Roman Slavery in Film

For this actum, I watched the 1966 film A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. The movie is set in Rome during the time of Emperor Nero. One of the main characters, Hero, falls in love with a girl (Philia) that lives in a house of prostitutes run by Marcus Lycus. At the same time, a slave named Pseuolus wants to buy his freedom from his owners, Senex and his wife Domina (Hero’s parents). Hero and Pseudolus reach an agreement: If Pseudolus can help Hero get Philia, then Hero will give Pseudolus his freedom. 

They find out that Philia has been sold to a powerful Roman soldier named Miles Gloriosus, who is about to arrive. After much shenanigans, Miles arrives and asks for his bride, threatening to burn the city and kill the main characters if he cannot have her. Pseudolus, wanting to preserve his ticket to freedom, dresses Senex’s male servant Hysterium as Philia and pronounces her dead. Miles is fooled initially, but eventually discovers the trick and captures all of the conspirators.

It eventually comes out that the real Philia and Miles are siblings, meaning they cannot marry. Hero and Philia are then allowed to be together. Miles instead takes a pair of Lycus’ other prostitutes, Pseudolus gets his freedom, and the movie ends happily ever after.

I thought this movie was a good reminder of the sophistication of Roman slaves, relative to slaves from other areas of humanity. As we learned in class, there existed a wide variety of slave/master relationships, including those in which the slave could be treated like family. Pseudolus, despite his status as a slave, is socially competent and has normal interactions with free citizens. He also had great rhetorical and persuasive skills, which a commonly defined slave wouldn’t have.

The Roman concept of friendship also appears in this film. Pseudolus and Marcus Lycus agree to impersonate each other, a plan that benefits both parties. Lycus then remarks that he and Pseudolus are “true friends.” In this context, friendship refers to the relationship between patron and client as opposed to the modern definition.

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