Eryxias by Plato is a spurious Socratic dialogue. It is set in the Stoa of Zeus Eleutherios, and features Socrates in conversation with Critias, Eryxias, and Erasistratus (nephew of Phaeax). The dialogue concerns the topic of wealth and virtue. The position of Eryxias that it is good to be materially prosperous is challenged when Critias argues that having money is not always a good thing. Socrates then shows that money has only a conventional value.

Before the world knew of the thinker who “philosophizes with a hammer,” there was a young, passionate thinker who was captivated by the two forces found within Greek art: Dionysus and Apollo. In this essay, which was the forerunner to his groundbreaking book The Birth of Tragedy, The Dionysian Vision of the World provides an unparalleled look into the philosophical mind of one of Europe’s greatest and provocative intellects at the beginning of his philosophical interrogation on the subject of art. “While dreaming is the game man plays with reality as an individual, the visual artist (in the larger sense) plays a game with dreaming.” This is the Dionysian vision of the world.

First published in French in 1988, and in English in 1992, this companion explores the nature of the literary myth in a collection of over 100 essays, from Abraham to Zoroaster. Its coverage is international and draws on legends from prehistory to the modern age throughout literature, whether fiction, poetry or drama. Essays on classical figures, as well as later myths, explore the origin, development and various incarnations of their subjects. Alongside entries on western archetypes, are analyses of non-European myths from across the world, including Africa, China, Japan, Latin America and India. This book will be indispensable for students and teachers of literature, history and cultural studies, as well as anyone interested in the fascinating world of mythology. A detailed bibliography and index are included. ‘The Companion provides a fine interpretive road map to Western culture’s use of archetypal stories.’ Wilson Library Review ‘It certainly is a comprehensive volume... extremely useful.’ Times Higher Education Supplement

The world is configured in ways that seem systematically hospitable to life forms, especially the human race. Is this the outcome of divine planning or simply of the laws of physics? Ancient Greeks and Romans famously disagreed on whether the cosmos was the product of design or accident. In this book, David Sedley examines this question and illuminates new historical perspectives on the pantheon of thinkers who laid the foundations of Western philosophy and science. Versions of what we call the "creationist" option were widely favored by the major thinkers of classical antiquity, including Plato, whose ideas on the subject prepared the ground for Aristotle's celebrated teleology. But Aristotle aligned himself with the anti-creationist lobby, whose most militant members—the atomists—sought to show how a world just like ours would form inevitably by sheer accident, given only the infinity of space and matter. This stimulating study explores seven major thinkers and philosophical movements enmeshed in the debate: Anaxagoras, Empedocles, Socrates, Plato, the atomists, Aristotle, and the Stoics.

An examination of Herodotus' Histories in the context of the intellectual developments of his time.

Probably written by a student of Aristotle, The Athenian Constitution is both a history and an analysis of Athens' political machinery between the seventh and fourth centuries BC, which stands as a model of democracy at a time when city-states lived under differing kinds of government. The writer recounts the major reforms of Solon, the rule of the tyrant Pisistratus and his sons, the emergence of the democracy in which power was shared by all free male citizens, and the leadership of Pericles and the demagogues who followed him. He goes on to examine the city's administration in his own time - the council, the officials and the judicial system. For its information on Athens' development and how the democracy worked, The Athenian Constitution is an invaluable source of knowledge about the Athenian city-state. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.