A study of classical Athenian strategies and the different forms of slavery they fashioned
- Innovatively demonstrates the complexity of Classical Athens’ slave system
- Furthers academic understanding of the complex relationships between slavery and Athens’ society and economy
- Provides a more nuanced picture of the lives of enslaved Athenians, the scale of diversity within this group, and the reasons for this diversity
- Advances a methodological approach of value to slavery studies more broadly that recognises the diverse motivations and contexts that drive slavery and the diverse forms of exploitation this has resulted in
Classical Athenian slavery is often discussed as a single phenomenon and Athens’ enslaved as a unitary group. Yet the single legal status that the enslaved shared often obscures the very different characteristics of slavery evident in our evidence. This book provides a nuanced picture of Athenian slavery and its consequences from the perspective of slaveholding strategies, evidencing the varying ways in which Athenian slave owners employed their enslaved and the different methods of social control they utilised to do so. This approach, drawn from the work of historian Joseph Miller, eschews static definitions of ‘the institution of slavery’, in favour of a more dynamic progression of varied, though interrelated, phenomena.
Applying this methodology to classical Athenian evidence sheds light on the complexity of the city state's slave system and explicates the wide variations in the lives of Athenian slaves. Jason Douglas Porter furthers academic understanding of the complex relationships between slavery, Athenian society and economy through recognising the diverse motivations and contexts that drove these varied forms of exploitation.Series Editors’ Preface
List of Tables
Acknowledgements
List of Abbreviations
Introduction
Part I. Divergent Slaving Strategies
1. The Motivations behind Different Slaving Strategies
2. The Development of Diverse Slaving Strategies in Relation to the Work of Enslaved Persons
3. The Diversity of Slaving Strategies within Industries
Part II. The Slaving Strategies of Athenian Households: Two Case Studies
4. Xenophon’s Ideal Household: Direct Management and Increasing Wealth Through Slavery in the Oikonomikos
5. The Real Household of Demosthenes: Rentier Strategies and the Building of a Political Career
Part III. Diverse Experiences of Slavery
6. Slaving Strategies and the Lives of Athens’ Enslaved
Conclusion
Appendix: Athenian Wealth Distribution and the Feasibility of Widespread Slave Ownership
Bibliography
Index
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