Roman Slave Market
26 year old Portia was excited. She was finally on her way to the slave market, accompanied by her husband’s big, burly slave Africanus, in order to purchase her very own footslave. She had been pestering her husband, Aquinas, for months now about getting another slave for the household – and, in particular, a slave who could attend exclusively to her own selfish needs. Africanus was a strong, diligent and hard-working slave, but he was often required to accompany his master on business, leaving Portia at home with just Julia, the maidservant, to take care of her needs. Julia, too, was a sweet, hard-working girl – but she had so much work to do about the house that Portia always felt rather guilty taking up her precious time. Furthermore, she felt somewhat embarrassed whenever she needed Julia to take care of her feet – to wash or pedicure them, mainly because even the lady Portia felt such humble tasks as being a Roman lady’s foot-washer were beneath a woman: any woman, even a humble,