Chapter 12 Summary and Analysis

The scene changes from Greece to Rome as readers look at another slave-based economy. The development of the concept of freedom in Rome also results from a series of struggles. The first struggle is between the patricians and the plebeians. This is referred to as the struggle of the orders, which goes on until 287 B.C. The second takes place between 340-266 A.D., resulting in Rome growing and expanding to become Italy. The third involves the restructuring of Italian agriculture.

The first struggle, the struggle of the orders, parallels developments in Greece, with debt bondage and slavery. Unlike events in Greece, the plebeian class responds with the secessio, or strike. They reject the role of the patricians as leaders and refuse to fight their wars in 494-493 B.C. The patrician response to this strike is to basically absorb the...