Plato and the tyrant : the fall of Greece's greatest dynasty and the making of a philosophic masterpiece / James Romm.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Romm, James S., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Philosophy, Ancient.

Despotism--Greece--History.

Despotism.

Plato.

Plato--Political aspects.

Dionysius I, approximately 430 B.C.-367 B.C.

Dionysius.

Dionysius, the Younger.

Greece--Intellectual life--To 146 B.C.

Greece.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

xxviii, 334 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm.

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York, N.Y. : W.W. Norton & Company, [2025]

Summary:

Plato and the Tyrant by James Romm reexamines Plato not as a detached philosopher, but as an active political figure who sought to implement his ideas in the real world. Drawing on Plato's personal letters, Romm details his involvement with the tyrants of Syracuse and how this experience shaped his political philosophy, especially in The Republic. The book reveals how Plato's attempt to guide rulers with philosophy ended in personal and political disaster, offering a dramatic and insightful new perspective on the origins of Western political thought.

Contents:

Maps and genealogy

Introduction

A note on the line drawings

Act I. The first visit. Tyrants and kings

Syracusan tables

'Adamantine bonds'

Act II. The second visit. 'Wolf-love'

One night in piraeus

The dionysioflatterers

The education of Glaucon

Act III. The third visit. Return to Charybdis

The evils of change

Act IV. Revolution. 'Drunken and sober tyrants'

The 'naval mob'

The fury's broom

Act V. Restoration. The second-best state

The music teacher

Acknowledgments

Notes

Bibliography

Illustration credits

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 295-318) and index.

ISBN:

1324093188

9781324093183

OCLC:

1455397548

Publisher Number:

90101997651