Machiavelli and the Religion of the Ancients
Platonism and Radical Republicanism
$491.40
- Hardcover
384 pages
- Release Date
8 November 2026
Summary
Machiavellianism and Platonism are traditionally opposed, as realism is to idealism, and might is to right. This book questions this opposition, arguing that Machiavelli is far more influenced by Platonism than by Epicureanism. The Platonism at the time of the Medici is marked by the reception of Arabic/Islamic and Byzantine interpretations of Plato. These portray Platonism as an expression of an “ancient theology” that offers an alternative to Christianity by undoing a stark opposition betwe…
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781399517829 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 1399517821 |
| Author: | Miguel Vatter |
| Publisher: | Edinburgh University Press |
| Imprint: | Edinburgh University Press |
| Format: | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages: | 384 |
| Release Date: | 8 November 2026 |
| Dimensions: | 234mm x 156mm |
| Series: | Edinburgh Studies in Comparative Political Theory and Intellectual History |
What They're Saying
Critics Review
This extraordinarily instructive book explores the tortuous ways – conceptual, political, familial – in which Plato’s Laws, reinterpreted in the light of its Hellenistic, Neoplatonic, Hermetic, Roman and Byzantine receptions, stands behind Machiavelli’s virtuous republicanism. A must for anyone interested in the fateful history of the relationship between theology and politics – André Laks, Universidad Panamericana
About The Author
Miguel Vatter
Miguel Vatter is Professor of Politics at Deakin University.
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