Introduction
The Introduction is in three parts: a discussion of ‘politikos’ by Panos Dimas; an outline of the structure and methods in the Statesman by Susan Sauvé Meyer; and an overview of the volume by Melissa Lane. The first part addresses the meaning of the term ‘politikos’ that serves as the dialogue’s title, and the Eleatic Visitor’s claim that each part of the sprawling conversation is necessary for its dialectical purposes. It is argued that the expert politikos of the present dialogue is the philosopher-king of the Republic. It is contended that there is insufficient evidence for dating the Statesman in relation to the Sophist and Theaetetus, and good reason to be sceptical that Plato planned to write a further dialogue, Philosophos. The second part surveys the structure of the dialogue and the range of methods (dialectic, division, myth, paradeigma) it deploys. It is argued that the recurring task of distinguishing the politikos from rival claimants to that title does not count as a ‘division’ in the technical sense. The third part gives an overview of the arguments in the individual chapters.