Consider the following list: justice, citizenship, law, happiness (or some other goal of human existence). Which of these four constitutes the most important foundation of a political existence, of a civilized life? Defend your position with an in-depth analysis of Herodotus and Aristotle. One possible answer is that the most important basis of political existence is citizenship. According to Aristotle, “the citizen in the strict sense is best defined by the sole criterion that he participates in the administration of justice and the exercise of the function”. It defines citizenship as being active in government, whether by actively holding political office or simply serving as jury duty. Through his definition, Aristotle implies that a person must be politically active to be considered a citizen. Additionally, in Herodotus' Histories, a concrete description of citizenship is not provided, but Herodotus illustrates several examples of what citizenship should look like. He does this by describing the different rulers of Lydia and highlights the flaws and triumphs of each ruler. Herodotus also describes several military campaigns in which civilizations such as Athens and Sparta joined. Military involvement was a defining characteristic of citizenship and civilized life for Athens and Sparta and by capturing these various battles, Herodotus demonstrates that through military campaigns these civilizations established a robust political existence. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay A second answer is that the most important foundation of a political existence is law. Laws are used to give citizens peace and order and prevent society from descending into chaos. In Herodotus he describes the situation of the Lacedaemonians. Once considered the least governed people in Greece, Lycurgus, a lawgiver, turned to the Oracle at Delphi for advice. There, the Pythoness gave him a whole system of new laws which reformed the government of the Lacedaemonians and considerably improved their society. For people to have a civilized life, laws are needed. In Politics, Aristotle also defends the importance of laws, asserting that "laws which rest on unwritten custom are still more sovereign and concern matters of still more sovereign importance." Freed from human desires, the most important laws are those which concern matters of great importance; take for example things like justice (not falsely accusing others, not harming/killing others, etc.). Law and political order go hand in hand; without laws, we simply cannot have a civilized existence. The most important foundation of political existence is citizenship; be actively involved in one's government or society by voting, holding public or governmental office, serving on jury duty, and participating in the community. If laws constitute a solid basis for any society, civilization is made up of citizens. The actions and involvement of citizens create a society and make it work. First, there will be some historical context on Herodotus and Aristotle. Next, the argument that law is the foundation of a political existence will be presented with Herodotus's account of the Lacedaemonians and Aristotle's statements about laws provided to support the argument. Next, an argument for citizenship will be illustrated by Herodotus' examples of influential leaders and military exploits as well as by Aristotle's comments.Finally, this article will ultimately prove why citizenship is the most important foundation of law for all civilized life. In the book Herodotus and Hellenistic Culture: Literary Studies in the Reception of the Histories, author Jessica Priestley examines the historical biography of Herodotus, primarily citing the Byzantine Suda. The book contains a passage from the Suda which states that Herodotus was the son of Lyxes and Dryo. Herodotus left Halicarnassus for Samos due to the latyran Lygadamis and it was in Samos when he wrote his Histories. Herodotus eventually returned to Halicarnassus, overthrew the tyrant, and eventually died. A historical author, Herodotus wrote about the land of Lydia and how power passed from the Heraclides to the family of Croesus. It does this by describing military campaigns and tactics that were adopted by various rulers. For Aristotle, his political beliefs stemmed from his "extensive knowledge of the affairs" of several mainland and island Greek cities such as Turkey, Italy, Spain, and modern-day Spain. the Adriatic and Black Sea coasts.[4]Politics mainly focuses on different forms of government and which ones work better than others. Good forms of government include royalty, aristocracy, and constitutional, bad forms include tyranny, oligarchy, and democracy. Aristotle's Politics is closely related to his other work, The Nicomachean Ethics, because in both works his central idea is that the city exists for the good life and focuses this idea on the individual and the entire city. According to Aristotle, a city is determined by a constitution. and not by citizens. He defines the constitution as an organization of a city in respect of “this particular function which is sovereign in all questions”. The introduction to Aristotle's Politics discusses the importance of law to Aristotle, who believes that there must be a distinction between a government and its laws and that decisions are made by the majority. However, Aristotle is concerned about any government without laws. The reason for passing laws is that they are a means of controlling power. Whether that power belongs to the people (in a democracy) or to a single person (royalty or tyranny), laws prevent leaders from exercising unbridled control. These laws were not created only for the rulers but also for the welfare of the citizens. Aristotle recognizes and cites various legislators and legislatures such as Solon, Charondas, and Draco. Solon was an Athenian legislator who worked to bring Athens to commercial success by canceling debts and encouraging immigration. Charondas wrote laws regarding property, women's meals, and rules on alcohol consumption and military training. Draco focused on adding laws to an "existing constitution" and focused on punishment laws. [9] Aristotle highlights the flaws and triumphs of each lawgiver, some of the flaws being that the people were given too much power and therefore the functionality of the laws. was undermined. A fundamental idea that recurs throughout Aristotle's discussion of laws is the need for balance. Laws must address all aspects of a political establishment regarding ownership of objects and property, military and public service, how people treat each other, and economic laws (sale and purchase of property , government involvement in business) for a civilized existence to prosper. Herodotus describes how the legislator Lycurgus helped the Lacedaemonians by modifying "all the existing laws, replacing them with newnews, that he saw to it that they were observed by all… such was the manner in which the Lacedaemonians became a well-governed people.” ] The Lacedaemonians, a struggling civilization, had poor governance structure and procedures and floundered in their international relations. But with Lycurgus, he reshaped their society by proposing new laws and helping society enforce them. Eventually, this led the Lacedaemonians to wage successful military campaigns and create a thriving society. This particular example shows how laws could establish a political and civilized existence. Excerpt from an article entitled Herodotus on kings and tyrants: objective historiography or conventional portrait? Author John Gammie illustrates the third book of Herodotus' Histories in detail, focusing on different rulers and laws. Gammie writes how a king's unchecked power can harm his fellow citizens and that a political organization must be wary of the king's abuse of power. While the law itself can be abused by kings and individuals holding power, steps can be taken to ensure that rulers have restrictions that would prevent this. An example of this would be the Magna Carta, created to put a limit on the seemingly endless reign of kings and which marked the beginning of kings' submission to the law and not their control. Gammie cites Herodotus as agreeing with the statement that "'the law is king of all'."[13] No one is above the law, neither kings nor citizens. This is an intriguing paradox since people create laws and yet they do so in order to be subject to those laws. Herodotus helped destroy the image that kings were god-like and held supreme power over everything (a good example would be the Egyptian pharaohs). Aristotle commands that the law be regulated by God and reason alone and that when man gets involved and governs it adds a “beast persona”. Man has a natural appetite which leads to governmental perversion and the law must therefore be desireless. But even if a man tries to create laws by God, by his will and by his reason, it can still be distorted. Remember the Ten Commandments because they were laws from God Himself that were perfect and yet no human can keep them perfectly. Since humans are sinful, they are not capable of upholding perfect laws and must compromise on them to keep them workable. Thus, laws become imperfect and risk becoming corrupt. With this potential, it is dangerous to risk civilized life on one's existence. Furthermore, without citizenship, the rules could not exist. Citizenship, defined as being politically active, is what creates laws. Citizens coming together to hold political office and define and protect justice create the gateway to the laws. After all, it is the citizens who make the laws, and they do so by coming together and ultimately forming a sort of political assembly. Herodotus also illustrates various rulers and legislators and explains that the law does not always guarantee a prosperous existence. Laws can become corrupt, especially when there is only one ruler. Even with a system intended to limit the power of kings and rulers, there are still methods to circumvent these limitations. Therefore, although laws are a vital and necessary part of political life, citizenship is at the heart of a civilized or political existence. In his Politics, Aristotle considered the “basic unit of society” to be the household. He believes that the foundation of a society or a civilized life comes from a family. Relationships.