Ideas of Slavery from Aristotle to Augustine

by Peter Garnsey

This study, unique of its kind, asks how slavery was viewed by the leading spokesmen of Greece and Rome. There was no movement for abolition in these societies, or a vigorous debate, such as occurred in antebellum America, but this does not imply that slavery was accepted without question. This book draws on a wide range of sources, pagan, Jewish and Christian, over ten centuries, to challenge the common assumption of passive acquiescence in slavery, and the associated view that, Aristotle apart, there was no systematic thought on slavery. The work contains both a typology of attitudes to slavery ranging from critiques to justifications, and paired case studies of leading theorists of slavery, Aristotle and the Stoics, Philo and Paul, Ambrose and Augustine.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Philosophy

288 pages, Paperback

First published November 13, 1996

About the author

Professor Peter Garnsey is Emeritus Professor of the History of Classical Antiquity and a Fellow of Jesus College. His research interests include: history of Political Theory and Intellectual history; social and economic history; food, famine and nutrition; and physical anthropology.

Reviews

[Jared Saltz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Garnsey is a truly excellent classicist, and this volume--looking at the "big picture" of slavery--looks solely at the attitudes about and theories concerning slavery. It's focus is its strenght. But it also looks at those two topics chronologically (mostly), from various philosophical viewpoint, including not just the major authors like Aristotle or the Stoics, but also Jewish and Christian voices like Philo, Paul, and Augustine. This is its strength.

[Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seems to be a good start in looking at slavery in ancient civilisations. A lot of what was said could be gleaned simply form reading the source text, but still a good place to start I think, so not without merit. Also pretty easy to read relative to some academic books.