L’esclave : perception des Romains à travers la comédie de Plaute.

Abstract

In Rome, at the time of Plautus, slaves were considered as things ( res) and not as people. They had no rights and could do nothing about the behavior of certain crooked masters. They came from other countries and practiced various trades in Rome. It is this reflection of this perception of the Romans of the status of foreigners that we find in the comedy of Plautus, because the theater of the latter is only an accurate representation of societal realities. In the plautinian theater, this slave is represented as an inferior being who has a status that marginalizes him.