Praecones outside Rome: A Social and Economic Study

Abstract

Roman legal scholarship defines the auctioneer (praeco), as a mere mouthpiece; however, literary and epigraphic texts offer a more nuanced picture of such professionals. This work explores the socio-economic context of auctioneers (praecones) by considering the rather neglected evidence of inscriptions from Italy. It appears that praecones were prominent members of a variety of associations and might have played a specific role in them. Their connection to influential members of Roman society and traders of different kind of items (slaves, wine, pigments…) gives us a significant insight into the economic realities of Roman Italy. In the end, it emerges a richer picture of this job, far from the traditional and simplistic idea of being demeaning.