys the braggart suitors,
I will procure for you both wives and property
near my settled house. And to me then
you two will be as comrades and brothers to my Telemachus. (Translation is my own).
So Eumaeus will have his own property, he will have a wife, he will even be considered practically a son of Odysseus. But he is not promised his freedom. He will still be a slave.
Obviously Eumaeus is a literary character, but, as the famous historian Moses Finely points out, this treatment seems pretty indicative of how infrequently Greeks freed slaves.