Xenophon the Athenian was born 431 B.C. He was a pupil of Socrates. He marched with the Spartans, and was exiled from Athens. Sparta gave him land and property in Scillus, where he lived for many years before having to move once more, to settle in Corinth. He died in 354 B.C.
Hiero is a minor work by Xenophon, set as a dialogue between Hiero, tyrant of Syracuse, and the lyric poet Simonides about 474 BC. The dialogue is a response to the assumption that a tyrant’s life is more pleasant than a commoner. Having lived as both Hiero breaks down this misconception, arguing that a tyrant does not have any more access to happiness than a private person.
The dialogue, like many of Xenophon’s works, does not receive much scholarly attention today. However, it was the nominal subject of Leo Strauss’ analysis On Tyranny, which initiated his famous dialogue with Alexandre Kojève on the role of philosophy in politics.
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