Greek slavery in a Near Eastern context : a comparative study of the legal and economic distinctiveness of Greek slave systems
The orthodox view of Greek slavery, developed by a number of scholars but particularly by M.I. Finley, regards the âclassicalâ civilisations of Greece and Rome as cultures in which slavery developed to a high degree, which stood in contrast to neighbouring Near Eastern societies where the institution remained undeveloped in economic terms and was not understood in the same fashion, since these societies lacked a concept of freedom. This study provides a critical revision of this issue in two phases. The first analyses the legal nature of slave ownership in a cross-cultural perspective, and shows that the legal features of slavery are fundamentally similar in Greek and Near Eastern societies; both Greek and Near Eastern societies understood slavery in a similar fashion, and although societies of the latter kind lacked a developed cultural understanding of freedom, they understood the legal meaning of freedom and could distinguish slavery from other conditions. This undermines the Finleyan view that slavery in Greece and the Near East differed fundamentally in qualitative terms. The second phase shows that the notion that slavery remained an undeveloped institution in the Near East is incorrect by comparing
Lewis, David Martin
Greek slavery in a Near Eastern context : a comparative study of the legal and economic distinctiveness of Greek slave systems. The orthodox view of Greek slavery, developed by a number of scholars but particularly by M.I. Finley, regards the âclassicalâ civilisations of Greece and Rome as cultures in which slavery developed to a high degree, which stood in contrast to neighbouring Near Eastern societies where the institution remained undeveloped in economic terms and was not understood in the same fashion, since these societies lacked a concept of freedom. This study provides a critical revision of this issue in two phases. The first analyses the legal nature of slave ownership in a cross-cultural perspective, and shows that the legal features of slavery are fundamentally similar in Greek and Near Eastern societies; both Greek and Near Eastern societies understood slavery in a similar fashion, and although societies of the latter kind lacked a developed cultural understanding of freedom, they understood the legal meaning of freedom and could distinguish slavery from other conditions. This undermines the Finleyan view that slavery in Greece and the Near East differed fundamentally in qualitative terms. The second phase shows that the notion that slavery remained an undeveloped institution in the Near East is incorrect by comparing
greek slavery near_eastern context comparative_study legal economic distinctiveness greek slave system orthodox view greek slavery develop number_scholar particularly regard classical civilisation greece_rome culture slavery develop high_degree stand contrast neighbouring near_eastern society institution remain undeveloped economic term understood fashion since society lack concept freedom study provide_critical revision issue two_phase first analyse legal nature slave ownership cross_cultural perspective show legal feature slavery fundamentally similar greek near_eastern society greek near_eastern societies understood slavery similar fashion although society latter kind lack developed cultural freedom understood legal meaning freedom could distinguish slavery condition undermines view slavery greece near_east differ fundamentally qualitative term second_phase show notion slavery remain undeveloped institution near_east incorrect comparing