Abstract

Plato’s corpus is not systematic, but dramatic. This chapter introduces the drama of legal critique in his dialogues. Following a brief introduction to Plato and his chronology, with a glance at Platonism in the longue durée, the motif of legal critique is then traced up the dialogues that concern us in later chapters. Plato’s dramatization of the trial and death of Socrates (Euthyphro, Apology, Crito and Phaedo); his sustained critique of legal positivism and his first law-code (Gorgias and Republic); and his formal critique of law and second law-code (Politicus and Laws) are introduced in concise, original résumés. This chapter therefore retraces the chronological arc of Plato’s dialogues—from the Apology to the Laws. It is proposed, in conclusion, that Laws XII ends with a dark coda. Socrates’ trial is chillingly reprised in the last pages that Plato ever penned.