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22 Chapter 1 Political Ideas in Greece before Plato The first major works of political theory to come down to us are Plato’s the Republic and Aristotle’s Politics. It would be illogical, however, to begin the study of Greek political ideas with these two very late works. When Plato wrote the Republic around 375 BC, the Greek citystate was already in its final phase; Aristotle’s Politics was written after Philip of Macedon’s victory over the Greeks at Chaeronea (338), in other words, at a time when the independent Greek city, the theoretical object of his work, was on the point of disappearing in practice. Therefore, the construction of the classical Greek city owes nothing to these works. If the Greek city was able to develop, the explanation must lie in the fact that from the outset bold thinkers and politicians performed the necessary intellectual and institutional work. In short, Plato and Aristotle found the spadework done already, such that their work was both a synthesis and a criticism of earlier work. This process took place over some 350 years from the end of the Greek Middle Age until Socrates and the Sophists (750–400 BC). We discern three phases: 1. The formalization of notions on justice (themis, dike) and social order (eunomia), in contrast with “feudal” violence and excess; these ideas continue to be legitimized by reference to myths (see section I, “Homer and Hesiod: Justice and Social Order”). 2. A realization that justice can only be ensured by a law (nomos), which is equal for all (isonomia ), and that the law must be explicit and written, therefore, in the hands of men (see section II, “From Solon to Cleisthenes: The Emergence of the City and the Citizen”). 3. Then it is realized that the law itself can be tyrannical and that, consequently, it can be criticized ; to provide a basis for such criticism, a distinction is made between what is natural (physei) and what is conventional (nomo) (see section III, “The ‘Great Generation of the Open Society’”). For each of these phases, we will present the historical context and the political ideas. However, none of the works by Greek political thinkers before Plato has survived; they exist only in fragments (excepting the poets Homer and Hesiod and the historians Herodotus and Thucydides). Chapter 1. Political Ideas in Greece before Plato 23 Therefore, in order to present a reasonable interpretation of early political theories and representations , we are obligated to turn to history.1 I. Homer and Hesiod: Justice and Social Order A. The Historical Context The Greek city did not emerge gradually by way of an untroubled evolution from earlier forms of civilization. It appears to have been an ex nihilo creation that arose in mainland and Ionian Greece as a result of a largely endogenous process following from an interruption in the historical process. Some time around 1200 BC, Greece fell victim to a “disaster,” which cut it off from the rest of the world; suddenly, all trace of civilization vanished, including the complete eclipse of writing. This is known as the Greek Middle Age, or the Dark Age. Out of this disaster, the Greek city emerged steadily. It was not a simple resurrection of what was destroyed, but a new, unprecedented reality. The term traditionally used to describe the new situation is the “Greek miracle.” We might also borrow a term from evolutionary theory and speak of a genuine “emergence.” 1. The Mycenaean Civilization There is evidence of proto-Grecian populations in prehistoric times. The Greeks called them the Pelasgians. Then,ca.2000BC,variouspeoplesfromCentralEurope,speakersofIndo-Europeanlanguages, migrated southward. Some—the Hittites—reached Anterior Asia; others—the Phrygians— crossed the Hellespont and settled in Asia Minor, relatively far from the Aegean Sea; others still moved into the Balkan peninsula. These latter populations were Greeks or Hellenes;2 they trickled into the land over many centuries. The first Greeks to arrive were the Achaeans, nomadic pastoral tribes, cattle and horse raisers. Compared with the indigenous inhabitants they encountered in Crete and the Cyclades islands, the Achaeans were barbarians. Gradually they became influenced by the local inhabitants, members of the Minoan civilization (the name comes from Minos, king of the Cretan city of Knossos). Reaching its zenith between 1900 and 1400 BC, this civilization was very similar to the civilizations of the Near East: large, centralized monarchies with power concentrated in the royal palace with its priests, scribes, and artists. Writing was known, its use widespread...

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