The Marxist debate on ancient societies in Italy in the 1970s. For an account of still current research positions and perspectives

Within the Marxist-inspired Italian scientific community, the last quarter of 1900 represented a long period of content-based reflection on the relevance of Marx’s theory and his practical action. The result was a long multidisciplinary debate from which the sciences of Antiquity were not exempt. This contribution focuses on two important collections of essays published in Italy between 1977 and 1978, providing a brief account of the themes addressed at the time and verifying, if possible, the relevance of some of the questions raised.