Review+of+Campanella's+City

Tommaso Campanella’s the city of the sun takes a unique approach at establishing a utopia. The city offers unique perspective on everything from the geography of a city to the tolerance of different religions, and, much like that of the Spartans, an emphasis on warfare.

The city’s geography is extremely different from any other utopia. The city is actually in the shape of a big circle with a circumference of about two miles. Inside that circle there are seven more circles one for each planet. The city’s geographical plan serves two functions: first as a defense mechanism but also as a way to encourage interaction between citizens. At the center of the city is temple which is also built in circular form.

Even though the city is built around a temple, the citizens of the city are allowed to worship as they wish. The priest occupies the most powerful position in the society: he serves as head of all temporal and spiritual matters and also all business and lawsuits are settled by him as the supreme authority. Under him are three princes of equal power.

The government is run by the priest and the three princes of equal power-- Power, Love and Wisdom, all of which have different areas of specialty. Power attends to all military arts and is the ruler of every affair of a warlike nature. Wisdom is the ruler of the liberal arts, of mechanics of all sciences with their magistrates and doctors, and the discipline of the schools. Love is in charge of matching men and women so that they bring forth the best offspring.

The city’s obvious warlike nature is comparable to that of the Spartans with a few exceptions. In the City of the Sun, men and women are trained to fight, although women are used as a last resort. Another exception is that the city’s structure serves as protection from outside invasions. With seven layers, the city is extremely well protected.

The City of the Sun is unique with its physical structure, its government, and its warlike nature. In other areas, the city is vary similar to other utopian attempts.

Marx