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Plato · c. 428/427-348/347 BC

Statesman

Πολιτικός
Ancient Sources / Plato / Statesman

In the Statesman a visitor from Elea leads the young Socrates through a long search for the definition of the statesman. To show what is wrong with their division of the herd-keeping art, the Stranger tells a myth of the reversal of the universe, with the quarrel of Atreus and Thyestes, the golden lamb, the earthborn men and the reign of Cronus. Weaving then serves as a pattern for the kingly art, and the dialogue goes on to the rule of law, the six kinds of constitution and the weaving together of courage and moderation.

Read from the start
Text
Greek original with English translation, 18 passages, about 25400 words in English.
Translator
Harold North Fowler (1925)
Edition
Harold North Fowler (trans.), Plato VIII: Statesman, Philebus, Ion, Loeb Classical Library, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, 1925; Greek text: John Burnet, Platonis Opera, Oxford Classical Texts (as digitised by Perseus)
Cite as
Plato, Statesman 257a (by Stephanus page and section (e, g, 404e))

Contents · 18 passages

  1. 257a–259eSocrates, Theodorus and the Eleatic Stranger; the statesman as a man of knowledge1206 words
  2. 260a–262eCommanding, herd-rearing and the first division1399 words
  3. 263b–265eClass and part: the crane's classification and the herds of men1466 words
  4. 266a–267eThe diameter joke; the shorter way to the herding of men982 words
  5. 268a–271eThe myth of the reversed universe: Atreus and Thyestes, the golden lamb1869 words
  6. 272a–274eThe age of Cronus and the age of Zeus1411 words
  7. 275a–277eThe mistake of the shepherd king; the use of a paradigm1414 words
  8. 278a–280eParadigms: children learning letters and the art of weaving1235 words
  9. 281a–283eWeaving defined: carding, spinning and the weaving proper1526 words
  10. 284a–286dTwo kinds of measure; the value of a long discussion1268 words
  11. 287a–289eThe contributory arts of the city: tools, vessels, shields, toys, materials and food1543 words
  12. 290a–292eWho shares the statesman's work: heralds, priests, and the crowd of pretenders1341 words
  13. 293a–295eThe true constitution is a science, not number or consent1348 words
  14. 296a–298eLaws as second best: the ship's captain, the physician and the absurd rule of law1400 words
  15. 299a–302eRule of law and its imitations: the six kinds of constitution1945 words
  16. 303a–305eThe sophists as imitators; statesmanship separated from generalship, rhetoric and justice1431 words
  17. 306a–308eCourage and moderation: the two kinds of men that the statesman must weave together1303 words
  18. 309a–311cThe royal weaving: the divine bond and the human bond1285 words

More by Plato

English translation by Harold North Fowler (1925). Original text: Harold North Fowler (trans.), Plato VIII: Statesman, Philebus, Ion, Loeb Classical Library, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, 1925; Greek text: John Burnet, Platonis Opera, Oxford Classical Texts (as digitised by Perseus).

Greek text and translation from the Perseus Digital Library, Tufts University, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Perseus Digital Library); translation public domain. Introductions, summaries and notes © GreekMythology.com.