THE TYRANNICAL TEACHING AND PHILOSOPHY IN LEO STRAUSS’S INTERPRATION OF HIERO

Abstract

In Hiero, Xenophon presents us with quite different picture of tyranny: while a tyrant called Hiero complains that tyrants are the most wretched men in the world, a poet called Simonides tries to console him by arguing that the tyranny can be the source of happiness and felicity. In On Tyranny, Leo Strauss attempts to probe into the esoteric dimensions of Hiero, calling our attention to the fact that neither Hiero’s criticism nor Simonides’s praise can exhaust all the viewpoints Xenophon tries to formulate. Strauss claims that rather than being mere a condemnation of tyranny Hiero or a praise of tyranny Simonides , Hiero is at bottom a critique of laws, legality and polis. According to Strauss, what is involved in this critique is no less than the comparison between the political and philosophical life; a comparison through which Xenophon covertly claims the superiority of the latter. In the first part of our study, we will draw a general frame within which to place Strauss’s interpretation of Hiero. The basic theme here is the tension between philosophy and polis; the tension which Strauss gives a special importance throughout his oeuvre and which yields to the issue of esoteric writing. In the second part, we will study the details of arguments given expression in the dialogue by Hiero and Simonides. In the last part, we will concentrate on the esoteric dimensions of Hiero which Strauss underlines in On Tyranny

Keywords

• Classical Political Philosophy, Hiero, Leo Strass, Tyranny, Xenophon.

LEO STRAUSS’UN HIERO YORUMUNDA TİRANLIK ÖĞRETİSİ VE FELSEFE

Öz

Xenophon, Hiero’da bize alışılmadık bir tiranlık tablosu sunmaktadır: Hiero adlı bir tiran, tiranların yeryüzündeki en mutsuz kişiler olduğunu iddia ederken, Simonides adlı bir şair tiranlığın mutluluk kaynağı olabileceğini ifade ederek, Hiero’yu teselli etmektedir. Bu iki görüşün, eserin ezoterik boyutunu gözlerden saklamaya hizmet ettiğine dikkatimizi çeken Strauss, On Tyranny adlı çalışmasında, bu küçük hacimli eserin ihtiva ettiği anlam katmanlarını ortaya çıkarmaya çalışır. Strauss’a göre, gerek tiranın dile getirdiği tiranlık eleştirisi gerekse de hayırhah bir tiranlığın mümkün olabileceğini ifade eden tiranlık öğretisi, Xenophon’un asıl ifade etmek istediği şey değildir. Hiero’yu Xenophon’un diğer eserleri ile birlikte bütünlüklü bir bakış açısına tabi tutan Strauss, Xenophon’un Hiero’da yapmak istediği şeyin yasaların ve polis’in bir eleştirisi olduğuna dikkatimizi çeker. Bu eleştirinin işaret ettiği nokta ise felsefi hayat ile siyasi hayatın yani Hikmet ile Polis’in mukayesesidir. Çalışmamızın birinci kısmında, Strauss’un Hiero yorumuna dair genel bir çerçeve çizmeye çalışacağız. Bu çerçevenin ana unsurları, Strauss’un eserlerine damgasını vurmuş olan felsefe/polis gerilimi ve bu gerilimin bir ifadesi olan ezoterik yazım geleneğidir. Çalışmamızın ikinci bölümde, Hiero’nun içeriğine odaklanarak, Hiero ve Simonides arasındaki diyaloğun detaylarını inceleyeceğiz. Üçüncü bölümde ise, Xenophon’un dile getirdiği tiranlık öğretisinin Strauss tarafından ortaya konan ezoterik yorumuna odaklanacağız

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Hiero, Klasik Siyaset Felsefesi, Leo Strauss, Tiranlık, Xenophon.

Kaynakça

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