The Cambridge World History of Slavery, Volume 1: The Ancient Mediterranean World

"Most societies in the past have had slaves, and almost all peoples have at some time in their pasts been both slaves as well as owners of slaves. Recent decades have seen a significant increase in our understanding of the historical role played by slavery and wide interest across a range of academic disciplines in the evolution of the institution. Exciting and innovative research methodologies have been developed, and numerous fruitful debates generated. Further, the study of slavery has come to provide strong connections between academic research and the wider public interest at a time when such links have in general been weak. The CambridgeWorld History of Slavery responds to these trends by providing for the first time, in four volumes, a comprehensive global history of this widespread phenomenon from the ancient world to the present day. Volume I surveys the history of slavery in the ancient Mediterranean world. Although chapters are devoted to the ancient Near East and the Jews, its principal concern is with the societies of ancient Greece and Rome. These are often considered as the first examples in world history of genuine slave societies because of the widespread prevalence of chattel slavery, which is argued to have been a cultural manifestation of the ubiquitous violence in societies typified by incessant warfare"--Provided by publisher. "Most societies in the past have had slaves, and almost all peoples have at some time in their pasts been both slaves as well as owners of slaves. Recent decades have seen a significant increase in our understanding of the historical role played by slavery and wide interest across a range of academic disciplines in the evolution of the institution. Exciting and innovative research methodologies have been developed, and numerous fruitful debates generated. Further, the study of slavery has come to provide strong connections between academic research and the wider public interest at a time when such links have in general been weak. The Cambridge World History of Slavery responds to these trends by providing for the first time, in four volumes, a comprehensive global history of this widespread phenomenon from the ancient world to the present day. Volume I surveys the history of slavery in the ancient Mediterranean world. Although chapters are devoted to the ancient Near East and the Jews, its principal concern is with the societies of ancient Greece and Rome. These are often considered as the first examples in world history of genuine slave societies because of the widespread prevalence of chattel slavery, which is argued to have been a cultural manifestation of the ubiquitous violence in societies typified by incessant warfare"--Provided by publisher cover......Page 1 Frontmatter......Page 2 Introduction......Page 14 Slavery in the ancient Near East......Page 17 Slaves in Greek literary culture......Page 35 Classical Athens......Page 61 The Helots a contemporary review......Page 87 Slavery and economy in the Greek world......Page 104 The slave supply in classical Greece......Page 125 Slavery and the Greek family......Page 147 Resistance among chattel slaves in the classical Greek world......Page 166 Archaeology and Greek slavery......Page 189 Slavery in the Hellenistic world......Page 207 Slavery and Roman literary culture......Page 227 Slavery in the Roman Republic......Page 254 Slavery under the Principate......Page 278 The Roman slave supply......Page 300 Slave labour and Roman society......Page 324 Slavery and the Roman family......Page 350 Resisting slavery at Rome......Page 375 Slavery and Roman material culture......Page 398 Slavery and Roman law......Page 427 Slavery and the Jews......Page 451 Slavery and the rise of Christianity......Page 469 Slavery in the late Roman world......Page 495 Bibliography......Page 523 Volume 1 in the new Cambridge World History of Slavery surveys the history of slavery in the ancient Mediterranean world. Although chapters are devoted to the ancient Near East and the Jews, its principal concern is with the societies of ancient Greece and Rome. These are often considered as the first examples in world history of genuine slave societies because of the widespread prevalence of chattel slavery, which is argued to have been a cultural manifestation of the ubiquitous violence in societies typified by incessant warfare. There was never any sustained opposition to slavery, and the new religion of Christianity probably reinforced rather than challenged its existence. In twenty-two chapters, leading scholars explore the centrality of slavery in ancient Mediterranean life using a wide range of textual and material evidence. Non-specialist readers in particular will find the volume an accessible account of the early history of this crucial phenomenon.