本文嘗試追尋希望政治思想成形的一部份過程；如果能夠對他們體系性政治思想出現前的發展多加了解，或有助於我們探 希臘人在理解治生活時抱持的一些基本信念與價值。政治論述，既是對政治生活的反思，則它必發生於有了若干政治生活的經驗之後。也就是說，體系性的政治思想之出現，有待於人類的治生活複雜化、規模化到一個程度之後始可能。在西方，這個分界點大概是在紀元前四、五世紀的雅典，於是很自然，西洋思想史的研 般是從四世紀所謂的雅典學派文獻開始。但是，在此之前的時期，尤其是第五世紀，留下了豐富的文獻，他們催生了問題意識，鼓舞了探討的興趣，並嘗試了若干具說服力的解決方向；不但為政治論述的醞釀留下了證言，同時也提供了我們珍貴的文化史素材──希臘社會思維發生初期演變的重要軌跡。 在對以悲劇為主的資討論中，我們看到了國家觀念、政認同及政治義務等觀念從希臘的悲劇及對話錄中浮現出，這些觀念的出現不但為我們指引出當人對政治認識的方式及程度，同時也證明了「國家中的生活」已經超越了「部落、家族中的生活」二成為希臘人群體生活中嶄新的認知層次。

　　　　　This is a study about the origins of the concept of the political in the early and middle Greek culture, especially in Athens. Tragedies and mythologies provide valuable information about the formation of the political consciousness in the Hellenic eras in which polis is the main form of political life. It is indicated that tragedies are good source of political education and the playwights are political educators of the most effective sort. Aeschylus and Sophocles have been selected for discussions, and it is argued that several main themes in political thought and the fundamental ideas necessary for the state-building do receive proper handling in the hands of the tragedians. It is they who hope to shape and offer vital substance for the mature political thought to come in later decades. The early political consciousness, as articulated in the literary works which appear in public performances, does to a good extent dictate the form and themes of subsequent more specialized discourses.