Plato's political theory must be understood with and in the state of the period in which he lived. It is an established theory that the Peloponnesian War (the war between Athens and Sparta, 431-401 BC) and Socrates' death sentence had a great influence on Plato's political disposition. Before the Peloponnesian War, Athens was at its peak. With the victory of the war against Persia and under the leadership of the hero Pericles, the power and influence of Athens was no longer a simple city-state but was that of the empire. As a seaside nation, Athens collected taxes from surrounding city-states that were under influence. Athens even strengthened its defense power by building a long and strong wall, which was not an easy task due to the confinement of adjacent states. Other strong countries such as Sparta and Thebes sensed the danger that Athens might actually become an empire and so decided to attack before that happened. Pericles' funeral oration on the Peloponnesian War is one of the most famous speeches in Western history. In his speech, Pericles highly admired the courage, self-reliance and patriotism of Athens. However, after Pericles' death, those who pushed for the suppression of opponents said no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”? Get an original essay In bringing philosophy to life, the polis also gave rise to a tension between what Aristotle would describe as two lives, which are the life of politics and the life of philosophy. As politics and philosophy were so closely intertwined in an ancient culture concerned with flourishing and virtue, a question arose here. Should philosophers act politically and engage in ordinary politics within existing regimes, or should they abstain from politics in order to live a life of pure contemplation? The question also arose whether philosophers should think politically: were human affairs worth thinking about in the broadest perspective opened up by the study of nature and the gods? By addressing questions of rhetoric, virtue, knowledge and justice, Socrates' philosophical life was engaged in politics even before his death confronted him with it. But for his student Plato and Aristotle, Plato's student, the practice and even study of human affairs such as politics were less divine, and therefore less admirable, than the broader study of truth about the natural realms and divine. Philosophy should perhaps address politics, but its highest vocation went beyond it. If Socrates' political destiny helped inspire Plato to invent a new metaphysics and a new epistemology in order to articulate an alternative realm of political possibilities, Plato's dialogues show Socrates simultaneously asserting the independence of these disciplines from the bonds of only politics. The particular understanding of politics forged in ancient Greece was marked by the historical emergence of the independent city-state and the variety of regimes it could accommodate. The polis was widely considered the pinnacle of human civilization and the primary realm in which human flourishing could be sought. The city was the domain of potential collaboration in leading a good life, although it was also the domain of potential contestation if this pursuit were to be understood as pitting one against the other. Political theorizing began with arguments about the benefits of politics, who could participate in politics, and arguments »..