Fabula
Object
Object

Buyer's 2100 Denarii Payment for Three Male Slaves

Silver denarii coins totaling twenty-one hundred, tendered by the Buyer at seven hundred per head for three male slaves including Ian. Didius drives the inflated price after refusing Barbara's sale, forcing the Buyer to concede during tense haggling in his tent. The currency underscores Rome's slave economy, clutched in negotiation as Sevcheria, Barbara, and Ian watch powerless.
1 appearances

Purpose

Purchase three male slaves from Didius

Significance

Exposes inflated slave values, Didius's market leverage, and companions' commodification—Barbara spared temporarily, males bartered amid threats of separation in journey to Rome

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

1 moments
S2E12 · The Slave Traders
Didius blocks sale of Barbara

The 2100 denarii paid by the buyer for the three male slaves—seven hundred each—serves as the tangible currency of this transaction, symbolizing the brutal economic reality of slavery in Rome. The coins are not just a means of exchange but a measure of human worth, with Didius driving the price up through strategic haggling. The payment underscores the dehumanizing nature of the trade, where lives are bartered like livestock, and profit takes precedence over morality. The buyer’s willingness to pay such a high sum reflects both his resources and his desperation for labor.

Before: Held by the buyer as potential payment, its value contingent on securing a deal for the slaves.
After: Transferred to Didius as payment for Ian and the two unnamed males, now in Didius’s possession as profit from the sale.
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