num_pages: 321
description: In this thought-provoking study of slavery in ancient Greece and Italy, Sir Moses Finley discusses how slave societies came into being and considers the moral, social, and economic underpinnings that allowed them to prosper. His comparison of ancient slave societies with their relatively modern counterparts in the New World opens a new perspective on the history of slavery. Sir Moses' inquiry sheds light on the complex ways in which ideological interests affect historical interpretation. Slaves have been exploited in most societies throughout human history, but there have been only five genuine slave societies, and of these, two were in antiquity: classical Greece and classical Italy. In this major new book, the distinguished historian Sir Moses Finley examines those two societies, not in isolation, but in comparison with the other, relatively modern slave societies of the New World.
language: English
title: Ancient Slavery and Modern Ideology
publisher: Markus Weiner Publishers