What did roman slaves eat?
They ate salads,breads, fruits and cold meat leftover from the night before. They ate mainly whatever their masters ate just less of it.
What did the romans eat?
Almost everything - hummingbird tongue, porpoise, peacock, cheetah, tiger and lion. The upper class Romans had the money and the means to eat anything within shipping distance of Rome, and they did. Quite a few Romans had the reputation of being what we today would call gourmands. The only things they missed were foods that came from the New World or that couldn't be preserved long enough to be shipped to Rome. The poor of Rome ate a mixed grain bread and beer that were provided free to put off the possibility of rebellion. The Roman Senate provided "Bread and Circuses" (Food and entertainment) to keep the lower classes contented and happy.
Is it true Roman slaves had to have sex at their masters' bidding?
Spartacus is almost pure fiction, but a nice movie. The classic movie, I mean. Haven't seen the mini series, but I can imagine something. The scene in which Crassus suggests to "eat snails" is sheer nonsense. A Roman senator who wanted to have sex with his slaves did that. He didn't ask for permission any more than you would ask permission from an inflatable doll. Slaves with good looks were sold with the purpose of sex in mind. They fetched the highest prices on the market. There were no age limitations. Pedophilia was not a crime in those days. You can rest assured that a good looking 'cup bearer' would bear something else than cups during the night or whenever the master wanted it. Orgies were just like bunga-bunga parties of Berlusconi. They did happen, but not that often and attracted a lot of attention (gossip). Some things never change...
How did the Roman army eat?
I am interested to know, what were the logistics involved in feeding a mobile army 2000 years ago? Did the warriors cook for themselves? Did they take slaves with them? If so, how did they mobilize them? And how did they make sure the food wasn't poisoned by them?
Did Romans really sell dog meat to the Goths for child slaves?
Yes, two Roman military generals are said to have put the Goths in such a position: "...Lupicinus, commanding general in Thrace, the other Maximus, a pernicious leader. Their treacherous greed was the source of all our evils. I say nothing of other crimes which these two men, or at least others with their permission, with the worst of motives committed against the foreign new-comers, who were as yet blameless; but one melancholy and unheard-of act shall be mentioned, of which, even if they were their own judges of their own case, they could not be acquitted by any excuse. When the barbarians [Goths] after their crossing were harassed by lack of food, those most hateful generals devised a disgraceful traffic; they exchanged every dog that their insatiability could gather from far and wide for one slave each, and among these were carried off also sons of the chieftains." - The Roman Histories of Ammianus Marcellinus, 31.4.9
Did the Romans and Carthaginians use galley slaves to row their ships? What was the life expectancy of a galley slave? Did they wear clothes for winter?
Rarely. We have a few cases of slaves being levied and impressed in times of total war (the Second Punic War), but in general, rowing was a free man’s occupation. This had been the tradition since ancient Greece, and continued among both the Carthaginians and the Romans.There are only three cases that I know of, where slaves were used, all in the Second Punic War:When Titus Otacilius impressed some slaves in his navy, ca. after Cannae if I’m not mistakenWhen Scipio promised manumission to the slaves of New Carthage after he had captured itWhen the Carthaginians attempted to prepare for the extreme emergency of Scipio’s invasion, by hiring five thousand slaves to man the ships.Other than, galley slaves are a modern invention. They’ve only been popularized in Antiquity because of Ben Hur.