Representation of Slavery in the Greek Novel

William M. Owens is Associate Professor of Classics at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. His research focuses on the representation of social institutions, practices, and ideologies in ancient literature, in particular comedy and the novel.

"This is not the first book one should read on the Greek novel, but it is a necessary one... Altogether, the book well illustrates the centrality of slavery to the Greek novel, and shows how the ancient Greek novel became a cultural entrepot through which new comedy, Roman comedy, and other genres came to be appreciated in the Greek-speaking world under Roman rule." - Phoenix"Owens has produced a careful study of unfree status in the genre...this in-depth investigation of forced labour in ancient fiction contains many useful insights and will make a significant impact." - Bryn Mawr Classical Review"Owens’s formidable achievement in engaging both with the literary and with the historical spheres to advance our understanding of ancient slavery through the medium of the Greek novel, and of course of the genre itself—an approach that The Representation of Slavery in the Greek Novel plainly commends as a path to follow." - Ancient Narrative

• Introduction: Degradation and Resistance 1. Ephesiaca: Enslavement and Folktale 2. Callirhoe: Narratives of Slavery Explicit and Implied, Told and Retold 3. Two Novels About Slavery 4. Daphnis and Chloe: Slavery as Nature and Art 5. Slavery and Literary Play in Leucippe and Clitophon 6. Aethiopica: Love and Slavery, Philosophy and the Novel Afterward: Conclusions Summarized and Two Points of Speculation