The Pseudo-Xenophontic Athenaion politeia is a fundamental testimony of the political debate of the second half of the 5th century BC. The author reflects on the concrete functioning of Athenian democracy in an investigation at once political, social, and economic, highlighting the ideological framework that supported it and, consequently, the theoretical resistance of supporters of anti-democratic thought. For these reasons, the work has aroused considerable attention among scholars over time, although the date of the work and its authorship remain uncertain. Through a comparison with contemporary literary works concerned with the political sphere, this this Italian-language research aims to reconstruct the context in which the anonymous author elaborated the politeia. The study combines thematic comparison with linguistic analysis, highlighting the significance of thematic elements and linguistic traits in their communicative and social dimension.

Maria Lavinia Porceddu obtained her PhD in Greek Literature in 2022 at the University of Trento, Italy. Her research is focused on Homeric formulas, Greek drama and political language.