Synopses & Reviews
On Tyranny is Leo Straussandrsquo;s classic reading of Xenophonandrsquo;s dialogue
Hiero, or
Tyrannicus, in which the tyrant Hiero and the poet Simonides discuss the advantages and disadvantages of exercising tyranny. Included are a translation of the dialogue from its original Greek, a critique of Straussandrsquo;s commentary by the French philosopher Alexandre Kojandegrave;ve, and the complete correspondence between the two.
This revised and expanded edition introduces important corrections throughout and expands Straussandrsquo;s restatement of his position in light of Kojandegrave;veandrsquo;s commentary to bring it into conformity with the text as it was originally published in France.
Review
andldquo;On Tyranny is a complex and stimulating book with its andlsquo;parallel dialogueandrsquo; made all the more striking since both participants take such unusual, highly provocative positions and so force readers to face substantial problems in what are often wholly unfamiliar, even shocking ways.andrdquo;
About the Author
Leo Strauss (1899andndash;1973) was one of the preeminent political philosophers of the twentieth century. He is the author of many books, among them
The Political Philosophy of Hobbes,
Natural Right and History,and
Spinozaandrsquo;s Critique of Religion, all published by the University of Chicago Press.
Victor Gourevitch is the William Griffin Professor of Philosophy Emeritus at Wesleyan University.and#160;Michael S. Roth is the president of Wesleyan University and the author of several books, including Memory, Trauma, and History.