The Ergastulum
An Ergastulum was a private prison attached to most ancient Roman farms where
the slaves were made to work in chains. It was usually underground with the only
light stemming from narrow slits that were too high from the ground to permit
escape. The slaves confined in an ergastulum were forced by day to cultivate the
fields in chains.
Slaves who had displeased their masters were punished by imprisonment in the
ergastulum and subjected to terrible tortures. Slaves were often skinned alive.
Others were drained of blood, decapitated, or bound tightly, suspended painfully
and whipped to appease lustful citizens under the pretext of the desires of the
Roman gods. A trustworthy slave had custody of the ergastulum, and was thus
called ergastularius. These prisons came about in consequence of the conquest
of Italy by the Romans, and the great number of barbarous slaves who were needed
to cultivate the conquered lands and create a base of wealth for the Roman
citizenry. This tale is an account of three Greek sisters who were subjected to
great abuse in the depths of an ergastulum.
Having just arrived as a captive from a punitive raid on the Greek isle of
Rhodes, Adara's naked body was held down over a tall, sturdy wooden trestle
table. Ankles apart, bound with thick cord to the inverted V formed by the legs
of the trestle; her slight body was stretched out horizontally. Lying along the
filthy, wet wooden surface, head turned to one side at its far end, she dreaded
what was about to happen. Her hands were roughly pulled down to the bottom of
the legs at the far end of the table and tied tight to metal rings in the legs.
"The matter that has concerned me lately," Master Galus had told his
ergastularius, "...has been these stories about slaves coming from these Greek
territories. A useless lazy lot that needs to be taught Roman discipline. I
want them broken fully at the farm before I consider them for personal duty."
With these directions in mind, Kaeso, the ergastularius, clutched the handle of
a leather flagellum in his right hand and cracked it sharply through the air.
Then, positioned properly behind Andara, he carefully took the end of the whip
in his left hand, pulling the lashes taught, and drew his arm back high in the
air above shoulder height. Quickly, he snapped the whip down delivering the
straps straight across the girl's backside, coloring them with red lines tracing
her pale buttocks. She gave a scream followed by a quick intake of breath.
Kaeso stepped back, pausing, and waited for the pain to reach its peak, giving
time for the shock of the first blow to give way to dread anticipation of the
next, then lifted the whip high again and drove it down for a second time. This
second more intense blow cut the flesh as the tips of the whip wrapped around
Andara's ribs. "AAAAAAARGH!"
"SILENCE!" Kaeso ordered. "You will take your discipline properly." Kaeso's
words were followed immediately by a third vicious blow to Andara's buttocks
that deepened the ever-reddening rump and bringing forth a yelp. Kaeso
repositioned himself to properly deliver a fourth blow that landed perpendicular
to the girl' body, tracing lines downwards from the bottom of her back to the
top of her left thigh. Shifting again, Kaeso struck hard again on the back
bringing forward an anguished sob.
Kaeso paused a bit and contemplated his victim. He thought that actually,
considering her circumstances-the trauma of capture, exhaustion from the long
voyage with little to eat-this Greek woman was enduring the flogging rather
well. With that, the ergastularius drew another leather flogger that had been
soaking nearby in a bucket of brine. This flagellum many straps were heavily
knotted at their ends. He raised the dripping straps and dealt a sixth almighty
blow. Andara bucked furiously writhing with the pain that peaked at an
unimaginable level expertly complimented by the salty liquid.
Suddenly, amid her sobs, Andara felt herself being untied and pulled to her feet
then immediately turned around. Her back was now along the horizontal top of
the trestle, and through her teary eyes she stared at the ceiling. Her hands
were pulled backwards, behind her head, and secured to the trestle legs and a
cord was thrown round her waist and tied off below to cinch her belly. While
Andara labored for breath resticted by her position and bindings, Kaeso then
moved to her legs, bound each ankle to the top of the trestle legs at the near
end of the table, baring her most intimate parts. Kaeso then took hold of the
now drying whip and administered severe punishment to her breasts. Multiple
blows rained down on Andara's small glands. The huge leather knots pummled her
nipples. Andara's whole body writhed in absolute agony, but the ropes held her
tight as Kaeso continued to whip her with increasing strength across her most
intimate areas. The lashes to her inner thighs and pubic area brought Andara to
hysterics. Abruptly the torment ceased.
"You'll receive 40 more lashes wench," Kaeso calmly commented. "You needn't be
concerned about a sickness coming from the wounds as you'll be purified with
salt afterwards." True to his word, following the beating, Kaeso rubbed course
sea salt into the Andara's broken skin while allowing Andara to freely scream.
Watching from nearby were Andara's two older sisters. They were suspended from
the ceiling of the dimly lit, stuffy ergastulum. They two were naked and hung
from rough-hewn posts that were tied to the backs of their shoulders. Their
arms were pulled to the rear and passed over the posts with their wrists tied to
their ankles that were drawn up and behind. The oldest of the siblings, Eris,
was but in her late 25th year but had already born five children. While her
body still was nubile, her breasts were heavily milk laden after having given
birth just prior to her capture. The other younger sister, Keres hung next to
Eris. She had witnessed Andara's punishment with a bit of a gleeful demeanor
and faced her upcoming turn under the lash with little fear. Keres was an
athelete and able to out wrestle most of the boys of her village. She had
tasted pain during many competitions and knew she would bear it
stoically--especially better than her cow of an older sister and her twin
Andara. Eris moaned loudly due to her weight bearing upon her shoulders.
"Courage sister," whispered Keres, "Andaras is being taken from the table and
I'll be next. By the time the ergastularius attempts to get a scream from me,
he'll be too exhausted to cause you any discomfort."
Eris only could moan again through closed eyes in reply. Keres however watched
intently as Kaeso drug the unconsious Andara's to a vertical "T" similar to the
suspending apparatus that she and Eris swayed from. Andara however would be
displayed fully extended on the structure. Her limp form was quickly affixed
and the ergastularius strode toward Keres. A viscous closed-handed fist rattled
Kere's head. Kaeso struck her equally as hard three more times. Stunned,
Keres, didn't realize she had been taken from her perch and tied to the whipping
table until the first blow ripped her back. More blows quickly followed and
although the pain was wicked, Keres did not scream. Again and again the lask
fell but Keres would not yield to the pain. Soon, Kaeso removed her from the
table and repositioned her as he had Andaras with her breasts and sex fully
exposed. The brine-soaked, knotted flagellum was then put into play and Kaeso
laid into the swings with seasoned expertise. Agonizing fiery wounds erupted
along Kere's hardened body. Still, no cries escaped her. Breathing hard, Kaeso
changed position and skin targets several times but was unsuccessful in
achieving the Greek girl's verbal surrender to his prowess.
The whip stopped and Keres slumped into stifled sobs. Suddenly, her eyes bulged
as her breath was extracted by a severe tightening of the rope around her waist.
Kaeso then added more rope coils that encircled her chest and abdomen a dozen
times with each winding drawn excruciatingly tight. Before he tied off the last
coil, Kaeso remarked,
"Breathe your last girl." Closing her eyes, Keres drew in the dank air of the
ergastulum as much as possible. She expelled it quickly though when Kaeso used
a gloved hand to place a red-hot ember on a bit of belly flesh exposed among the
coils of rope. Unable to move enough to dislodge the cinder, Keres began to
panic, as she was unable to draw breath. The scorching coal was blistering her
skin-Keres emitted a pitiful wail of agony.
"That's what I wanted girl," said Kaeso as he removed the coal and began to
loosen Keres's bindings. "We'll test you yet again tomorrow. Unfortunately, I
don't have time the big-titted one, I have a Persian to castrate. But I think
in the interim, I'll hang you from her breasts." Swiftly binding Keres's wrists
behind her, he led her to where her older sister was suspended. Pulling her
bound arms behind her, he attached rope loops around the base of Eris's breasts.
Moving quickly, he then raised Eris's tether until her distended bound breasts
pulled Keres up on her toes and both women spun nearly freely. The pain to
Eris's shoulders was amplified by the weight of her sister on her breasts and
she began to bellow. Her lactating glands leached milk that began to drip
heavily and run in rivulets down Keres's painfully extended arms. With both
tormented wretches fully secured, Kaeso tweaked one of Eris's redenening teats
and left to attend to the Persian.
End Part 1
