Piracy in the Graeco-Roman World

by Philip de Souza

This book is an historical study of piracy in the ancient Greek and Roman world. It examines the origins and growth of piracy, the impact of piracy on trade, and the relationship between warfare and piracy, and evaluates attempts to suppress piracy by the states and rulers of the ancient world. A major innovation is the author's discussion of the way that pirates and piracy are portrayed in major works of classical literature, including Homer, Cicero and the ancient novels.

Genres: History, Ancient History, Nonfiction

296 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Dr. Philip de Souza is a Dublin-based academic author and historian and has written widely on warfare and conflict in the Ancient World. He is a lecturer in the School of Classics at University College Dublin.

Reviews

[Writerlibrarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent! Really. I loved everything about it. The research, the point of view. The criticism. It's a revised version of his PhD thesis but it's still very academic in its presentation. Beware. But it was very engrossing for me. He painted a vivid image of the historical context for each period he presented: political context especially. If there were inscriptions he had them. He plundered Cicero, Dio, Appian, etc. Makes the reader want to dive into the original texts, at least I did.

Not a fast read but a rewarding one.