016 Plato: The Ideal State

Ancient Greece was made up of multiple city-states. The most powerful city-states were Athens and Sparta. Athens was a democracy, and Sparta was an oligarchy ruled by kings. But around 5th century B.C., Sparta won the Peloponnesian War, and a pro-Spartan oligarchy government was installed in Athens. This is the rule of the Thirty. Plato’s relatives were members of the Thirty Tyrants.
But the oligarchy of the rule of the Thirty was short lived, and a democratic regime was reestablished in Athens. The new democratic regime punished the pro-Spartans. And in the process, Socrates was executed. He was accused of not worshiping the Athenian gods and corrupting the young. But, the real reason was more political.
When Socrates drank the cup of poison after he was sentenced to death, there was someone at his bedside with his head down in sorrow. That is Plato. After the death of Socrates, he gave up a life of politics in Athens and left the city. After that, he began dreaming of a hierarchical society like Sparta. He thought that Athens lost the Peoloponnesian War because it had a democratic society. So Plato wanted to make Athens a hierarcical society and restore the glory that defeated Persia in the past. This is what Plato thought of as an ideal society. Today’s story is Plato’s Ideal State.

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Good 🎉