The Household as the Foundation of Aristotle's Polis

This 2006 book explains how Aristotle thought household and state interacted within the polis.

D. Brendan Nagle (Author)

9781107403673, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 27 October 2011

366 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.1 cm, 0.54 kg

Review of the hardback: '… the book complements nicely those treatments that focus on the theoretical background, by focusing on the historical context of Aristotle's political theory, and would therefore be of value to classicists as well as political theorists.' Journal of Hellenic Studies

Among ancient writers Aristotle offers the most profound analysis of the ancient Greek household and its relationship to the state. The household was not the family in the modern sense of the term, but a much more powerful entity with significant economic, political, social, and educational resources. The success of the polis in all its forms lay in the reliability of households to provide it with the kinds of citizens it needed to ensure its functioning. In turn, the state offered the members of its households a unique opportunity for humans to flourish. This 2006 book explains how Aristotle thought household and state interacted within the polis.

1. Ancient and modern household
2. The polis as community and polity
3. Polis households: possessions
4. Polis households: labor needs of the oikos
5. Non-polis households
6. The perfection of the household
7. Philia as bond between oikos and polis
8. Plato's Paideai
9. Aristotle's Paideia.

Subject Areas: Political science & theory [JPA], Philosophy [HP], History [HB]