Why has ancient Greek political thought obscured the issue of slavery? Why does the voice of slaves never emerge in the texts of ancient Greek literature? The development of Athenian slave-owning society and the rise of democracy are closely related. For the ancient Greeks, slavery is a "total social phenomenon," permeating the functioning of the whole society.

Yet, one would search in vain for a coherent doctrine or a grand narrative by which Athenian thinkers seek to legitimize slavery or examine its social and political connotations. Nothing of the sort exists, only a few digressions. This book makes the following assumption: the relative absence of references to slavery in the Ancients is not an indication of a lack that is left to the historian to fill in. It is a symptom that invites the historian to observe the ways in which a society allocates a position to those whose non-existence it organizes.

Unconscious, denial: Polen Ismar conducts a fascinating investigation, delving into the few references to slavery. Drawing from psychoanalysis, comparative history, and literature, the author reveals the anthropological realities that have not ceased to produce their effects even today.

Beautiful, precise, ambitious book. Le Monde

Polen Ismar signs an innovative work. Le Nouvel Obs

Polen Ismar was born in 1978. A graduate of the École normale supérieure in Lyon, an agrégé and doctor of history, he is a professor of ancient Greek history at the University of Aix-Marseille. He is preparing his book Athènes 403 (written in collaboration with V. Azoulay) for publication by Polis. Oedipus's Mirror was honored with the De la Contre-Allée Prize, 2024. Polen Ismar has also been awarded the Senate historical book prize, as well as the Grand Prize of the "Rendez-vous de l’Histoire." Cover artwork by: Eva Stefaní, photograph by: Andela Stefaní Tsitou