La primera vaga de la història que està documentada es va produir vers el 1153 aC a Egipte, sota el regnat del faraó Ramsès III. Els vaguistes foren els treballadors de les tombes reials (vall dels Reis) que vivien a Deir al- Madinah, els quals no rebien les seves racions d'aliments, que eren el seu sou (ja que no existia la moneda). Les vagues en foren almenys tres i estan indicades en un papir que es conserva al Museu Egipci de Torí. Els treballadors van estar primer més de 20 dies sense rebre el menjar; després, al cap de 4 mesos, el conflicte es va reproduir i durant 18 dies els treballadors no van rebre racions i llavors van deixar de treballar i es van dirigir al temple de Tuthmosis III (Deir el-Bahari) per a protestar, empesos per la gana i la necessitat. Les negociacions amb els sacerdots i altres funcionaris foren dures i hi va haver almenys dues vagues més. Es desconeix com va acabar aquesta situació; però se sap que, posteriorment, al cap d'uns anys, hi va haver més vagues, fins que es va deixar de construir a la vall dels Reis i el poble es va abandonar.

Several ancient authors have written descriptions of a Roman army mutiny in 342 BC.[note According to the most well-known version, the mutiny originated in a group of Roman garrison soldiers wintering in Campania to protect the cities there against the Samnites. Subverted by the luxurious living of the Campanians, these soldiers conspired to take over their host cities. When the conspiracy was discovered, the conspirators formed a rebel army and marched against Rome. They were met by an army commanded by Marcus Valerius Corvus who had been nominated dictator to solve the crisis. Rather than do battle, Corvus managed to end the mutiny by peaceful means. All the mutineers received amnesty for their part in the rebellion and a series of laws were passed to address their political grievances.

The Roman army's mutiny at Sucro, a no longer existing ancient fort in Spain, took place in early 206 BC, during the Roman conquest of Hispania in the Second Punic War against Carthage. The mutineers had several grievances, including not having received the pay due to them and being under-supplied. The proximate causes of the mutiny had existed for years, but had not been addressed to the soldiers' satisfaction. Matters came to a head after rumors spread that their commanding general, Scipio Africanus, had become gravely ill. But the stories proved to be without foundation; he succeeded in suppressing the mutiny and executed its ringleaders.