An exciting study of ancient slavery in Greece and Rome
This book provides an introduction to pivotal issues in the study of
classical (Greek and Roman) slavery. The span of topics is
broad--ranging from everyday resistance to slavery to philosophical
justifications of slavery, and from the process of enslavement to the
decline of slavery after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The book
uses a wide spectrum of types of evidence, and relies on concrete and
vivid examples whenever possible.
Introductory chapters provide historical context and a clear and concise
discussion of the methodological difficulties of studying ancient
slavery. The following chapters are organized around central topics in
slave studies: enslavement, economics, politics, culture, sex and family
life, manumission and ex-slaves, everyday conflict, revolts,
representations, philosophy and law, and decline and legacy. Chapters
open with general discussions of important scholarly controversies and
the challenges of our ancient evidence, and case studies from the
classical Greek, Hellenistic, and Roman periods provide detailed and
concrete explorations of the issues.
- Organized by key themes in slave studies with in-depth classical case
studies
- Emphasizes Greek/Roman comparisons and contrasts
- Features helpful customized maps
- Topics range from demography to philosophy, from Linear B through the
fall of the empire in the west
- Features myriad types of evidence: literary, historical, legal and
philosophical texts, the bible, papyri, epitaphs, lead letters, curse
tablets, art, manumission inscriptions, and more
Ancient Greek and Roman Slavery provides a general survey of classical
slavery and is particularly appropriate for college courses on Greek and
Roman slavery, on comparative slave societies, and on ancient social
history. It will also be of great interest to history enthusiasts and
scholars, especially those interested in slavery in different periods
and societies.
