Republic (Masterplots, Revised Second Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Aristocles
- First Published: 1701
- Type of Work: Philosophy
- Time of Work: Fifth century
- Setting: The Piraeus, Greece
- Principal Characters: Socrates, Cephalus, Polemarchus, Thrasymachus, Glaucon, Adeimantus
- Genres: Nonfiction, Philosophy
- Subjects: Justice, Philosophy or philosophers, Social issues, Gods or goddesses, Wealth, Greek or Roman times, Arms or weapons, Statesmen, Poetics
- Locales: Greece, Piraeus, ancient Greece
The Republic is the first in a long line of works that are generally classified as Utopian literature. Although Plato is primarily interested in political issues, he is less concerned with mapping out a practical strategy for revamping current practices in the Greek city-states than he is in explaining the optimal ways people should be governed. Subscribing to what some commentators have described as an unashamedly elitist viewpoint, Plato makes it clear that some people are destined to rule, others to be ruled. Essentially antidemocratic, he concentrates on describing ways those...
[The entire page is 2884 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
Navigate
See Also
