A GREEK CITY THAT DISLIKES GREEKS: THE PARADOXICAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MAGNESIA AND ITS FELLOW HELLENES IN PLATO'S LAWS

The city of Magnesia in Plato's Laws is a city founded by Greeks that nonetheless rejects the ways of life of the other Greeks in many important respects. The tendency of many scholars to assimilate Magnesian legislation to the laws prevailing in various Greek cities at the time has led them to overlook this difficulty. This article explores the tension between Magnesia and Greece, and infers its ultimate consequences. Magnesia emerges as a highly eccentric Greek city that manages, through great effort, to have tolerable relations with its neighbours, but never aspires to any real influence in foreign affairs.