A Day in the Life of a Roman Client
1 July 2016
Kent University recently ran a competition for Latin pupils to enter a script for the next in a series of short animations that are being streamed on YouTube. Fourth Form Stoics entered their scripts to the judges and Kien Powell (Fourth Form, Cobham) won the competition with his script ‘A Day in the Life of a Roman Client’. This is an incredible achievement; the current animation has amassed some five million views to date so we are hopeful Kien’s script will have similar success. You can read the winning script below:
"Ovelius rises with the sun to meet his great patron, Cassius Flavius Otho. Excited for another opportunity to be with Cassius, he hurriedly washes his face in his tectum (washbasin) and puts on his clean white toga, ready to carpe diem (seize the day). He steps into the busy road and heads off towards Cassius’ house.
In Ancient Rome, if a nobody wanted to become a somebody, he had to affiliate with a great man, also known as a patron. Becoming a client to one of these patrons was a big step in becoming a recognized member of the community. Around the first and second hours of the Roman day, the patrons welcomed the clients and gave them a sportula, a gift containing food and money. The more clients a patron had, the more respected they were. Ovelius is the client of Cassius Flavius Otho, a successful Roman citizen.
Ovelius makes his way through the dirty streets, through the marketplace filled with vendors yelling out their wares: “Piscis! (Fish)”, “Baca! (Fruit)”, and “Carnis! (Meat)”. Knowing he is going to get his sportula, he resists the temptations and continues on to Cassius’ house. Upon arriving, he sees that Cassius’ other clients are standing outside, waiting to be let in. Ovelius waits for a while as well, and soon Cassius is ready to take in his clients.
The salutatio commences. Cassius hands out their sportula, each filled with a nice amount of food. Paying respects to Cassius, they all eat. Ovelius speaks with Cassius about many different subjects, ranging from job ideas to money saving. Cassius always gives excellent advice, just like Ovelius’ father said he did.
In Ancient Rome, a client would stay with his family’s patron for a long time, and then his son would become a client to the same patron. It showed the fierce loyalty of a client’s family to their patron.
This has happened with Ovelius: his father was Cassius’ client so Ovelius became Cassius’ client. And if Ovelius has a son then he will probably become Cassius’ client too - if Cassius lives that long.
Ovelius then escorts Cassius to the balineum, where they all take the relaxing three-stage bath; from the tepidarium (hot room) to the frigidarium (cold room), and then finally the caldarium (sweating room). They applied oil and then strigiled it all off, leaving themselves moderately clean. He doesn’t speak to Cassius much, but then Ovelius remembers that today was a special day. Today was the day he had been invited for dinner at Cassius’ house! Such invitation used to come only once every two months, and was therefore a very special occasion.
When all the clients arrive for dinner, Ovelius receives a bit of a shock: he is placed far away from his patron, and he is eating worse food! Most of the others are eating mullet and lamprey while he has to make do with eels and pike. Being new to the patron system, for the first time Ovelius realises how unfairly the client was treated.
This is what Juvenal writes: “they were only too likely to be placed apart from their patron and served with inferior food and drink: while he has mullet and lamprey, you have eel and pike fed on sewage.”
However this insulting gesture doesn’t do anything to dampen Ovelius’ mood: he still eats the food and drinks the wine, and laughs as the end of the day comes. In the morning he will get up and copy his day again - minus the dinner.
Some people think that the client-patron system was degrading, but it was the only way to climb in the social ladder! Over the years the system of patronage changed: clients rarely got to speak to the patron, and the sportula contained a small amount of money instead of food. The client may not even have liked the patron but was only after what could get from them.
This is a day in the life of a Roman Client. It is debatable as to how fair the system was - but it’s up to you to decide…!"