A slave, under some circumstances, could gain his freedom. In Greece, where many little states constantly at war bordered one another, a slave could often run away to liberty. In a great empire like Rome, where no boundary lines existed, this was usually impossible. Freedom, however, was sometimes voluntarily granted. A master in his will might liberate his favorite slave, as a reward for the faithful service of a lifetime. A more common practice permitted the slave to keep a part of his earnings until he had saved enough to purchase his freedom. [Illustration: A SLAVE'S COLLAR A runaway slave, if recaptured, was sometimes compelled to wear a metal collar riveted about his neck. One of these collars, still preserved at Rome, bears the inscription: _Servus sum dom(i)ni mei Scholastici v(iri) sp(ectabüis). Tene me ne fugiam de domo._--"I am the slave of my master Scholasticus, a gentleman of importance. Hold me, lest I flee from home."] PERMANENCE OF SLAVERY Slavery in Greece and Italy had existed from the earliest times. It never was more flourishing than in the great age of classical history. Nor did it pass away when the Roman world became Christian. The spread of Christianity certainly helped to improve the lot of the slave and to encourage his liberation. The Church, nevertheless, recognized slavery from the beginning. Not until long after ancient civilization had perished did the curse of slavery finally disappear from European lands. [20] 94. GREEK LITERATURE EPIC POETRY The literature of Greece begins with epic poetry. An epic may be defined as a long narrative in verse, dealing with some large and noble theme. The earliest epic poetry of the Greeks was inseparable from music. Wandering minstrels sang at feasts in the palaces of kings and accompanied their lays with the music of the clear-toned lyre. In time, as his verse reached a more artistic character, the singer was able to give up the lyre and to depend for effect solely on the poetic power of his narrative. Finally, the scattered lays were combined into long poems. The most famous are the _Iliad_ and the _Odyssey_, works which the Greeks attributed to Homer. [21] LYRIC POETRY Several centuries after Homer the Greeks began to create a new form of poetic expression--lyric poetry. In short poems, accompanied by the flute or the lyre, they found a medium for the expression of personal feelings which was not furnished by the long and cumbrous epic. The greatest lyric poet was Pindar. We still possess forty-four of his odes, which were written in honor of victorious athletes at the Olympian and other national games. [22] Pindar's verses were so popular that he became, as it were, the "poet laureate" of Greece. When Alexander the Great destroyed Thebes, [23] the native town of Pindar, he spared that poet's birthplace from the general ruin.