On the size of Aristotle's model polis, Nagle concludes: 'I am inclined to think that the modal poleis of, say, Stagira or Aphytis or any of those in the Chalcidice … or Asea in Arcadia, were close to Aristotle's idea of the Normalpolis ' (p. What Nagle makes clear is that the data concerning poleis that Aristotle had to work with was vast, that the range of different types of poleis was very broad, and that Athens was certainly not Aristotle's model for all poleis (Aristotle was not 'Athenocentric,' p. Chapter 3 deals with 'the material needs of the household in both existing states and in Aristotle's ideal state,' while Chapter 4 covers 'the labor needs of these households' (p. ' Both are required reading for anyone hoping to better understand the historical and cultural context of Aristotle's political philosophy. ' Polis Households: Labor Needs of the Oikos. Perhaps the best chapters in the book are the next two: 3.

The second chapter - 'The Polis as Community and Polity' - is a brief (and preliminary) sketch of the nature of the polis (or city) and Aristotle's views on the relationship between the household and the polis. 1), and Nagle fulfills this task admirably.

The task of the first chapter - 'Ancient and Modern Households' - is to make clear in what way, and to what extent, 'The polis household analyzed by Aristotle in his Politics and Ethics had little in common with the households of contemporary developed states' (p. But Brendan Nagle tells us this in an original way, and with a wealth of detail pertaining to the historical context within which Aristotle worked. In a sense, The Household as the Foundation of Aristotle's Polis tells us what we already know: that the household ( oikos ) plays a crucial role in the political philosophy of Aristotle.

Ideal state of aristotle