Plato's Cretan City: A Historical Interpretation of the Laws

by Glenn R. Morrow

Overview

Plato's Cretan City is a thorough investigation into the roots of Plato's Laws and a compelling explication of his ideas on legislation and social institutions. A dialogue among three travelers, the Laws proposes a detailed plan for administering a new colony on the island of Crete. In examining this dialogue, Glenn Morrow describes the contemporary Greek institutions in Athens, Crete, and Sparta on which Plato based his model city, and explores the philosopher's proposed regulations concerning property, the family, government, and the administration of justice, education, and religion. He approaches the Laws as both a living document of reform and a philosophical inquiry into humankind's highest earthly duty.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780691024844
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	10/24/1993
Edition description:	With a New foreword by Charles H. Kahn
Pages:	648
Product dimensions:	7.75(w) x 10.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Glenn R. Morrow (1895-1976) was Adam Seybert Professor of Moral and Intellectual Philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"[A] landmark in Platonic scholarship. . . . Every informed interpretation of Plato's Laws in the last thirty years has built on the foundation that [Morrow] provided."—from the foreword

Editorial Reviews

"[A] landmark in Platonic scholarship. . . . Every informed interpretation of Plato's Laws in the last thirty years has built on the foundation that [Morrow] provided."—from the foreword

From the Publisher