Of COURSE it was different then. Duh! I’m guessing those “historians” didn’t bother to mention the Roman slave clubs and slave taverns, huh? You know, the places where slaves would gather after a long day of slavery? They could spend time unwinding, bragging about who had the best and most important owners. Compare wounds and scars from recent beatings. Discuss whose children had been sold to where. Share tips on how to avoid heat stroke out in the fields when the masters did not provide water. Yep, just a place where they could go where everybody knew their name and they were always glad they came.
Interesting bit of trivia here, though, regarding slave clubs vs. slave taverns. Naturally, slave clubs were reserved for those slaves with special skills and duties, typically owned by wealthy and high-ranking officials. Slave taverns, of course, were for the common labor slaves. Either way, the slaves during that time period were obviously treated much better than “modern day” slaves. And they were PROUD to be owned by powerful and influential masters who cared enough to provide them with places they could go to “escape” after a long day of forced labor.
(Edited under duress.)