Publication details
Kingly virtue and legitimacy from Aristotle to Seleucus (with additional sources)
| Authors | |
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| Year of publication | 2025 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Description | The goal of this paper is to show a link between the ideas concerning kingship and its legitimacy that can be found in works and speeches connected with Aristotle, Alexander III. of Macedon and Seleucus I. These are ideas e.g. on the ideal form of monarchy, the virtue of a ruler, and the consequences and implications of ruler’s supposedly superior qualities. Evidence for such a link will be provided in the form of vital passages from various sources, e.g. the works of Aristotle, Plutarch, Arrian and Appian, and also from epigraphic sources from the times of Seleucid empire. First, the claims expressed in Aristotle’s Politics concerning virtue and an ideal kingdom shall be examined; their connection Aristotle’s pupil, Alexander, shall be then explored; it will be explained how they are related to Seleucus , and finally, the cases of their traces and reflections in Seleucid epigraphic sources shall be shown. The paper will be focused on varied speeches attributed to Alexander and Seleucus, their similarity and their contexts. |
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