This lecture looks at Roman slavery and power structures during the Roman Republic. Although the foundation of the Republic was represented by the Romans as an attempt to overthrow tyranny, Republican government clearly favoured rule by the elite. At the other end of the social scale, slaves were the most clearly excluded from power and even personal autonomy. We explore the extent to which we can determine what a slave's life might have been like. Copyright 2013 La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.