RADICAL ANTIQUITY: Free Love Zoroastrians, Farming Pirates, and Ancient Uprisings, always good to learn our ancestors had problems with authoritarians too

RADICAL ANTIQUITY: Free Love Zoroastrians, Farming Pirates, and Ancient Uprisings
CHRISTOPHER B. ZEICHMANN
Pluto Press (non-affiliate Bookshop.org link)
$20.95 ebook, available now

Rating: 4* of five

The Publisher Says: A groundbreaking history of radically democratic societies in antiquity

When you think of Ancient Greece and Rome, what do you imagine? The Acropolis and the Colosseum? Perhaps the philosophy of Plato and Aristotle, and the rule of the Caesars? This well-trodden history of great thinkers, military leaders, and early state formation in the classical world enthralls us still, but it tells only half the story…

Radical Antiquity takes you on a journey in search of anarchy, statelessness, and social experimentation in the Graeco-Roman world. Sweeping across the Mediterranean from the time of the first Olympic Games until the emergence of Islam, Christopher B. Zeichmann tells the stories of escaped slaves, pirates, and religious sects—all of whom sought a more egalitarian way of life. This history from below brings the experiences of common and marginal people out of obscurity and radically expands our understanding of social and political life in the classical world.

“Unearthing the ancient world’s anarchist cultures, Zeichmann presents a compelling argument that authority may itself have always been the real aberration. Highly recommended” - Alan Moore, writer, activist, performer

“An inspirational masterpiece … Will transform the way you think about history, and the possibilities for human liberty”—William Arnal, Professor, University of Regina

“Wonderfully informative and a pleasure to read” - Uri Gordon, editor, Freedom

Christoper B. Zeichmann is a professor of history and religious studies at Toronto Metropolitan University. He is the author of The Roman Army and the New Testament and Queer Readings of the Centurion at Capernaum.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: A book by an academic and a leftist and an historian that does not require a twelve-cylinder brain concentration-turbocharged to 1000 horsepower to comprehend.

Honest.

It's examining the records we have from an interpretive point of view that does not assume all meaning is on the surface, or even near it; we know, as internet-savvy information consumers, the "just the facts" approaches used in days of yore made the immense leap of faith that the ancient writers cared about or could reliably discern only "facts" from such data as they received on a given subject. We know better than to accept one version of events as the only truth. It's something that this book contends with, that recovery of more complete data by accounting for bias in recording and further distorting bias in later preservation of the information about ancient peoples.

As this exercise of judgment and evaluation is literally the author's day job, I'm inclined to believe he is doing it in as much honest and fair evaluation of what's there as is possible. In other words I feel satisfied he is not just making shit up as he goes along.

It is very enjoyable to have data that suggests we-the-people have always been ready to ignore, co-opt, or simply pretend to obey our governing class when it has suite our needs. This lesson is very useful at any time; it is, however, particularly timely now.

Partake of Author Zeichmann's amusing prose detailing supremely timely reminders that the consent of the governed can always be revoked.