Book
Open Access
Ancient Mediterranean Incarceration
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Matthew D.C. Larsen
Language:
English
Published/Copyright:
2025
About this book
A free ebook version of this title is available through Luminos, University of California Press’s Open Access publishing program. Visit www.luminosoa.org to learn more.
This book examines spaces, practices, and ideologies of incarceration in the ancient Mediterranean basin from 300 BCE to 600 CE. Analyzing a wide range of sources—including legal texts, archaeological findings, documentary evidence, and visual materials—Matthew D. C. Larsen and Mark Letteney argue that prisons were integral to the social, political, and economic fabric of ancient societies. Ancient Mediterranean Incarceration traces a long history of carceral practices, considering ways in which the institution of prison has been fundamentally intertwined with issues of class, ethnicity, gender, and imperialism. By foregrounding the voices and experiences of the imprisoned, Larsen and Letteney demonstrate the extraordinary durability of carceral structures across time and call for a new historical consciousness around contemporary practices of incarceration.
This book examines spaces, practices, and ideologies of incarceration in the ancient Mediterranean basin from 300 BCE to 600 CE. Analyzing a wide range of sources—including legal texts, archaeological findings, documentary evidence, and visual materials—Matthew D. C. Larsen and Mark Letteney argue that prisons were integral to the social, political, and economic fabric of ancient societies. Ancient Mediterranean Incarceration traces a long history of carceral practices, considering ways in which the institution of prison has been fundamentally intertwined with issues of class, ethnicity, gender, and imperialism. By foregrounding the voices and experiences of the imprisoned, Larsen and Letteney demonstrate the extraordinary durability of carceral structures across time and call for a new historical consciousness around contemporary practices of incarceration.
Author / Editor information
Contributor: Matthew D.C. Larsen
Matthew D. C. Larsen is Professor of New Testament and Early Christian History and Archaeology at the University of Copenhagen.
Mark Letteney is the Carol Thomas Professor of Ancient History at the University of Washington.
Mark Letteney is the Carol Thomas Professor of Ancient History at the University of Washington.
Topics
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The Ancient Prison in Historiography Open Access Download PDF |
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Part One Ideals and Spaces
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A Typology of Prisons in Antiquity Open Access Download PDF |
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Part Two Experiences and Perceptions
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THE PRISON’S ANTIQUITY Wendy Warren Open Access Download PDF |
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Publishing information
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook published on:
August 26, 2025
eBook ISBN:
9780520387232
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
Main content:
258
eBook ISBN:
9780520387232
Keywords for this book
Ancient punishment; Roman law; Greek justice system; penal practices; detention spaces; historical criminology; classical archaeology; carceral state origins; imperial governance; social control; forced labor; legal institutions; marginalized communities; historical justice
Creative Commons
BY-NC-SA 4.0
