
You Wouldn't Want To Be Enslaved In Ancient Rome! (with Emma Southon)
From Vulgar History: Tudors by Vulgar History | Realm
June 24, 2026 · 1h 3m
About this episode
The episode discusses the harsh realities of slavery in Ancient Rome with historian Emma Southon.
Ancient Rome is often thought of as an ideal society where toga-clad men debated democracy while eating grapes. But in fact, the Roman Empire and Republic couldn't have existed without slavery. What were these enslaved people's lives like? Pretty awful, actually! Historian Emma Southon joins us to talk about slavery in Ancient Rome: what it was like, why people like to pretend it wasn't so bad, and what did Spartacus have to do with it all? Buy a copy of Emma's new book Not Built In A Day (affiliate link) — Listen to our new podcast NeferTV, where we are discussing the TV show Spartacus: Blood and Sand! — Buy a copy of Ann's book Rebel of the Regency — Get 15% off all the gorgeous jewellery and accessories at commonera.com/vulgar or go to commonera.com and use code VULGAR at checkout — Get Vulgar History merch at…
People in this episode
Host: Vulgar History
Guest: Emma Southon
Topics covered
- slavery
- Ancient Rome
- historical perspective
- Spartacus
- Roman Empire
- historical debate
Keywords
- slavery
- Ancient Rome
- Emma Southon
- Spartacus
- Roman Empire
- historical debate
- toga-clad men
Sponsors
commonera.com
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: NeferTV, Vulgar History
Books & works: Not Built In A Day, Rebel of the Regency
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