Laws (Plato)

Laws (Ancient Greek Νόμοι Nómoi ['nɔmɔɪ̯]) is a text Plato wrote as an old man. Like most of his other works, it is written in the form of a dialogue. It is perhaps Plato's most important writing.

The beginning of the Laws, in the oldest exiting source, from the 9th century (codex Parsinus Graecus 1807)

Psiloritis Mountain in Crete, was the location of the hiking trip in Laws

In the dialogue, three people on a hiking trip discuss what an ideal state should look like. They discuss many topics and questions, including these:

• Divine revelation, divine law and law-giving
• The role of intelligence in law-giving
• The relations of philosophy, religion, and politics
• The role of music, exercise and dance in education
• Natural law and natural rights