Research Guides: WRPR 193: Slavery in Ancient Greece and Rome (HC): Background

Domestic Slavery

Grave Stele of Hegeso with an enslaved servant, Greek, 400 B.C.E., marble, Athens, National Museum (Source:flickr, Ellen Brundige)

What is Classics?

"What is Classics?"
Roger B. Ulrich discusses the value of studying Greek and Roman culture.

Companion Series

Companions and handbooks are very helpful kinds of sources. They are edited by leading scholars in the particular areas of research, and those editors commission researchers to write individual essays on the subjects which are their specialties. As a result, students get a much better understanding of the issues involved in a particular subject area, since the authors go beyond factual summaries to analysis of differing arguments in the field.

For companions, handbooks and histories involving slavery, see:

Cambridge History of World Slavery Vol. 1
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The ancient Mediterranean world / edited by Keith Bradley and Paul Cartledge. Features 22 essays on topics covering history, economics, literature, material culture, and society.
"Sexual Abuse and Sexual Rights: Slaves' Erotic Experience at Athens and Rome"
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Essay in the handbook, A Companion to Greek and Roman Sexualities.
"Women and Slaves in Greek Democracy" and "Women and Slaves in the Roman Republic"
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Essays in the handbook A Companion to Greek Democracy and the Roman Republic.
"Slaves"
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In the handbook, A Companion to Ancient Education.

Additional relevant material may be found in the series listed below when you look by Classical author, literary genre, or topic.

Blackwell Companions - 65 Titles

Brill Companions - 35 Titles

Cambridge Companions - 44 Titles

Encyclopedias for Classical Studies

Brill's New Pauly by Hubert Cancik (Editor); Helmut Schneider (Editor); Manfred Landfester (Editor); Christine F. Salazar (Editor)
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Publication Date: 2003-12-01
Updated and translated version of the standard encyclopedia for Antiquity, Paulys Real-Encyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft. Articles are extensive and often address the topic in general before analyzing the issues in Greece and in Rome specifically. Bibliographies list books, essays, and journal articles for further reading.
There are also additional series published with the encyclopedia, including a five-volume set on the classical tradition and an ongoing series of supplements:
1) Chronologies of the Ancient World
2) Dictionary of Greek and Latin Authors and Texts
3) Historical Atlas of the Ancient World
4) Reception of Myth and Mythology
5) Reception of Classical Literature
6) History of Classical Scholarship - A Biographical Dictionary
7) Figures of Antiquity and Their Reception in Art, Literature and Music
8) The Reception of antiquity in Renaissance Humanism
9) The Early Mediterranean World, 1200-600 BC
Note that all Pauly volumes are available in print at Haverford. Bryn Mawr and Swarthmore have all the volumes online.
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome by Michael Gagarin; Elaine Fantham
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Publication Date: 2010-01-01
This new encyclopedia offers a comprehensive overview of the literature, history, archaeology, art, philosophy, science, and religion of the Greek and Roman world from the Bronze Age to the fifth century CE. It also covers the legacy of the classical world and its interpretation and influence in subsequent centuries. Essay-length articles include linked references to related entries as well as select list of titles for further reading.
Oxford Classical Dictionary by Tim Whitmarsh
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Publication Date: Continuously updated online.
Substantive, peer-reviewed, and regularly updated, the Oxford Classical Dictionary combines the speed and flexibility of digital with the rigorous standards of academic publishing. It offers over 6,000 articles covering Greek and Roman literature, history, myth, religion, art, gender and science.

Roman Mosaic

Mosaic of an Actor's Mask of an old slave,Altes Museum, Berlin,

2nd century CE (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Subject Guide

Karen Viars

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Subjects: Africana & Black Studies, History, Political Science

Web Sites

A New Interpretive Study of the Evolution of Slavery in Hellenistic and Roman Greece
This website offers translations of Greek manumission inscriptions.

Perseus Digital Library This link opens in a new window
Database of Greek and Latin texts and translations, images (coins, vases, sculpture) and resources for textual studies. Searchable in English, Latin, and Greek.

Pharos: Doing Justice to the Classics
This website documents political uses of classical culture and history by white supremacists and other radical groups.
Servitude | Part 1: Female servants in Homer
This blog reflects on word meanings. It comes from the Kosmos Society which is sponsored by Harvard's Center for Hellenic Studies. Part 2 concerns male servants.
Web Resources on Ancient Slavery
Selected textual and archaeological sources. Maintained by Cornell College.

Research Guides

Oxford Bibliographies Online. Classics
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Presents extensive annotated reading lists for authors, texts, and topics, with advice on editions, commentaries, translations, and recent studies. See, for example:
"Slavery, Greek".
"Slavery, Roman"
New articles are added twice a year to all the Oxford Bibliographies subject areas..
Library Resources in Classics
A thoroughly developed guide for research in Classics. Some of the material is particular to the Princeton campus but much of it is available here.