Abstract

This article aims to shed light on the content and purpose of Zeno’s Πολιτεια, by examining the so-called “disturbing thesesµ ascribed to the work. The sources suggest that the treatise was written early on in Zeno’s career and was heavily influenced by the Cynic tradition: therefore, it is possible to interpret the ideal community as a society of wise men only, characterized by the absence of the fundamental customs and institutions of the ancient πoλις, since these are the product of νoηoς and contrary to nature. An examination of the skeptical context of transmission of these disturbing theses has shown that they are not normative statements, but descriptive ones; therefore, Zeno’s Πολιτεια does not qualify as a political project, but as a form of “high political utopiaµ.