Radical Antiquity: Free Love Zoroastrians, Farming Pirates, and Ancient Uprisings

by Christopher B. Zeichmann

When you think of Ancient Greece and Rome, what do you see? The Acropolis and the Colosseum? Perhaps the philosophy of Plato and Aristotle, and the rule of the Caesars? Or the birth of democracy and the vast reach of an empire? This well-trodden history of great thinkers, military leaders, and early state formation in the classical world enthralls us still, but it tells only half the story… 



How democratic was Athenian democracy? How much power did states actually wield beyond their city walls? And who looked upon the systems of domination that prevailed and sought to create something different?



Radical Antiquity takes you on a unique journey in search of anarchy, statelessness, and social experimentation in the Graeco-Roman world. Sweeping across the Mediterranean from the time of the first Olympic Games in 776 BCE until the emergence of Islam in 610 CE, Christopher B. Zeichmann introduces the reader to communities of escaped slaves, pirates, and religious sects—all of whom sought a more egalitarian way of life that avoided the coercion, hierarchy, and exploitation of the state. 



This history from below brings the experiences of common and marginal people out of obscurity, and radically expands our understanding of social and political life in the classical world.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Politics

315 pages, Paperback

Published September 20, 2025

Reviews

[Simon B · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Over the course of this book, we have excavated a range of exciting political formations from the historical record [of antiquity]. Many people resisted slavery, patriarchy, respectability politics, and economic exploitation. Moreover, people formed groups that treated these concerns as foundational to their social practices and identities."

Almost all of the written sources from the ancient world reflect the oligarchic biases of their authors, who were typically aristocrats or were otherwise relatively wealthy and comfortable. For example, Zeichmann points out that not a single extant source from antiquity says anything sympathetic about Athenian democracy. This is an anarchist history about some of the rarely-acknowledged rebels, misfits and nonconformists of antiquity, whose examples can still be reconstructed despite the paucity of information. I'm not an anarchist and have reservations about Zeichmann's claims that all of the groups he discusses were anarchist (or at least somewhat anarchistic). That's too redolent for me of the Soviet scholars of antiquity who found "proto-communists" peppered throughout the ancient world. Plus, none of the examples discussed seemed truly leaderless, but rather developed radically democratic institutions whereby leadership roles were elected, accountable, recallable and carefully defined. But I still recommend this highly as a insight into the ways people rejected political systems of domination and exploitation in antiquity that can give some encouragement and inspiration for today's struggles. I also loved how each chapter included a few suggestions for further reading on topics such as the Spartacus slave uprisings in Italy, the Cynic philosophers or the radical ancient Christian sect of the Circumcellions.

[Richard Derus · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book by an academic and a leftist and an historian that does not require a twelve-cylinder brain concentration-turbocharged to 1000 horsepower to comprehend.

Honest.

It's examining the records we have from an interpretive point of view that does not assume all meaning is on the surface, or even near it; we know, as internet-savvy information consumers, the "just the facts" approaches used in days of yore made the immense leap of faith that the ancient writers cared about or could reliably discern only "facts" from such data as they received on a given subject. We know better than to accept one version of events as the only truth. It's something that this book contends with, that recovery of more complete data by accounting for bias in recording and further distorting bias in later preservation of the information about ancient peoples.

As this exercise of judgment and evaluation is literally the author's day job, I'm inclined to believe he is doing it in as much honest and fair evaluation of what's there as is possible. In other words I feel satisfied he is not just making shit up as he goes along.

It is very enjoyable to have data that suggests we-the-people have always been ready to ignore, co-opt, or simply pretend to obey our governing class when it has suite our needs. This lesson is very useful at any time; it is, however, particularly timely now.

Partake of Author Zeichmann's amusing prose detailing supremely timely reminders that the consent of the governed can always be revoked.

[Todd · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's not a lot of historical folks attesting to the past, and most of them (if any) are not working-class grunts, pirates, slaves, and other miscellaneous chattel. This book sheds some light on their reality.

Turns out the manner in which the not-aristocrats created governments were a lot more democratic than the government by the people that the rich and powerful disliked and undermined. It gives me hope that in the current reorganization of the planet's people that we have the chance of doing better.

In the United States it's not a minute too soon!

[Nicholas Cantacuzene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really extrapolates at times but filled with interesting case studies