Piracy in the Graeco-Roman World (1999)

Philip de Souza – School of Classics, University College Dublin – is the author of several books and articles about the history of the ancient world, including The Greek and Persian Wars, 499-386 BC (2003). He is co-editor of War and Peace in Ancient and Medieval History (2008). His book about piracy in the Graeco-Roman world was published by Cambridge University Press in 1999 (hardcover) and in 2002 (paperback). In 2009 it was transferred to digital printing, which means it is still available.

It is based upon a PhD thesis that was completed in 1992. The author explains:

“The book is considerably different in structure from the thesis on which it is based. There have also been some changes in the content where I have tried, albeit rather unevenly, to take account of new source material and scholarly publications which appeared after the summer of 1992. The text of the book was completed in the summer of 1998” (pp. ix-x).

The main text is divided into eight chapters which follow a chronological line from ca. 800 BC to AD 700, except for chapter 1 (introduction) and chapter 8 (conclusion). In all chapters (except the brief conclusion) the text is divided into shorter sections by several subheadings, which is very reader-friendly. Here is the table of contents:

1. Introduction
2. The origins of piracy from the Bronze Age to Alexander
3. Hellenistic piracy
4. Cilician piracy

5. Pompey and the pirates
6. Pax Romana
7. Piracy in Late Antiquity
8. Conclusions

References and additional comments are given in notes which are placed at the bottom of the page, which is very reader-friendly. At the end of the book we find a bibliography, a general index, and an index of ancient sources.

What about illustrations? Five maps are placed at the beginning of the book:

** Map # 1 – The Roman Empire

** Map # 2 – Greece and the Aegean

** Map # 3 – Southern Anatolia and Cyprus

** Map # 4 – Italy

**Map # 5 – Britain and France

[The Black Sea is shown on map # 1, but it is rather small here. I miss a separate map of this area, which the Romans called Pontus Euxinus.]

In addition, there are four plates. All illustrations inside the book are in black-and-white, even when the original is in colour. Since the number is so low, I can mention all of them here:

# 1 and 2 – Athenian Black Figure drinking cup of the mid sixth century BC, showing a merchant ship and a warship; page 24. This motive is also used on the covers on the book - front and back - where it appears in colour (which is much better).

# 3 – Silver denarius minted by Faustus Cornelius Sulla in 56 BC, in praise of his former commander Pompey the Great; page 174.

# 4 – Detail of a polychrome mosaic of the third century AD from Dougga in North Africa, showing Dionysos//Bacchus turning the Tyrrhenian pirates who tried to kidnap him into dolphins; page 217.

The author got some good reviews. On the back cover of the paperback version there are excerpts from two reviews of the hardcover version.

*** Cheryl Ward, Nautical Archaeology:

“Any reader interested in the development of the Mediterranean political or economic landscape, the literature of entertainment which often featured pirate attacks, and a history of piracy based on texts of the ancient world will benefit greatly by reading this volume.”

*** James Davidson, Times Literary Supplement:

“… it is pithy and to-the-point and should easily take its place as the standard work of reference in English and the launching pad for all further investigations.”

Kathryn Simonsen (University of Alberta, Canada) reviewed it in the online magazine Bryn Mawr Classical Review (2000.10.30). Her review opens with these words:

“It has taken more than seventy years, but finally someone has produced a rival to H. Ormerod’s 1924 Piracy in the Ancient World. Philip de Souza’s Piracy in the Graeco-Roman World is the first book in English since Ormerod’s to attempt to cover the topic of ancient piracy with the same breadth.”

Her review ends with the following conclusion:

“Piracy is an excellent, even ‘sexy’ topic. Pirates are still able to capture the imagination of readers and movie-goers: they remain both romantic and terrifying. The study of ancient piracy opens a number of windows onto life in the Graeco-Roman world, from the sufferings and fears of traders, travelers and the inhabitants of coastal settlements to the role of pirates in the mental landscape of rhetoricians, politicians and novelists. De Souza's work, particularly the chapters on Hellenistic and Roman piracy, touches on many of these subjects in an interesting and enlightening manner.”

If you ask me, the positive reviews are justified: Philip de Souza is a good scholar and a good writer. He knows his topic and knows how to write about it.

When he mentions an ancient source, he will (in many cases) tell us not only what it says, but also what he thinks about it. He will discuss its credibility: it is reliable? What does it say and why? What does it not say and why not? In short, he has a critical approach to the ancient evidence. Every historian should work in this way. Here are two examples:

** A Greek inscription from Astypalaia is presented and discussed (pp. 100-106)

** The so-called "Lex de provinciis praetoriis" is presented and discussed (pp. 108-115)

Scholarly publications are also evaluated: Dark Age Naval Power by John Haywood (1991) is mentioned on page 212. After a brief discussion of this volume, de Souza concludes: “Haywood has gone far beyond what is reasonable in his interpretation of the archaeological evidence.”

Haywood appears again on page 225 (the first page of chapter 7). This time de Souza is more positive. He adds a footnote where he says: “I am indebted to Haywood’s work for several of the more obscure references discussed in this chapter.”

For obvious reasons there are numerous references to Ormerod’s book from 1924. In some cases de Souza questions Ormerod’s interpretation of the ancient sources, and as far as I can see with good reason. Here are two examples:

(a) Did King Minos of Knossos on the island of Crete rule the sea so well that sailors and ships were not endangered by pirates? According to Ormerod, the answer is yes (page 80). The notion that Minos ruled the sea is known as “Minoan Thalassocracy.” Philip de Souza is sceptical. On pp. 15-16 he says:

“I do not subscribe to this view of an historical Minoan Thalassocracy… In short the Minoan Thalassocracy is a myth, and it has no sound historical basis.”

A footnote refers to an article by C. G. Starr, published in 1955.

(b) Did Pompey the Great clear the Mediterranean Sea of pirates in three months? According to Ormerod, the answer is yes (pp. 233-241, see in particular page 235). Philip de Souza is sceptical. He thinks this claim is exaggerated. Pompey and the pirates are discussed in chapter 5 (see in particular pp. 167-172). A surprising conclusion emerges: Pompey did not fight and suppress the pirates. He made a deal with them! On page 171, de Souza says:

“… in other words the secret of his remarkable success lay in his declared willingness to come to terms [with them] without a fight.”

For other cases where Philip de Souza raises doubt about Ormerod’s judgement, again with good reason, see pp. 30, 52, 54, and 99.

Piracy in the Graeco-Roman World is an academic book, but it is also accessible for the general reader who wishes to learn about this topic. The author does not assume that the reader already knows everything about the ancient world. When he begins a new point, he provides a brief introduction to make sure the reader can follow him. Here are three examples:

*** The Greek author Polybius is presented on pp. 73-76
*** Cicero’s case against Verres is presented on pp. 150-157
*** The Greek author Strabo is presented on pp. 200-204

Ancient sources are quoted again and again. If the quotation is short, it often appears twice: first time in the original, either Greek or Latin; second time in an English translation. If the quotation is longer, it appears only once, in an English translation. In other words, you do not have to be an expert in ancient Greek and Latin in order to read this book.

According to Kathryn Simonsen, de Souza makes a minor mistake regarding the chronology of the Minoan civilization. She quotes a passage from page 15 (the first page of chapter 2). But when I open my book and look at this page, I cannot see the mistake she mentions. What is going on here? I think I know what happened: Simonsen’s review is based on the hardcover version, whereas I have the paperback version. I suspect the author corrected the mistake, perhaps prompted by the review in BMCR, before the paperback version was published. However, a few minor flaws remain:

** On page 81 note 135 we have “repsonsible” instead of responsible

** On page 91 we have “… with or without Rome help…” instead of Roman help or Rome’s help

** On page 99 note 13 we have a reference to an article by A. Avidov published in 1997. According to the bibliography, it was published in the Mediterranean Historical Review, vol. 10, 1997. The year 1997 is correct, but the volume is wrong. It is volume 12.

** On page 124 note 134 we have “Casear” instead of Caesar

** On page 176 one word is missing. I have added the missing word in square brackets: “… seems [to] be a brilliant way…”

** The famous episode in which Mithridates VI Eupator (king of Pontus) was rescued by a pirate ship is mentioned three times: on pp. 125 and 127 it is dated to 73 BC, but on page 131 the date is changed to 72 BC.

[For more information about the king of Pontus, see Mithridates the Great by Philip Matyszak (2008) and The Poison King by Adrienne Mayor (2011).]

One important fact about the Graeco-Roman world which emerges from de Souza’s account is that the word “pirate” was often used as a term of political abuse. Accusing someone of being a pirate (or working with pirates) was a common element of the negative propaganda used in the ancient world. The rebel Sertorius is connected with pirates from Cilicia in Plutarch’s biography about him (page 132), and the rebel Spartacus is connected with pirates from Cilicia in Plutarch’s biography about Crassus (page 133). But not every accusation is true.

Piracy in the Ancient World was published in 1924. It is still an important book, but it has been replaced by Piracy in the Graeco-Roman World from 1999. Ormerod presents a huge number of cases, but he gives almost no details about them. De Souza has fewer cases, but he provides more details about them. In addition, he has a critical approach. He discusses the credibility of the ancient evidence. How reliable is this source? How much can we build on it? It is a pleasure to witness a professional historian working with the evidence and explaining his arguments step by step. His book is highly recommended.

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Philip de Souza,

Piracy in the Graeco-Roman World,

Cambridge University Press, hardcover 1999, paperback 2002,
Transferred to digital printing 2009, 276 pages

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