Ideas of Slavery from Aristotle to Augustine

A unique and comprehensive account of attitudes to slavery in ancient Greece and Rome.

Peter Garnsey (Author)

9780521574334, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 13 November 1996

288 pages
21.6 x 13.6 x 2.4 cm, 0.34 kg

'This book is a fascinating and fundamental statement on its subject … The evident passion of the work and material referenced in the bibliography and the notes ensure that it is a must not just for students and teachers of ancient social, philosophical and church history, but also for anyone interested in the underpinnings of modern slavery too.' Slavery & Abolition

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, nor a vigorous debate, such as occurred in antebellum America, but this does not imply that slavery was accepted without question. Dr Garnsey 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. A final chapter considers the use of slavery as a metaphor in the Church Fathers.

Introduction: 1. Slavery and slave theory in antiquity
Part I. Attitudes to Slavery: 2. Slavery accepted
3. Justifications of slavery
4. Slave-systems criticized
5. Fair words
6. Slavery criticized
7. Slavery eased
Part II. Theories of Slavery: 1. Classical, Hellenistic and Roman Philosophers: 8. Aristotle
9. The Stoics
2. Early theologicians: 10. Philo
11. Paul
3. Church Fathers: 12. Ambrose
13. Augustine
14. Slavery as metaphor
Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Western philosophy: Ancient, to c 500 [HPCA]