Da 'philia' democrática ateniense à 'philosophia'' republicana de Platão

      The democratic institutions of Athens were always controversial within the city itself, but it was only in the fourth century that the opposition and criticism of this regime grew in a consistent thinking, producing a systematic reflection on the constitutional reality of 'poleis' and establishing, since then, the long-standing conviction regarding the superiority of a 'mixed regime' over democracy and all other forms of government. It is for Athens and for the persistent critique of its democracy that we must turn if we want to understand the claim and production of the concept of a republican, 'mixed government'.