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Description of  Justice As an Aspect of the Polis Idea in Solon's Political Poems: A Reading of the Fragments in Light of the Researches of the

This book examines the meaning of justice or dike in the political poems of Solon from a new interpretative perspective. The first two chapters argue that neither standard historical nor literary treatments have provided an adequate foundation for understanding Solons dike. The main defect lies in an inability to connect Solons concrete political work with his poetic perceptions. The books central proposal is that the polis idea, from new classical archaeology, provides an objective standard for an interpretation of Solons dike, which remedies this defect. The third chapter sets forth the polis idea, which becomes the measure for an examination, in the final two chapters, of Solons view of dike. The book thus exhibits an interdisciplinary approach to Archaic poetry.