ABSTRACT
In the virtue model of kingship, kings’ authority is justified by their capacity to provide the good life for citizens and to act as a model for them to copy, so that they might also enjoy the benefits of excellence. This new interpretation of the difference between ruler and ruled conforms to developments identified as cultural transformations of the Axial Age, in which kingship is rationalised in terms of qualities of the king. Versions of this model appear in the works of Xenophon (Agesilaus, Cyropaedia) and Isocrates (Evagoras, Nicocles); whereas Isocrates treats the ruler-subject relationship as akin to that of teacher and student, Xenophon explores the balance between utility and virtue it displays. Xenophon’s Cyropaedia sets out distinctive qualities that the ideal ruler should display, through a detailed case study that explores ethical concerns arising from the distinction between ruler and ruled, in his encounters with defeated monarchical figures such as Cyaxares, Croesus and Pantheia.
