Plautus and Roman Slavery (eBook)

Roberta Stewart is Associate Professor of Classics at Dartmouth College. She is the author of Public Office in Early Rome: Ritual Procedure and Political Practice (1998).

Preface viii

Introduction 1

1 Human Property 21

2 Enslavement, or "Seasoning" Slaves 48

3 Violence, Private and Communal 80

4 Release from Slavery 117

5 The Problem of Action 156

Conclusion 190

Bibliography 193

Index 215

"Stewart has shown how Plautus and his society were aware
of slavery as a complex and contradictory institution that raised
perplexing questions in human relations. Slavery informed the lived
experience of Plautus' audience and this reality was embedded
in Plautus' dramatization of master-slave relations. Anyone
who seeks to understand the poet and his audience on their own
terms should read Plautus and Roman Slavery." (Bryn
Mawr Classical Review, 1 November 2012)

"Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students,
researchers, faculty." (Choice, 1 November
2012)

"A unique discussion of the religious, legal and literary
context of slavery in the comedies of Plautus." -
Niall McKeown, University of Birmingham



"Stewart's legal/political approach, and her engagement
with current work on New World human trafficking, make this book a
must for students of slavery ancient and modern as well as for
readers of comedy." - Amy Richlin, University of
California, Los Angeles

"Plautus and Roman Slavery is that rare thing
- a truly original book. This is not the first study to take
the comedies of Plautus as historical documents of their own time
and society, but it is unusual in placing slavery at the centre of
the picture. By adopting methods developed in American slavery
studies, and applying them to Plautus' plays, Roberta Stewart
succeeds brilliantly in recreating the lived experience of Roman
slaves." - Timothy Cornell, University of
Manchester