Ilias Vavouras

In this work, in the fragmentary Commentary on Aristotle’s Politics, Michael of Ephesus (1059–1129) says that in nature there are relations of sovereignty and subordination. This relationship validates the view of natural slavery, that there are masters by nature and slaves by nature. The organic use of the slave by the master or of the subject by the sovereign resembles the sovereignty of the soul over the body. In addition, Michael points out that the differentiation between politicians and citizens is not just about governance and subordination, but also about the issue of virtues. A real political man would be an exemplary form of expression of the private and public application of the virtue of justice. This article, I think, highlights the political philosophy in Byzantium and specifically the Aristotelian political philosophy, as it is understood and developed by important thinkers of the same period, such as Michael of Ephesus.

If we want to deal with political philosophy in Byzantium, and specifically with Aristotelian political philosophy, we cannot ignore the fragmentary commentary on Aristotle’s Politics by Michael of Ephesus (1059–1129). In this study, the Byzantine thinker addressed the basic problems of Aristotelian thought and political philosophy in general, attempting to interpret basic directions of Aristotelian political philosophy, but also to integrate them into the political model of the Byzantine Empire.

The ruler as a simulation of the divine mind

A structural parameter of Michael’s thought is the perception of political governance as a simulation of divine dominance in the universe. This idea is not new but is inherited from the ancient Greek tradition and specifically from the Pythagoreans. According to the Pythagoreans, the communication between the parties of a political community must be modelled on the communication between the different parts of the universe. The universe, however, was not created accidentally, but it was a product of rational design.