Reimagining a Good Monarch: Phylarchus’ Fragment 44 (Ath. 4.20–1, 141F–42F) and the Hellenistic Discourse of Kingship

Abstract This paper provides a close reading of Phylarchus Fragment 44 (Ath. 4.20–1, 141F–42f) against the backdrop of the Hellenistic discourse of kingship, on the one hand, and the developments in the Spartan kings’ approach to monarchical rule, on the other. It argues that the characterisation of Cleomenes in Fragment 44 is rooted in a discourse on kingship that was contemporaneous with Phylarchus, and that his text’s prevailing theme is the king’s σωφροσύνη as opposed to ὕβρις.