Volume VII - 1953

Author Category Volume Page Year Language Vourveris Κ. Ι. PAPERS AND STUDIES 7 323 - 336 1953 Greek Title Plato and Crete, a chapter of Ancient Greek anthropogeography Summary PDF On their way from Knossos to the Cave and Sanctuary of Zeus, a Cretan, a Lacedaemonian and an Athenian discuss the establishment of a Cretan city. This dialogue forms the subject of Plato’s Laws, which contain observations on the relationship between the geophysical conditions peculiar to Crete and the life of its inhabitants. Certain private and public Cretan institutions are explained with reference to the Cretan landscape. The new city should be established in an area lacking the appropriate conditions to develop into a commercial and naval power, in order to avoid the moral corruption of the citizens. Plato’s anthropogeographical views arise from the idea of the unity of man and nature, which has its roots in Hippocratic thought.