ABSTRACT
I In Book III of the Laws, which is dedicated to the development of political societies, Plato reserves a relatively long exposition (III, 693 c-698 a) for Persian society. As Athens is the prototype of democracy, so Persia is that of autocracy. Unlike Sparta and Crete, which knew how to maintain the balance of their traditional institutions, Persia rapidly lost its equilibrium between the principles of monarchism and liberty. The exposition dedicated to the decadence of the Persians is intended to illustrate this theme. As a basis for his argument, Plato calls upon history, and in cavalier fashion recreates the development of Persian government and society between Cyrus the Elder and the period in which he himself is writing. In Plato's opinion, the Persians had never regained the balance between 'servitude and freedom' achieved under Cyrus; it had been an era when 'complete freedom of speech' reigned, and when 'there was progress in everything among them at that time, thanks to liberty, friendship and co-operation' (694 a-b). But things soured very quickly under Cambyses and, in spite of a kind of renaissance in the time of Darius I, there was a continuous deterioration from the time of Xerxes. 'The Persians failed to halt on the downward slope of decadence' ( 697 c), remarks the Athenian, adding 'that governmental regime of the Persians is currently tainted by an excess of servitude among the populace and an excess of despotism among their masters' (698 a). Thus the equilibrium of Cyrus' era had been broken. 'The cause, I say, is that by taking too much liberty away from their people and pushing the despotism of the master to limits beyond what is appro-
priate, they have ruined the feelings of mutual friendship and community of interest within the state' (697 e).
