The Anonymous Ancient Treatise “On Excellence (Peri Aretes)” in Light of Contemporary Legal Debates on Civil Liberties
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47850/RL.2022.3.1.20-27Keywords:
democracy, ancient political theories, Anonymus Iamblichi, PythagoreanismAbstract
The series of oligarchic coups of the late fifth century (from the oligarchic coup of the Four Hundred in 411 BCE to the coup of the Thirty in 404 BCE) actualized in Athenian society the question of the fundamental importance of overcoming these tyrannies for the restoration of democracy. A political treatise by an unknown author called Anonymus Iamblichi is of interest precisely in this regard, especially when considered in the context of contemporary legal theories concerning civil liberties. It seems to us that this unique work in defense of democracy is best understood in the Pythagorean context as contrasted with the Sophists and Plato.
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