The Mythological Interpretation Of The Origin Of Politics

This paper attempts to analyze the myth in Statesman and to explain the origin ofpolitics. Myth and science belong to two different and even diametrically opposedways of thinking, by retelling the stranger’s myth, this article explains its uniquestructure and conceptual form, providing a mythological interpretation for the originof politics. The Statesman believes politics originated in the era of Zeus, during whichthere was no pure justice and the direct rule of God, but people tended to justice andGod. The mythical political origins in Statesman, to a certain extent, makes politicianswith a certain divinity. But the divinity doesn’t exist in real politicians, because the eraduring the rule of Zeus belongs to the time of people and of equal status between therulers and the ruled. So we must make a distinction between the politicians: one is areal statesman, the true king, who can also be called the philosopher king. He rules inaccordance with practical wisdom without law, and people voluntarily submit to hisrule; the other is the real politician, they are imitators of philosopher king. Politiciansimitate philosopher king’s rule in the polis life, the city-state politics is the imitation ofCronus’ rule, but because of the lack of philosopher king, and the fade of human’smemories of the golden age, the law is essential in real politics.In this paper, there are two roads to find the origin of politics, the first is from the"Logos", starting with the political science approach that is dichotomy,the way ofknowledge (skills) to be divided, define a politician. But the inherent inability ofdichotomy couldn’t explain the origin of the politics, so we must find another way.The second path is from the "muthos",namely the myth, by illustrating the huge mythtold by the stranger in Statesman, we find the political origin in mythology. Thesecond step describes the background of politics and the human condition in the earlyrule of Zeus. At this time, human wer weak, gods bestowed human all sorts of skills,humans became independent, and then human recalled and imitated the gods’ rule totake care of themselves, which was the origin of politics. Through this mythologicalorigin of politics, we can get a conclusion that the gods’ rule is unparalleled and thebest, the human’s rule is the imitation of the gods’, the difference of political systemsoriginated from the good or the bad imitation of the gods’ rule. Finally, I discuss thenecessity of the city-state ruled by law.In short, politics originated from the tough situation of human in the time of Zeus’s rule and from human’s imitation. But the imitation is Cronus’s rule, not the"Forms" or "eidos". So there are two levels of imitation in Stasteman. Sensible ruleimitates the divine rule,and other rules imitate sensible rule.The gods’ rule has beenout of reach since they have gone, it can only be reproduced in the memories; theclosest political system to the gods’ rule is undoubtedly based on the rule of nuthos(rationallty), but it is also proved that this perfect form of the rule is difficult to existin the human world, the second best choice is to choose a "second" rule, namely therule of law.“Various laws at least are the imitation for principle of the alive ideal’king’, according to the action”.