Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...

's ''Republic'' has been influential in literature and art.

Similarities in literature

Aristophanes

Around the same time that the ''Republic'' was being composed, the playwright

Aristophanes Aristophanes (; grc, Ἀριστοφάνης, ; c. 446 – c. 386 BC), son of Philippus, of the deme Kydathenaion ( la, Cydathenaeum), was a comic playwright or comedy-writer of ancient Athens and a poet of Old Attic Comedy. Eleven of his for ...

produced the play ''

Assemblywomen ''Assemblywomen'' ( grc-gre, Ἐκκλησιάζουσαι ''Ekklesiazousai''; also translated as, ''Congresswomen'', ''Women in Parliament'', ''Women in Power'', and ''A Parliament of Women'') is a comedy written by the Greek playwright Aristo ...

.'' The state formed by the women in this play bears many similarities to the ideal government described by Plato. It is not discernible which was released first; most likely Aristophanes had heard an early form of the ''Republic'' before it was completed and used it as the basis for ''Assemblywomen''. Certainly, the similarities have long been commented upon.

Utopias

Thomas More Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VIII as Lord ...

, when writing his ''

Utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book '' Utopia'', describing a fictional island societ ...

'', invented the technique of using the portrayal of a "utopia" as the carrier of his thoughts about the ideal society. More's island Utopia is also similar to Plato's ''Republic'' in some aspects, among them common property and the lack of privacy.

Dystopias

The form of government described in the ''Republic'' has been adapted in several modern

dystopic A dystopia (from Ancient Greek δυσ- "bad, hard" and τόπος "place"; alternatively cacotopiaCacotopia (from κακός ''kakos'' "bad") was the term used by Jeremy Bentham in his 1818 Plan of Parliamentary Reform (Works, vol. 3, p. 493). ...

novels and stories. The separation of people by professional class, assignment of profession and purpose by the state, and the absence of traditional family units, replaced by state-organized breeding, was included by authors in descriptions of totalitarian dystopic governments. Government which bears resemblance to Plato's ''Republic'' is found in Aldous Huxley's ''

Brave New World ''Brave New World'' is a dystopian novel by English author Aldous Huxley, written in 1931 and published in 1932. Largely set in a futuristic World State, whose citizens are environmentally engineered into an intelligence-based social hiera ...

'' and Lois Lowry's ''

The Giver ''The Giver'' is a 1993 American young adult dystopian novel written by Lois Lowry, set in a society which at first appears to be utopian but is revealed to be dystopian as the story progresses. In the novel, the society has taken away pa ...

''. The

Orwellian "Orwellian" is an adjective describing a situation, idea, or societal condition that George Orwell identified as being destructive to the welfare of a free and open society. It denotes an attitude and a brutal policy of draconian control by pro ...

dystopia depicted in the novel ''

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

'' had many characteristics in common with Plato's description of the

allegory of the Cave The Allegory of the Cave, or Plato's Cave, is an allegory presented by the Greek philosopher Plato in his work ''Republic'' (514a–520a) to compare "the effect of education ( παιδεία) and the lack of it on our nature". It is written as ...

as Winston Smith strives to liberate himself from it.

Heinlein

Another satiric presentation of Platonic style government would be Robert A. Heinlein's Starship Troopers. His citizen can be compared to a Platonic Guardian, without the communal breeding and property, but still having a militaristic base. Although there are significant differences in the specifics of the system, Heinlein and Plato both describe systems of limited franchise, with a political class that has supposedly earned their power and wisely governs the whole. ''Republic'' is specifically attacked in ''Starship Troopers''. Indeed, the arachnids can be seen as much closer to a ''Republic'' society than the humans.

Other

Although not directly referenced at any point the ''Mega City One'' of 2000AD's

Judge Dredd Judge Joseph Dredd is a fictional character created by writer John Wagner and artist Carlos Ezquerra. He first appeared in the second issue of '' 2000 AD'' (1977), which is a British weekly anthology comic. He is the magazine's longest-running ...

storyline has broad similarities to the Platonic Republic – mainly in that it is governed by a Guardian Class (the Judges) raised from infancy to govern in the interests of the polity and bound by far stricter rules than apply to the common citizen. The comic book

Morning Glories Morning glory (also written as morning-glory) is the common name for over 1,000 species of flowering plants in the family Convolvulaceae, whose current taxonomy and systematics are in flux. Morning glory species belong to many genera, some of ...

takes place at a violent and secretive boarding school which is built on the grounds above Plato's Cave. The experience of Jack in Emma Donoghue's 2010 novel "

Room In a building or large vehicle, like a ship, a room is any enclosed space within a number of walls to which entry is possible only via a door or other dividing structure that connects it to either a passageway, another room, or the outdoors, that ...

" contains many similarities to the experience of the people in Plato's Cave.

Artistic creations based on Plato's ''Republic''

*In the early 1970s the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

composer

Louis Andriessen Louis Joseph Andriessen (; 6 June 1939 – 1 July 2021) was a Dutch composer, pianist and academic teacher. Considered the most influential Dutch composer of his generation, he was a central proponent of The Hague school of composition. Although ...

composed a vocal work called ''

De Staat De Staat is a Dutch alternative rock band, formed in Nijmegen in 2006. Their name translates to "The State". In May 2016, the band supported Muse in their Drones World Tour in Portugal, Germany, Belgium, Italy and Spain. Biography De Staat was ...

'', based on the text of Plato's ''Republic''. *The film ''

The Matrix ''The Matrix'' is a 1999 science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the first installment in ''The Matrix'' film series, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, and Joe Pantolia ...

'' models Plato's

Allegory of the Cave The Allegory of the Cave, or Plato's Cave, is an allegory presented by the Greek philosopher Plato in his work ''Republic'' (514a–520a) to compare "the effect of education ( παιδεία) and the lack of it on our nature". It is written as ...

. *The 2010 song " The Cave", recorded by the folk quartet Mumford & Sons, contains direct references to Plato's Allegory of the Cave. *Jose Saramago's novel '' The Cave'' is loosely based on the Allegory of the Cave. *See also Ring of Gyges: Cultural influences *The 2022 album "The Republic" by US post-metal band Thumos is an instrumental adaption of Plato’s Republic.

References

{{Plato navbox Platonism Republic, Plato's

Plato's Republic The ''Republic'' ( grc-gre, Πολῑτείᾱ, Politeia; ) is a Socratic dialogue, authored by Plato around 375 BCE, concerning justice (), the order and character of the just city-state, and the just man. It is Plato's best-known work, and ...