Hidden Worlds: An Exploration of Literacy in Ancient Rome

Literacy is a complex term. It has been used interchangeably to describe the ability to read and write, levels of competence in a given field, and grades of cultural refinement (Eckardt, 2018, p. 3). Literacy can be split into three categories: passive, the ability to read; active, the ability to read and write; and functional, the minimal grasp of literacy required to function effectively in everyday life. The ancient Roman world was defined by its written culture, which was born out of an earlier oral tradition. The cornerstones of the Western canon, Homer’s Odyssey and Iliad, were transmitted orally long before they were written down (Lyc. 1 102), serving as a way to preserve and proliferate culture through relating to the lives of mythical characters. The cultural shift toward writing facilitated the preservation, evolution, and expansion of culture-preserving forms, uniting Roman society under one set of rules. 

At the center of this literary exploration is a tension between technological determinism (TD) and social constructivism (SC). Proponents of TD argue that the development of society depends on the technologies used, while proponents of SC believe the social laws determine what technologies created and used. This debate can be illustrated by gun control code (Stockwell, 1997 as cited in Green, 2002, p. 3-5). After a shootout left 35 people dead, Australia introduced stricter gun control laws. In the frame of TD, the use of guns shape society; in SC, society is shaped by the use of guns. In the Roman world, we may ask whether the use of the written word was a product of its success, or if its success was a product of the written word.

While it may be the case the few people were able to read or write in the Roman Empire, literacy played a vital role in its ascendancy. Increased literacy rates lead to higher economic success, which in turn leads to societal development (Rahman, 2013). The written form made it possible to simplify an increasingly complex and ambiguous environment. A standardized written form emerged alongside Rome’s imperial expansion, facilitating a shared understanding across the Empire’s inhabitants. Standardization facilitated social order through cultural proliferation, long-distance trade, and large-scale governmental administration. While the long-standing oral tradition before writing proves that surviving without basic reading and writing skills was possible, literacy was critically important in the ancient Roman world.

Discovering Power

Roman culture was rooted in the written word, yet literacy was not required to take part in it. Observing epigraphic evidence, Harris argues that literacy rates of the Western Roman provinces ranged between 5-10% (1991, p. 272). Reading and writing skills were part and parcel of elite education, connecting written culture with elite culture. The romance Daphne and Chloe tells a story of two children growing up in the countryside, where illiteracy was commonplace. However, these children were seen to be of distinguished birth, and as a result, their guardians had them educated in letters (Longus, i.8). Seeing as reading and writing lead to the creation, establishment, and proliferation of cultural forms— law, religion, business —those who were literate have an indirect influence on a largely illiterate population.

The Romans introduced written culture in the lands they conquered. Harris (1991, p. 206-207) notes that control over states within the Empire depended heavily on written correspondence. Most of the governing outside of Rome was done through writing. The Emporer exercised control over his subjects through paperwork. Orders and letters from the Roman authorities, which were the main sources of law, were displayed in public. Those who were illiterate relied on literate folks to interpret the law for them (Woolf, 2000, p. 881). While this does not show that the highest rungs of the Roman elite were literate, it suggests that they relied on literacy to effectively rule.

As the imperial march progressed, the Empire relied on the written word more and more. Obtaining literacy gradually increased in importance. Writing gave a voice to a previously voiceless majority, while at the same time facilitating those with power to exercise it more effectively (Harris, 1991, p. 232). Governing bodies could impose themselves far and wide; the land-owning class could safely manage the growth of their territory; the people could claim rights and justice. Literacy enabled rulers to manage their affairs without being physically present. Many ancient authors advised that farm managers be literate (Cato, Agr. 2.6; Varro, Rust. I.17.4 as cited in Woolf, 2000, p. 883). Household slaves received instruction and returned financial accounts in written form (Woolf 2009, p. 52). As they could not wield the increasing power of the written word, those who were illiterate were disadvantaged.

From Private to Public

Connections between writing, power, and social order have been drawn by many authors. Woolf puts forward that no states have existed without written records of some form, as they facilitate the control of resources from near and afar (2000, p. 891). Controlling provinces outside of Rome relied heavily on literary correspondence, which the Emporer used to manage those under his rule (Harris, 1991, p. 209). The government obtained obtaining general consent through a combination of martial power and the written word. Harris (1991, p. 211) reckons the Empire’s increasing emphasis on written records may have turned the written word into a hated symbol. An analogy can be drawn to the modern Westerners’ privacy concerns as technology tracks their online and offline movements. Technology companies like Facebook, Instagram, and Google have turned from symbols of unification to symbols of deception. Here we see how literacy, like any technology, can assume opposing forms: a blessing for those who can use it, and a curse for those who cannot. 

The private use of writing developed alongside the social elites’ interests (Woolf, 2011, p. 62). It is likely out of the need for accurate documentation of legal arrangements that writing grew (Woolf, 2011, p. 64). Legal documentation stemmed from an increase in private enterprise. The elite often held political positions, applying administrative techniques developed in private to the public sphere (Woolf, 2011, p. 52). In this way, public and private uses of writing were interconnected. Without some form of technology enabling the individual to extend himself beyond his immediate vicinity, the orderliness characteristic of ancient Roman Empire would have been unlikely.

The expansion of the Roman Empire occurred alongside a boom in both contracts and slave trade (Woolf, 2011, p. 64). Contracts are an abstraction of trust to which all parties are held accountable. Trust creates room for cooperation. Individuals who show themselves to be trustworthy make it likely that people will do business with them again (Korczynski, 2002, p.16). Those who prove themselves as trustworthy set themselves as long term business partners, creating and holding a good reputation. Contracts facilitate state-guarded cooperative endeavors which would make it more likely that tradesmen within the empire would succeed, feeding into the overall success of the Empire. Those without access to literacy— through education or a helping hand —are excluded from the world of contracts. Even with the help of a third party, they would have been vulnerable to fraud (CIL 10.4919).

As the land-owning elite often held public office, their writing practices filtered into society. An outgrowth of the Empire’s expansion was a secondary, urban culture into which elite writing practices filtered. One of these literary filters was alea (Latin, ‘dice’), or games of chance, that pervaded all levels of society (Woolf, 2011, p. 51). Literacy was not required to take part, yet those who engaged in it likely developed at least a rudimentary understanding of letters (Purcell, 1995, p. 34). Alea acted as a metabolizing function through which elite literary practices could be passed on to a largely illiterate population. Those who did not have access to the educational curriculum of the elite, or were averse to education, could pick up basic literary skills through the culture that surrounded these games. Modern cognitive psychology has demonstrated that play and learning go hand-in-hand (Ahmad et al. 2016, p. 72). Both the upper rungs of Roman society— emporers Claudius, Augustus, and Caligula — and common folks were recorded taking part in alea, demonstrating its power to transcend social class (Purcell, 1995, p. 4). As we voluntarily take part in them, games disarm our apprehension toward the unknown. When we voluntarily explore the world, we are more open to learning. Those who feared or did not have access to letters would be more likely to hone their literacy skills when playing the game. Purcell (1995, p. 35) reckons that alea acted as a social glue that played a part in the longevity of the Empire. These basic literacy skills would transfer to other aspects of civil life, enabling those previously illiterate to take part in Empire-expanding cultural practices like law-making, worship, and trade.

Death and the Divine

Mortality rates were high in ancient Rome. Death was ever-present (Hope, 2007, p. 1). Through commemoration, the written word grants the dead access to an “afterlife”. Commemorative tombstone inscriptions littered the empire, used both preserve memory and associate surviving family with the social status of the deceased (Harris, 1991, p. 201)., After his sons’ sudden passing, Marcus Aquilius Regulus had fashioned and distributed 1,000 of his son’s biography throughout the empire, instructing local officials to read his work aloud to the people of the town (Fischer, 2004, p. 71). Similar to the Regulus’ initiative, inscriptions may have been produced by hired masons, meaning we cannot guarantee the family of those memorialized were literate (Harris, 1991, p. 222). From the fervor displayed in memorializing the dead, we can infer that written word, and therefore the literacy, played an important role in the Roman world.

Leaders of the Roman Empire were guided by virtues known as mos moiorum (Latin, “ancestral custom”). Among these values were virtus (‘valor’, ‘manliness’, ‘excellence’) and fides (‘trust and faith,’ ‘confidence,’ and ‘reliability’) (Hölkeskamp, 2010, p. 33-34). Together, these virtues formed the guiding ethos of Roman society. Those who ran afoul of this Roman social code may have been subjected to damnatio memoriae (Latin, “condemnation of memory”). In an attempt to remove them from the history of the city, all traces of the offenders’ name would be scrubbed from the city’s written records. Tacitus (Ann. 3.17-18) mentions the statewide erasure of Piso’s memory after being accused of poisoning emporer Augustus’ grandson (Carroll, 2011, p. 72). If the written word and its comprehension were unimportant in the Roman world, damnatio memoriae would not hold weight. Using methods of exclusion as punishment implies a special significance was placed on the written word.

The written word was used to influence thought, beliefs, and actions of Roman citizens. Those who can competently use tools that shape culture can shape society. Historically, mankind has learned best through stories, as readers of the Bible, the Sutras, the Qu’ran, and the Harry Potter series can attest. Harris (1991, p. 213) notes that Roman high priests were made aware of the propagandistic power of the written word. A combination of written word and imagery would facilitate the upper orders of Roman society to impress both the literate and illiterate sectors of society. While it was disliked by those in power, evidence from the Empire seems to confirm that written prophecy was in circulation (Harris, 2003, 218; Cic. De div. ii.110). Strabo speaks of the locals being enamored by myth, advising those who want to be productive steer clear of its allure (Strabo. i.19). Both God and the Devil live under the one roof; it is to the writer how he uses the written word. Those who create the stories of culture can shape the behaviours of those inhabiting it. When explored through the lens of myth, the importance of literacy becomes evident.

Cultic messaging caters to all levels of literacy, taking written, oral, and imagistic forms. As the spoken word was understood by a wider proportion of Roman society, orality remained the preferred method of reaching a large crowd (Woolf, 2000, p. 879-880). Emporers could claim that his laws were “inscribed by the finger of God” (Exodus 31:18). Those who are not part of a literate culture are more susceptible to take myth as reality, as a result, are vulnerable to those who craft and perpetuate stories. Here we see a form of transubstantiation: The written word transforms into the Word of God, and in turn, takes on a cosmic power. 

  The ancient Roman elites were seen to claim descendency from the gods. Between 14 CE and 337 CE, over half of the Roman emporers were deified and worshipped in religious festivals (Chalupa, 2007, p. 201). There is no doubt that religious cult played a role in holding the Empire together. As seen in the lasting power of world religions such as Christianity, Buddhism, and Islam, the gods can move entire cultures. We have no reason to suppose that the Roman Empire was any different. Those who literate may have had a chance at interpreting these texts for themselves, leaving those who were illiterate at the mercy of those who created the texts. When merged with the divine, the written word and its understanding prove important.

Conclusion

While a majority of the ancient Roman world did not have functional levels of literacy, the written word and its comprehension were of critical importance to all of its inhabitants. We shape our tools, and in turn, our tools also shape us. As the elite instituted private writing practices in public office, the written word was proliferated many aspects of daily life. Governing forces made use of the written word to shape the world around them. Growth was in part managed by the written word, which in turn promoted the further expansion of the Empire. Literacy was a colossal force that in part determined how everyone within the Roman Empire lived their lives.

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