The Ring of Gyges (, ''Gúgou Daktúlios'', ) is a hypothetical magic ring mentioned by the

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

Plato Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...

in Book 2 of his ''

Republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

'' (2:359a–2:360d). It grants its owner the power to become

invisible Invisibility is the state of an object that cannot be seen. An object in this state is said to be ''invisible'' (literally, "not visible"). The phenomenon is studied by physics and perceptual psychology. Since objects can be seen by light fr ...

at will. Using the ring as an example, this section of the ''Republic'' considers whether a rational, intelligent person who has no need to fear negative consequences for committing an injustice would nevertheless act justly.

The legends

Gyges of Lydia was a historical king, the founder of the Mermnad dynasty of

Lydia Lydia (; ) was an Iron Age Monarchy, kingdom situated in western Anatolia, in modern-day Turkey. Later, it became an important province of the Achaemenid Empire and then the Roman Empire. Its capital was Sardis. At some point before 800 BC, ...

n kings. Various ancient works—the most well-known being '' The Histories'' of

Herodotus Herodotus (; BC) was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus (now Bodrum, Turkey), under Persian control in the 5th century BC, and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria, Italy. He wrote the '' Histori ...

—gave different accounts of the circumstances of his acquisition of power. All, however, agree in asserting that he was originally a subordinate of King

Candaules Candaules (died c.687 BC; , ''Kandaulēs''), also known as Myrsilos (Μυρσίλος), was a king of the ancient Kingdom of Lydia in the early years of the 7th century BC. According to Herodotus, he succeeded his father Meles as the 22nd and ...

, that he killed Candaules and seized the throne, and that he had either seduced Candaules' Queen before killing him, married her afterwards, or both. In the recounting of the myth by

Glaucon Glaucon (; ; c. 445 BC – 4th century BC), son of Ariston, was an ancient Athenian and Plato's older brother. He is primarily known as a major conversant with Socrates in the ''Republic''. According to Debra Nails, two major facts about Glau ...

(Plato's older brother, as a character of the ''Republic''), an unnamed ancestor of Gyges was a shepherd in the service of the king of Lydia. After an earthquake, a chasm was revealed in a mountainside where he was feeding his flock. Entering the chasm, he discovered that it was in fact a tomb with a bronze horse containing a

corpse A cadaver, often known as a corpse, is a dead human body. Cadavers are used by medical students, physicians and other scientists to study anatomy, identify disease sites, determine causes of death, and provide tissue to repair a defect in a li ...

, larger than that of a man, who wore a

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

ring (The) Ring(s) may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell Arts, entertainment, and media Film and TV * ''The Ring'' (franchise), a ...

, which he then pocketed. He discovered that by adjusting the ring, he gained the power of invisibility. He then arranged to become one of the king's messengers as to the status of the flocks. Arriving at the palace, he used his new power of invisibility to seduce the queen, and with her help, murder the king, and become king of Lydia himself.

The role of the legend in Plato's ''Republic''

In the ''Republic'', the tale of the ring of Gyges is described by the character of Glaucon, the brother of Plato. Glaucon asks whether any man could be so

virtuous A virtue () is a trait of excellence, including traits that may be moral, social, or intellectual. The cultivation and refinement of virtue is held to be the "good of humanity" and thus is valued as an end purpose of life or a foundational pri ...

that he may resist the temptation of killing, robbing, raping, or generally doing injustice to whomever he pleased if he could do so remaining undetected. Glaucon wants Socrates to argue that it is beneficial for us to be just, independent of any consideration for our reputation. Glaucon posits: Though his answer to Glaucon's challenge is delayed, Socrates argues ultimately that justice does not derive from this social construct: the man who abused the power of the Ring of Gyges has in fact enslaved himself to his appetites, while the man who chose not to use it remains rationally in control of himself and is therefore happy (Republic 10:612b).

Cultural influences

* Cicero retells the story of Gyges in ''

De Officiis ''De Officiis'' (''On Duties'', ''On Obligations'', or ''On Moral Responsibilities'') is a 44 BC treatise by Marcus Tullius Cicero divided into three books, in which Cicero expounds his conception of the best way to live, behave, and observe mor ...

'' to illustrate his thesis that a wise or good individual bases decisions on a fear of moral degradation as opposed to punishment or negative consequences. Cicero follows with a discussion of the role of

thought experiment A thought experiment is an imaginary scenario that is meant to elucidate or test an argument or theory. It is often an experiment that would be hard, impossible, or unethical to actually perform. It can also be an abstract hypothetical that is ...

s in philosophy. The hypothetical situation in question is complete immunity from punishment of the kind afforded to Gyges by his ring. * J.R.R. Tolkien was familiar with Plato's myth and had possibly read part of the story's original text in

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

; the fable influenced his writing of his literary masterpiece ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an Epic (genre), epic high fantasy novel written by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book ''The Hobbit'' but eventually d ...

''.

References

External links

Plato, ''Republic''
Book 2, translated by Benjamin Jowett (1892).
''The Ring of Gyges''
Analysis by Bernard Suzanne (1996). {{Greek religion, state=collapsed Fiction about invisibility Gyges of Lydia Individual rings Legendary objects Magic rings Republic (Plato) Thought experiments in ethics

The legends

The role of the legend in Plato's ''Republic''

Cultural influences

See also

References

External links