Skilled Labour and Professionalism in Ancient Greece and Rome

This volume seeks to reassess ancient Greek and Roman society and its economy in examining skilled labour and professionalism.

Edmund Stewart (Edited by), Edward Harris (Edited by), David Lewis (Edited by)

9781108839471, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 3 September 2020

350 pages, 20 b/w illus.
16 x 23.5 x 3 cm, 0.76 kg

'Recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty.' M. A. Byron, Choice

This book is a history of ancient Greek and Roman professionals: doctors, seers, sculptors, teachers, musicians, actors, athletes and soldiers. These individuals were specialist workers deemed to possess rare skills, for which they had undergone a period of training. They operated in a competitive labour market in which proven expertise was a key commodity. Success in the highest regarded professions was often rewarded with a significant income and social status. Rivalries between competing practitioners could be fierce. Yet on other occasions, skilled workers co-operated in developing associations that were intended to facilitate and promote the work of professionals. The oldest collegial code of conduct, the Hippocratic Oath, a version of which is still taken by medical professionals today, was similarly the creation of a prominent ancient medical school. This collection of articles reveals the crucial role of occupation and skill in determining the identity and status of workers in antiquity.

Introduction Edmund Stewart, Edward Harris and David Lewis
Part I. Professionals and Professional Identity in Greece and Rome: 1. Many Ancient Greek occupations, few professions Edward Harris
2. Skilled workers in the ancient Greek city: public employment, selection methods and evaluation Natacha Massar
3. Money making, 'avarice', and elite strategies of distinction in the Roman world Emanuel Mayer
Part II. Specialization and the Division of Labour in the Ancient City: 4. Labour specialization in the Athenian economy: occupational hazards David Lewis
5. The perception of 'skills' in Ostia: the evidence of monuments and written sources Alice Landskron
Part III. Case Studies of Professions 1: Sculpture: 6. Professionalism in archaic and classical sculpture in Athens:  the price of techne? Helle Hochscheid
7. Artists beyond Athens: the freedoms and restrictions of the artistic profession in classical Greece Margit Linder
8. Roman sculptors at work: professional practitioners? Ben Russell
Part IV. Case Studies of Professions 2: Music and Athletics: 9. The profession of mousik? in classical Greece Edmund Stewart
10. Artists of Dionysus: the first professional associations in the ancient Greek world Sophia Aneziri
11. Neither amateurs nor professionals: the status of Greek athletes Christian Mann
Part V. Case Studies of Professions 3: A Profession of Arms?: 12. Professionalism, specialization and skill in the classical Spartan army? Stephen Hodkinson
13. A professional Roman army? Doug Lee.

Subject Areas: Economic history [KCZ], Classical history / classical civilisation [HBLA1], Literary studies: classical, early & medieval [DSBB], History of architecture [AMX], History of art: ancient & classical art,BCE to c 500 CE [ACG]