Pericles, Plato and Aristotle

Paper Summary:

The paper looks at Pericles' endorsement of classical democracy as opposed to Plato and Aristotle's condemnation of democratic society. The paper discusses how Plato and Aristotle embrace some form of monarchy as the best possible organization of society and explains how they justify this in very different manners. The paper relates that people today are likely to find Pericles' idealistic vision of democracy appealing, while still recognizing that Plato and Aristotle's lines of reasoning retain some merit.

From the Paper:

"Although the organization of the Greek city state of Athens is often idealized in modern culture as being the birthplace of democracy, the truth is that many major figures in Greek history objected to the Greek form of government. Classical democracy, as it is known, was perhaps most eloquently endorsed by Pericles in his "Funeral Oration," and documented by Thucydides. Yet perhaps the two most influential figures in Greek history, Plato and Aristotle, viewed democracy as an unjust or corruptible way to run a society. Whereas Plato objected to democracy upon largely theoretical grounds arising from his conception of justice, Aristotle believed that justice was not the only concern in forming a society but that practical stability was also a key requirement."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Aristotle. Politics. New York: Gramercy Books, 1971.
• Plato. Plato: Republic. Translated by G. M. A. Grube. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing, 1992.
• Thucydides. "Pericles: The Funeral Oration." World Civilizations: Ancient Greece, 1996. Available: http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/GREECE/PERICLES.HTM

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