Leviathan vs πολιτεία: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Science politique, Ouvrages avant 1800, Political science, Early works to 1800, Philosophy
Leviathan
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Thomas Hobbes' Leviathan, from 1651, is one of the first and most influential arguments towards social contract. Written in the midst of the English Civil War, it concerns the structure of government and society and…
πολιτεία
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The Republic is Plato's most famous work and one of the seminal texts of Western philosophy and politics. The characters in this Socratic dialogue - including Socrates himself - discuss whether the just or unjust man is…
Side by side
The verdict
- Readers rate πολιτεία highest: πολιτεία 3.9 · Leviathan 3.7.
- Leviathan is the quickest read — about 5 hours vs 9 for πολιτεία.
- πολιτεία has the widest readership — 303775 ratings behind its score.
How to choose
Scores by source
| Leviathan | πολιτεία | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 3.7 (54811) | 3.9 (303775) |
| Hardcover | — | 3.0 (1) |
| Google Books | 4.0 (1) | — |
| Apple Books | 3.5 (10) | — |
Reception
| Leviathan | πολιτεία | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 54811 | 303775 |
| Editions | 99 | 794 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 112826 | 150 |
| Reading it now | 4765 | — |
| Written reviews | 1675 | 8 |
| Wikipedia attention | 67796 | 1555 |
| Pages | 299 | 503 |
Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Leviathan or πολιτεία?
πολιτεία has the higher combined reader rating across sources (πολιτεία 3.9/5, Leviathan 3.7/5).
Which is shorter to read: Leviathan or πολιτεία?
Leviathan is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Leviathan (299 pages, ≈ 5 h 32 m); πολιτεία (503 pages, ≈ 9 h 19 m).
Which is harder to read: Leviathan or πολιτεία?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Leviathan: Demanding; πολιτεία: Demanding.