Introduction to the Ancient World: Greece

Plato's Ideal State 

Prelude: Socrates retried 

I. Plato (429 - 347 B.C.) and his reaction to Athenian democracy;

the Academy 

II. The Republic, or On Justice 

A. Justice in the individual and the state
B. Plato's values 
C. The triple task of society . . . 
D. . . . and the three characteristics of human nature 
E. The three classes in Plato's ideal state: 

1. ruler (philosopher king; p. 273) reason & wisdom
2. guardians (Book 5) spirit & courage; (equality of sexes 249ff.; breeding [hymeneals] 256ff.; common property; disposal of weak kids [259])
3. workers/merchants & appetites & moderation 

III. The Platonic concept of ideas (forms) 

A. its relevance to the Republic
B. the simile of the cave; five steps (312ff.); "noble lies" (257)
C. attitude to poetry and art (393ff.) 

IV. Why democracy is bad 

V. The limits of reason: the myth of Er (415ff.) 

VI. The legacy of Plato: utopia, but recurrent questions 

Lecture 28-9 Images