Platonic and Plethonic Guardians
Abstract
This article presents a comparative analysis of the "guardians" (phylakes) in the political theories of Plato and the late Byzantine Neoplatonist Georgios Gemistos Plethon. Despite living in vastly different eras—the 4th century BC and the 15th century AD, respectively—both thinkers proposed radical social and political reforms during times of deep decline for their respective civilizations. The author examines Plato’s ideal state in the Republic, where the guardians represent the "spirited" part of the soul and must live under a regime of community of property and wives to ensure total devotion to the state. This is then contrasted with Plethon’s practical proposals for the Despotate of the Morea, where the "guardians" were envisioned as a native standing army (the "defense class") supported by a reformed tax system involving the productive class. The study concludes that while Plethon draws heavily on Platonic ideals of justice and meritocracy, he adapts the concept of the guardian to the urgent military and economic needs of the late Byzantine Empire.
Article Details
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Tsouchlos, T. (2020). Platonic and Plethonic Guardians . Ηθική. Περιοδικό φιλοσοφίας, (8), 37–45. https://doi.org/10.12681/ethiki.22736
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- No. 8 (2011)
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- Articles
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