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The Class Struggle in the Ancient Greek World: From the Archaic Age to the Arab Conquests

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When I first learned of 'The Class Struggle in the Ancient Greek World', a decade ago, I was an undergraduate studying the Greek world for the first time. The idea of such an enormous work of scholarship was intriguing, and, when I ran across the book several years later, I bought it without hesitation. Now, ten years on, I can say with some degree of certainty why this book is so highly regarded, even by those who find it philosophically untennable.

G. E. M. de Ste. Croix has synthesised a remarkable and different view of ancient history, applying Marxist principles of interpretation to everything that is known about the people and events of the ancient world. The result is a staggering volume, not only in terms of the size of the book (more than seven hundred pages), but its content. In the book he sets out to demonstrate that key events in the history of the Greek and Roman worlds were driven by factors which, although perhaps not centrally causal, were at least in part created as a result of a struggle of class against class in the ancient world. Certainly, the book is more richly documented than many works which one reads on similar subjects, and it needs to be, in order to support the ultimate contention that the Roman Empire fell, at least in part, due to the exploitation of the masses, just as the death of Greek (Athenian) democracy in the fourth century weakened the central powers of Greece to such an extent that they could no longer resist Rome. There is quite clearly a Marxist perspective given here, and it makes for fascinating argument.

Whether or not you support the ideological approach to history espoused by G.E.M. de Ste. Croix or not, to dismiss 'The Class Struggle in the Ancient Greek World' as outmoded or passé is to do a great disservice to both scholars and students. I cannot conclude better than Bernard Knox did in his original review of the book when he said, simply: 'The ancient historian who fails to consult this book does so at his peril.' If you read ancient history, or are absorbed by questions of the past, then this book should be a high priority for your library.

In the annals of Marxist historiograph, I believe this book could and should be ranked among the modern classics, that's to say on the same level as, e.g., Isaac Deutscher's Trotsky biography. Sainte-Croix uses and applies Marxist concepts in order to get rid of vulgar quasi-Marxist interpretations and notions about the Ancient world such as "merchant capital", "Roman and/or Greek middle class" and the like. In passing, he has submitted conservative historiography to a throughly critique. By so doing, he has sorted the wheat from the chaff and held the field almost solely for the last twenty-five years. Unfortunately, he has not come to grips which postmodern historiography proposing a non-class, anti-marxist interpretation to Ancient history, such as Paul Veyne's _Bread & Circuses_ (in its way, a work to rival Sainte-Croix's). But then, something had to be left for posterity to do, isn't it?

This is a superb analysis of the too-often ignored class aspect of the nations that dominated the Ancient World. G.E.M. De Ste Croix's compassion for the downtrodden and the oppressed make themselves evident to the reader almost immediately. You are missing out on an awful lot if you willfully ignore one of the great historical masterpieces of the ancient world; particularly of the ancient Greeks.

This book is highly-fascinating and revealing and is bound to even make the most serious students of ancient history pause for a second to consider some of the powerful arguments and findings that are made throughout this brilliant study. Who says history must be boring? Thanks to truly great, unconventional minds like Ste Croix, it does not have to be: This is not a story of rulers and Kings; emperors and armies, but of people and of humanity.

I give this book my highest recommendation.

de Ste Croix has always been controversial and this book is no exception. Using evidence that most scholars would agree on, de Ste Croix gives some new twists to previous, standard interpretations. A good start to anyone wanting to investigate social history either in the ancient world or common themes/trends in human history.

I read this almost 30 years ago and was impressed. Unfortunately my copy disappeared a long time ago; if it was available on Kindle at the price of the paperback I would buy again.

Ste Croix has created a true historical masterpiece with The Class Struggle in the Ancient Greek World and anyone interested in gaining a deep understanding of the Ancient World would be a fool not to read this text. When reading it one gets the impression that is the culmination of a lifetime of work and there few other pieces of historical analysis which can rival its depth and insight. It's style is closer to that of a serious of connected essays then a long narrative but that should not deter anyone with a serious interest in the subject.