Reconstructing the Slave

Wrenhaven (classics, Cleveland State U.) reconstructs the image of the slave in ancient Greece by examining linguistic and cultural artifacts. Sections examine in-depth how slaves were addressed and referred to in everyday language, the ritual of name changing as part of the process of becoming a slave, the body of the slave (as described in language, depicted in art and governed in law), the concept and cultural manifestations of the "good" slave (as evidenced in ancient Greek funerary traditions and later surfacing in American racial depictions) and finally addressing war captives and the concept of the natural slave. Well-organized and written in a clear, easy to follow style, the work includes many supplemental black and white images. Annotation c2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)