The Republic is a Socratic dialog written by Plato around 380 BCE concerning the definition of justice & the order & character of the just city-state & citizen. The dramatic date of the dialog has been much debated & tho it must take place some time during the Peloponnesian War, "there would be jarring anachronisms if any of the candidate specific dates between 432 and 404 were assigned". It's Plato’s best-known work & has proven to be one of the most intellectually & historically influential works of philosophy & political theory. In it, Socrates along with various Athenians & foreigners discuss the meaning of justice & examine whether or not the just man is happier than the unjust man by considering a series of different cities coming into existence "in speech", culminating in a city ruled by philosopher-kings; & by examining the nature of existing regimes. The participants also discuss the theory of forms, the soul's immortality, & the roles of poetry & the philosopher in society.