In AD 61, Pedanius Secundus, prefect of Rome, was murdered by one of his slaves. One story had it that the killer had been denied his freedom after agreeing the price of his liberty with Pedanius. An alternative version of events claimed that he had been infatuated with another of his master's slaves. Either way, the law was clear: the murderer would have to die.
But the punishment didn't end there. For, according to an ancient tradition – reinforced by a recent senatorial decision – every slave in Pedanius's household would have to be executed, too. This grim prospect led to protests among the ordinary people of Rome, but the emperor Nero upheld the law. And so the hapless (and innocent) slaves were put to death.
Ancient Rome was a grisly and a glamorous place. The sun was barely able to creep down the narrowest alleys beside which most Romans lived, briefly illuminating the dirt, peeling plaster and filthy streets. Only a short distance away that same sun burnished the glittering temples of the forum with their garishly painted statues of the gods, the emperors and other greats. This bustling metropolis was home to the obscenely wealthy, to the middling sort of soldiers, bakers and actors, and, at the
