A Slave Girl in Ancient Rome, Part 1
The galley stank of sweat and piss and shit and vomit. Most of the girls had never been on the sea before. They spent the voyage throwing up and sobbing. We were crammed below deck in a space too small to stand in and too crowded to move around in. At first, when we needed to relieve ourselves, we warned the other girls. Later, we just let it happen. The stench was in our noses and throats for the whole journey. As we approached the port of Ostia, the slavers herded us onto the deck, threw pails of water over us, and told us to wash ourselves. Then they marched us onshore. The Romans were gathered on the dock. They directed searching looks at us as we were lined up in front of them. Maybe …