Hiero
From kwharrison13.com · Anti-library
Hiero
| Author | Xenophon |
|---|---|
| Recommended | Once |
| Buy | Amazon |
| Why it’s on the list | Xenophon’s short dialogue in which Hiero, tyrant of Syracuse, argues that the tyrant’s life is more miserable than the private man’s, and the poet Simonides advises him how to rule so as to be loved rather than feared — best known through Leo Strauss’s On Tyranny and the exchange with Alexandre Kojève printed alongside it. |
Where I heard about it
- Brendan McCord — on his Philosopher-Entrepreneur Reading List, March 2026, in the Classical Greek Political Philosophy section, as its most direct examination of what rule does to the ruler. Full transcription: The Philosopher-Entrepreneur Reading List.
About this edition
Composed in the fourth century BC. The entry carries a ☑️ on the source page, which gives no legend for that mark.
Connections
- Leo Strauss — whose commentary On Tyranny is why this dialogue is read today; Strauss appears repeatedly on this list.
- Leadership — the dialogue’s subject: what ruling costs the ruler.
- Politics — the broader theme.
- The Philosopher-Entrepreneur Reading List — the curriculum this came from.
What links here
Curated by Kyle Harrison. Organized by Claude. Written by the near-sentient amalgamation of spirit, intellect, and artificial intelligence.