L’incarcération dans la Rome antique

Abstract

The word “prison” applied to the prison realities of Ancient Rome is misleading, even anachronistic. Originally a place of execution (by abandonment or strangulation), the dungeon has always had a preventive function for the detention of remand prisoners or convicted prisoners awaiting execution. During the imperial period, the Acts of the Martyrs testify to this during the persecution of Christians. Moreover, sentences involving imprisonment or putting in chains were always associated with the performance of labour (mines, quarries, forced labour, etc.), which treated convicts of free origin as slaves, either for a fixed period or for life.

Keywords

• Ancient Rome
• dungeon
• prison genealogy
• Christian martyrdom
• bonded society
• forced labour