Greeks were undaunted by the inaccessible terrain where they built some of their monuments---locations modern builders wouldn't dare to touch. For example, the Temple of Apollo at Basse was located in the almost inaccessible rugged mountains of Arcadia at an altitude of 1,131 feet. The temple is one of the best preserved Greek monuments because of its remote location. It was lost for more than seventeen-hundred years until it was found again in the18th century.
For the Greeks and Romans, difficult construction only meant the need for more slaves. God-forsaken locations pose no obstacle if you have enough slaves whose lives you are willing to sacrifice.
The use of slaves did not mean that construction still wasn't costly. Some paid skilled workers were usually required and construction materials were expensive. Consider too that slaves had to be fed and housed, even if the living conditions were abominable and the food provided at starvation levels. Not surprisingly, the disease and death rates for slaves were high, particularly for those who worked in mines and construction sites. They were pushed to toil for as least twelve hours a day. The Romans deplored the Jewish practice of the Sabbath--a mandatory day of rest. They called it laziness
To build the massive Colosseum in Rome, Emperor Vespasian found a convenient source of labor and finance. The construction was almost entirely paid for by gold and other treasures stolen from the Temple in Jerusalem, which was demolished during the Roman /Jewish war in 66-74 CE. This fact was confirmed in 2001 by Prof Geza Alfoldy of Heidelberg University. He discovered an inscription in a stone plaque dating to the first century.
Another prize of the war for Vespasian was the 60 thousand Jewish slaves who were dragged in chains to Rome to toil on the Colosseum.
Most people in Greek and Roman societies benefited from spectacular architectural constructions--except the slaves. Ordinary citizens took pride in the achievements of their "advanced" civilizations. Slave traders financed wars to seize slaves for the projects, which earned them riches. Emperors basked in the conviction that their creations would award them immortality. For the generals, there was glory, power, and material rewards for their military victories. The perks for the foot soldiers were the usual murder, pillaging, and rape.
Let's now visit the Hagia Sophia Church in Istanbul. Built by the Christian Emperor Justinian in the sixth century CE, it is also revered by Muslims. It became a Mosque (Ayasofya) after the Turkish conquest in 1453. Since 1934 it has been a secular museum. But on July 10, 2020 the top court in Turkey annulled its museum status and Turkey's President Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan promptly reverted Hagia Sophia to a mosque. Muslim praying at the site resumed on July 24th despite protests from around the world,
This huge masterpiece of Byzantine architecture was built by10,000 workers--mostly slaves. For a thousand years it was the largest enclosed human-made space on the planet. Hagia Sophia was completed in the record time of fewer than six years. With an unlimited supply of slaves, record time is standard.
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