La ariste politeia di Ippodamo di Mileto

This paper aims at showing that the ἀρίστη πολιτεία proposed by Hippodamus of Miletus, handed down by Aristotle in the second book of Politics, included the division of roles, tasks and functions of citizens and their political organization within an overall reform project of the city that Aristotle defines as taxis. The aristotelian formulation of a διαίρησις τῶν πόλεων invented by Hippodamus should therefore be understood as inclusive of the three main parts of a city: territory, population and constitution. It was a theoretical planning of the city as a whole. The "Ippodamean" city as a purely urban model emerges later in the fourth century and distinguishes what in Hippodamus was united. As a polis myriandros, Hippodamus’ city identifies, for the classical period, a city of unusual, the threshold limit value for a Greek polis before Hellenistic age, and is therefore clearly distinguesed ideal cities of Plato and Aristotle. Hippodamus’ politeia, rather than an attempt to overcome ideological divisionis and contemplate elements of the two Spartan and Athenian models or to propose a mixed constitution, seems to present a whole-philosophical footprint, even if in the sign of a reformed democracy. His proposal appears to be the first attempt to reconsider the political and social relations inside of the polis, combining tradition and innovation and anticipating crucial issues of the fourth century political debate.