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The Ring of Gyges /ˈdʒaɪˌdʒiːz/ (Ancient Greek: Γύγου Δακτύλιος, Gúgou Daktúlios, Attic Greek pronunciation: [ˈɡyːˌɡoː dakˈtylios]) is a hypothetical magic ring mentioned by the philosopher Plato in Book 2 of his Republic (2:359a–2:360d).^[1] It grants its owner the power to become invisible at will. Using the ring as an example, this section of the Republic considers whether a rational, intelligent person who has no need to fear negative consequences for committing an injustice would nevertheless act justly.

The legends

Gyges of Lydia was a historical king, the founder of the Mermnad dynasty of Lydian kings. Various ancient works—the most well-known being The Histories of Herodotus^[2]—gave different accounts of the circumstances of his acquisition of power.^[3] All, however, agree in asserting that he was originally a subordinate of King Candaules of Lydia, that he killed Candaules and seized the throne, and that he had either seduced Candaules' Queen before killing him, married her afterwards, or both.

In the recounting of the myth by Glaucon (Plato's older brother, as a character of the Republic), an unnamed ancestor of Gyges^[4]^[5] was a shepherd in the service of the king of Lydia. After an earthquake, a chasm was revealed in a mountainside where he was feeding his flock. Entering the chasm, he discovered that it was in fact a tomb with a bronze horse containing a corpse, larger than that of a man, who wore a golden ring, which he then pocketed. He discovered that by adjusting the ring, he gained the power of invisibility. He then arranged to become one of the king's messengers as to the status of the flocks. Arriving at the palace, he used his new power of invisibility to seduce the queen, and with her help, murder the king, and become king of Lydia himself.

The role of the legend in Plato's Republic

In the Republic, the tale of the ring of Gyges is described by the character of Glaucon, the brother of Plato. Glaucon asks whether any man could be so virtuous that he may resist the temptation of killing, robbing, raping, or generally doing injustice to whomever he pleased if he could do so remaining undetected. Glaucon wants Socrates to argue that it is beneficial for us to be just, independent of any consideration for our reputation.

Glaucon posits:

Suppose now that there were two such magic rings, and the just put on one of them and the unjust the other; no man can be imagined to be of such an iron nature that he would stand fast in justice. No man would keep his hands off what was not his own when he could safely take what he liked out of the market, or go into houses and lie with any one at his pleasure, or kill or release from prison whom he would, and in all respects be like a god among men.
Then the actions of the just would be as the actions of the unjust; they would both come at last to the same point. And this we may truly affirm to be a great proof that a man is just, not willingly or because he thinks that justice is any good to him individually, but of necessity, for wherever any one thinks that he can safely be unjust, there he is unjust.
For all men believe in their hearts that injustice is far more profitable to the individual than justice, and he who argues as I have been supposing, will say that they are right. If you could imagine any one obtaining this power of becoming invisible, and never doing any wrong or touching what was another's, he would be thought by the lookers-on to be a most wretched idiot, although they would praise him to one another's faces, and keep up appearances with one another from a fear that they too might suffer injustice.

— Plato, Republic, 360b–d (Jowett trans.)

Though his answer to Glaucon's challenge is delayed, Socrates argues ultimately that justice does not derive from this social construct: the man who abused the power of the Ring of Gyges has in fact enslaved himself to his appetites, while the man who chose not to use it remains rationally in control of himself and is therefore happy (Republic 10:612b).

Cultural influences

Cicero retells the story of Gyges in De Officiis to illustrate his thesis that a wise or good individual bases decisions on a fear of moral degradation as opposed to punishment or negative consequences. Cicero follows with a discussion of the role of thought experiments in philosophy. The hypothetical situation in question is complete immunity from punishment of the kind afforded to Gyges by his ring.^[6]
J.R.R. Tolkien was familiar with Plato's myth^[7] and had possibly read part of the story's original text in Ancient Greek;^[8] the fable influenced his writing of his literary masterpiece The Lord of the Rings.^[9]^[10]^[11]^[12]^[13]^[14]

References

^ Laird, A. (2001). "Ringing the Changes on Gyges: Philosophy and the Formation of Fiction in Plato's Republic". Journal of Hellenic Studies. 121: 12–29. doi:10.2307/631825. JSTOR 631825. S2CID 170951759.
^ Herodotus 1.7–13
^ Smith, Kirby Flower (1902). "The Tale of Gyges and the King of Lydia". American Journal of Philology. 23 (4): 361–387. doi:10.2307/288700. JSTOR 288700.
^ Plato. "Republic" (in Ancient Greek). Section 359d. τῷ [Γύγου] τοῦ Λυδοῦ προγόνῳ
^ Plato (1969). "Republic". Translated by Paul Shorey. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press. Book 10, Section 612b. Socrates refers to the ring as "the ring of Gyges" (τὸν Γύγου δακτύλιον). For this reason, the story is simply called "The Ring of Gyges".
^ De Officiis 3.38–39
^ Wood, Ralph C. (2003). The Gospel According to Tolkien. Westminster John Knox Press. p. 68. ISBN 978-0-664-23466-9.
^ Nagy, Gergely (2007). Drout, Michael D. C. (ed.). J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment. Taylor & Francis. p. 513. ISBN 978-0-415-96942-0.
^ West, Richard C. (2003-08-27). "Real-world myth in a secondary world: mythological aspects in the story of Beren and Lúthien". In Chance, Jane (ed.). Tolkien the Medievalist. Routledge. pp. 263–264. ISBN 978-1-134-43971-3. Retrieved 2024-01-11. The situation is full of resonances from other traditional tales: [...] the Ring of Gyges in Plato's Republic
^ Kreeft, Peter (2009-09-03). The Philosophy of Tolkien: The Worldview Behind The Lord of the Rings. Ignatius Press. p. 183. ISBN 978-1-68149-531-6. As Plato used the Ring to contrast Gyges with Socrates, Tolkien uses the same Ring to contrast Gollum with Frodo [...]
^ Korpua, Jyrki (2021-05-10). The Mythopoeic Code of Tolkien: A Christian Platonic Reading of the Legendarium. McFarland. p. 159. ISBN 978-1-4766-7288-5. [...] Tolkien's ring myth is the Platonic myth of Gyges from the Republic, [...]
^ Day, David (2019-10-08). An Encyclopedia of Tolkien: The History and Mythology That Inspired Tolkien's World. Simon and Schuster. pp. 302, 180–181. ISBN 978-1-64517-009-9. "Plato was extremely influential in Tolkien's mythopoetic approach to literature […]" (p. 302), "[...] as in the case of Gyges [...]" (p. 181)
^ Comstock, Gary (2013-01-03). Research Ethics: A Philosophical Guide to the Responsible Conduct of Research. Cambridge University Press. p. 62. ISBN 978-1-139-61884-7. "[...] the mythical golden ring of Gyges. [...] Yes, it's the same ring we see in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings [...]
^ Rogers, Brett M.; Stevens, Benjamin Eldon (2017). Classical Traditions in Modern Fantasy. Oxford University Press. p. 129. ISBN 978-0-19-061006-7. The Ring has been compared to Gyges [...]'

External links

Plato, Republic Book 2, translated by Benjamin Jowett (1892).
The Ring of Gyges Analysis by Bernard Suzanne (1996).

[1] Laird, A. (2001). "Ringing the Changes on Gyges: Philosophy and the Formation of Fiction in Plato's Republic". Journal of Hellenic Studies. 121: 12–29. doi:10.2307/631825. JSTOR 631825. S2CID 170951759.

[2] Herodotus 1.7–13

[3] Smith, Kirby Flower (1902). "The Tale of Gyges and the King of Lydia". American Journal of Philology. 23 (4): 361–387. doi:10.2307/288700. JSTOR 288700.

[4] Plato. "Republic" (in Ancient Greek). Section 359d. τῷ [Γύγου] τοῦ Λυδοῦ προγόνῳ

[5] Plato (1969). "Republic". Translated by Paul Shorey. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press. Book 10, Section 612b. Socrates refers to the ring as "the ring of Gyges" (τὸν Γύγου δακτύλιον). For this reason, the story is simply called "The Ring of Gyges".

[6] De Officiis 3.38–39

[7] Wood, Ralph C. (2003). The Gospel According to Tolkien. Westminster John Knox Press. p. 68. ISBN 978-0-664-23466-9.

[8] Nagy, Gergely (2007). Drout, Michael D. C. (ed.). J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment. Taylor & Francis. p. 513. ISBN 978-0-415-96942-0.

[9] West, Richard C. (2003-08-27). "Real-world myth in a secondary world: mythological aspects in the story of Beren and Lúthien". In Chance, Jane (ed.). Tolkien the Medievalist. Routledge. pp. 263–264. ISBN 978-1-134-43971-3. Retrieved 2024-01-11. The situation is full of resonances from other traditional tales: [...] the Ring of Gyges in Plato's Republic

[10] Kreeft, Peter (2009-09-03). The Philosophy of Tolkien: The Worldview Behind The Lord of the Rings. Ignatius Press. p. 183. ISBN 978-1-68149-531-6. As Plato used the Ring to contrast Gyges with Socrates, Tolkien uses the same Ring to contrast Gollum with Frodo [...]

[11] Korpua, Jyrki (2021-05-10). The Mythopoeic Code of Tolkien: A Christian Platonic Reading of the Legendarium. McFarland. p. 159. ISBN 978-1-4766-7288-5. [...] Tolkien's ring myth is the Platonic myth of Gyges from the Republic, [...]

[12] Day, David (2019-10-08). An Encyclopedia of Tolkien: The History and Mythology That Inspired Tolkien's World. Simon and Schuster. pp. 302, 180–181. ISBN 978-1-64517-009-9. "Plato was extremely influential in Tolkien's mythopoetic approach to literature […]" (p. 302), "[...] as in the case of Gyges [...]" (p. 181)

[13] Comstock, Gary (2013-01-03). Research Ethics: A Philosophical Guide to the Responsible Conduct of Research. Cambridge University Press. p. 62. ISBN 978-1-139-61884-7. "[...] the mythical golden ring of Gyges. [...] Yes, it's the same ring we see in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings [...]

[14] Rogers, Brett M.; Stevens, Benjamin Eldon (2017). Classical Traditions in Modern Fantasy. Oxford University Press. p. 129. ISBN 978-0-19-061006-7. The Ring has been compared to Gyges [...]'

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{short description|Mythical magical artifact in Plato's Republic}}
+{{CS1 config|mode=cs1}}
 {{Platonism}}
+[[File:Der Ring des Gyges (Ferrara 16 Jh).jpg|thumb|Depiction of Gyges discovering the ring, [[Ferrara]], 16th century]]
-By Gabri: The '''Ring of Gyges''' {{IPAc-en|ˈ|dʒ|aɪ|ˌ|dʒ|iː|z}} ({{lang-grc|Γύγου Δακτύλιος}}, ''Gúgou Daktúlios'', {{IPA-el|ˈɡyːˌɡoː dakˈtylios|att-pron}}) is a hypothetical [[magic ring]] mentioned by the [[philosophy|philosopher]] [[Plato]] in Book 2 of his ''[[Republic (Plato)|Republic]]'' (2:359a–2:360d).<ref>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.2307/631825| jstor = 631825| title = Ringing the Changes on Gyges: Philosophy and the Formation of Fiction in Plato's Republic| journal = [[Journal of Hellenic Studies]]| volume = 121| pages = 12–29| year = 2001| last1 = Laird | first1 = A.}}</ref> It grants its owner the power to become [[invisibility|invisible]] at will. Through the device of the ring, this section of the ''Republic'' considers whether a rational, intelligent person who has no need to fear negative consequences for committing an injustice would nevertheless act justly.
+The '''Ring of Gyges''' {{IPAc-en|ˈ|dʒ|aɪ|ˌ|dʒ|iː|z}} ({{langx|grc|Γύγου Δακτύλιος}}, ''Gúgou Daktúlios'', {{IPA|grc-x-attic|ˈɡyːˌɡoː dakˈtylios|link=yes}}) is a hypothetical [[magic ring]] mentioned by the [[philosophy|philosopher]] [[Plato]] in Book 2 of his ''[[Republic (Plato)|Republic]]'' (2:359a–2:360d).<ref>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.2307/631825| jstor = 631825| title = Ringing the Changes on Gyges: Philosophy and the Formation of Fiction in Plato's Republic| journal = [[Journal of Hellenic Studies]]| volume = 121| pages = 12–29| year = 2001| last1 = Laird | first1 = A.| s2cid = 170951759}}</ref> It grants its owner the power to become [[invisibility|invisible]] at will. Using the ring as an example, this section of the ''Republic'' considers whether a rational, intelligent person who has no need to fear negative consequences for committing an injustice would nevertheless act justly.
 ==The legends==
-[[Gyges of Lydia]] was a historical king, the founder of the [[Mermnad dynasty]] of [[Lydia]]n kings. Various ancient works—the most well-known being ''[[The Histories of Herodotus|The Histories]]'' of [[Herodotus]]<ref>Herodotus 1.7–13</ref>—gave different accounts of the circumstances of his rise to power.<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Smith | first1 = Kirby Flower | year = 1902 | title = The Tale of Gyges and the King of Lydia | journal = [[American Journal of Philology]] | volume = 23 | issue = 4 | pages = 361–387 | jstor = 288700 | doi = 10.2307/288700 }}</ref> All, however, agree in asserting that he was originally a subordinate of King [[Candaules]] of [[Lydia]], that he killed Candaules and seized the throne, and that he had either seduced Candaules' Queen before killing him, married her afterwards, or both.
+[[Gyges of Lydia]] was a historical king, the founder of the [[Mermnad dynasty]] of [[Lydia]]n kings. Various ancient works—the most well-known being ''[[The Histories of Herodotus|The Histories]]'' of [[Herodotus]]<ref>Herodotus 1.7–13</ref>—gave different accounts of the circumstances of his acquisition of power.<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Smith | first1 = Kirby Flower | year = 1902 | title = The Tale of Gyges and the King of Lydia | journal = [[American Journal of Philology]] | volume = 23 | issue = 4 | pages = 361–387 | jstor = 288700 | doi = 10.2307/288700 }}</ref> All, however, agree in asserting that he was originally a subordinate of King [[Candaules]] of [[Lydia]], that he killed Candaules and seized the throne, and that he had either seduced Candaules' Queen before killing him, married her afterwards, or both.
-In [[Glaucon]]'s recounting of the myth, an unnamed ancestor of Gyges<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0167%3Abook%3D2%3Asection%3D359d|author=Plato|title=Republic|at=Section 359d|lang=grc|quote={{lang|grc|τῷ [Γύγου] τοῦ Λυδοῦ προγόνῳ}}}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0168%3Abook%3D10%3Asection%3D612b|author=Plato|title=Republic|at=Book 10, Section 612b|translator=Paul Shorey|location=Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press|year=1969}} Socrates refers to the ring as "the ring of Gyges" ({{lang|grc|τὸν Γύγου [[wikt:δακτύλιος|δακτύλιον]]}}). For this reason, the story is simply called "The Ring of Gyges".</ref> was a shepherd in the service of the ruler of Lydia. After an earthquake, a chasm was revealed in a mountainside where he was feeding his flock. Entering the chasm, he discovered that it was in fact a tomb with a bronze horse containing a [[cadaver|corpse]], larger than that of a man, who wore a [[gold]]en [[Ring (jewellery)|ring]], which he then pocketed. He discovered that by adjusting the ring, he gained the power of invisibility. He then arranged to become one of the king's messengers as to the status of the flocks. Arriving at the palace, he used his new power of invisibility to seduce the queen, and with her help, murder the king, and become king of Lydia himself.
+In the recounting of the myth by [[Glaucon]] (Plato's older brother, as a character of the ''Republic''), an unnamed ancestor of Gyges<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0167%3Abook%3D2%3Asection%3D359d|author=Plato|title=Republic|at=Section 359d|lang=grc|quote={{lang|grc|τῷ [Γύγου] τοῦ Λυδοῦ προγόνῳ}}}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0168%3Abook%3D10%3Asection%3D612b|author=Plato|title=Republic|at=Book 10, Section 612b|translator=Paul Shorey|location=Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press|year=1969}} Socrates refers to the ring as "the ring of Gyges" ({{lang|grc|τὸν Γύγου [[wikt:δακτύλιος|δακτύλιον]]}}). For this reason, the story is simply called "The Ring of Gyges".</ref> was a shepherd in the service of the king of Lydia. After an earthquake, a chasm was revealed in a mountainside where he was feeding his flock. Entering the chasm, he discovered that it was in fact a tomb with a bronze horse containing a [[cadaver|corpse]], larger than that of a man, who wore a [[gold]]en [[Ring (jewellery)|ring]], which he then pocketed. He discovered that by adjusting the ring, he gained the power of invisibility. He then arranged to become one of the king's messengers as to the status of the flocks. Arriving at the palace, he used his new power of invisibility to seduce the queen, and with her help, murder the king, and become king of Lydia himself.
-==The role of the legend in ''Republic''==
+==The role of the legend in Plato's ''Republic''==
-In ''Republic'', the tale of the ring of Gyges is described by the character of Glaucon, the brother of Plato. Glaucon asks whether any man could be so [[virtue|virtuous]] that he may resist the temptation of killing, robbing, raping, or generally doing injustice to whomever he pleased if he could do so remaining undetected. Glaucon wants Socrates to argue that it is beneficial for us to be just, independent of any consideration for our reputation.
+In the ''Republic'', the tale of the ring of Gyges is described by the character of Glaucon, the brother of Plato. Glaucon asks whether any man could be so [[virtue|virtuous]] that he may resist the temptation of killing, robbing, raping, or generally doing injustice to whomever he pleased if he could do so remaining undetected. Glaucon wants Socrates to argue that it is beneficial for us to be just, independent of any consideration for our reputation.
 Glaucon posits:
@@ Line 20: / Line 22: @@
 |Plato|''Republic'', 360b–d ([[Benjamin Jowett|Jowett]] {{abbr|trans.|translation}})}}
-Though his answer to Glaucon's challenge is delayed, Socrates ultimately argues that justice does not derive from this social construct: the man who abused the power of the Ring of Gyges has in fact enslaved himself to his appetites, while the man who chose not to use it remains rationally in control of himself and is therefore happy (Republic 10:612b).
+Though his answer to Glaucon's challenge is delayed, Socrates argues ultimately that justice does not derive from this social construct: the man who abused the power of the Ring of Gyges has in fact enslaved himself to his appetites, while the man who chose not to use it remains rationally in control of himself and is therefore happy (Republic 10:612b).
 ==Cultural influences<!--linked from 'Cultural influence of Plato's Republic'-->==
 * Cicero retells the story of Gyges in ''[[De Officiis]]'' to illustrate his thesis that a wise or good individual bases decisions on a fear of moral degradation as opposed to punishment or negative consequences.  Cicero follows with a discussion of the role of [[thought experiment]]s in philosophy.  The hypothetical situation in question is complete immunity from punishment of the kind afforded to Gyges by his ring.<ref>''[[De Officiis]]'' 3.38–39</ref>
+*[[J.R.R. Tolkien]] was familiar with Plato's myth<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wood |first=Ralph C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vA-MDa3UyScC |title=The Gospel According to Tolkien |date=2003 |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press |isbn=978-0-664-23466-9 |pages=68 |language=en |author-link=Ralph C. Wood}}</ref> and had possibly read part of the story's original text in [[Ancient Greek]];<ref>{{Cite book |last=Nagy |first=Gergely |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B0loOBA3ejIC |title=J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment |date=2007 |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] |isbn=978-0-415-96942-0 |editor-last=Drout |editor-first=Michael D. C. |pages=513 |language=en |author-link=Gergely Nagy (scholar)}}</ref> the fable influenced his writing of his literary masterpiece ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]''.<ref>{{cite book |last=West |first=Richard C. |chapter=Real-world myth in a secondary world: mythological aspects in the story of Beren and Lúthien |date=2003-08-27 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6TX3hJckf3YC |title=Tolkien the Medievalist |pages=263–264 |editor-last=Chance |editor-first=Jane |access-date=2024-01-11 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-1-134-43971-3 |quote="The situation is full of resonances from other traditional tales: [...] the Ring of Gyges in Plato's ''Republic''" |author-link=Richard C. West}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Kreeft |first=Peter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cjJ0DgAAQBAJ |title=The Philosophy of Tolkien: The Worldview Behind The Lord of the Rings |date=2009-09-03 |publisher=Ignatius Press |isbn=978-1-68149-531-6 |pages=183 |language=en |quote=As Plato used the Ring to contrast Gyges with Socrates, Tolkien uses the same Ring to contrast Gollum with Frodo [...] |author-link=Peter Kreeft}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Korpua |first=Jyrki |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1rkxEAAAQBAJ |title=The Mythopoeic Code of Tolkien: A Christian Platonic Reading of the Legendarium |date=2021-05-10 |publisher=[[McFarland & Company|McFarland]] |isbn=978-1-4766-7288-5 |pages=159 |language=en |quote=[...] Tolkien's ring myth is the Platonic myth of Gyges from the Republic, [...]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Day |first=David |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i_qZEAAAQBAJ |title=An Encyclopedia of Tolkien: The History and Mythology That Inspired Tolkien's World |date=2019-10-08 |publisher=[[Simon and Schuster]] |isbn=978-1-64517-009-9 |pages=302, 180–181 |language=en |quote="Plato was extremely influential in Tolkien's mythopoetic approach to literature […]" (p. 302), "[...] as in the case of Gyges [...]" (p. 181) |author-link=David Day (Canadian author)}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Comstock |first=Gary |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QQchAwAAQBAJ |title=Research Ethics: A Philosophical Guide to the Responsible Conduct of Research |date=2013-01-03 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=978-1-139-61884-7 |pages=62 |language=en |quote="[...] the mythical golden ring of Gyges. [...] Yes, it's the same ring we see in Tolkien's ''Lord of the Rings'' [...]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Rogers |first1=Brett M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yhqhDQAAQBAJ |title=Classical Traditions in Modern Fantasy |last2=Stevens |first2=Benjamin Eldon |date=2017 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-061006-7 |pages=129 |language=en |quote="The Ring has been compared to Gyges [...]'"}}</ref>
-* In the first canto of ''[[Orlando Innamorato]]'', Galafrone, king of [[Cathay]], gives his son Argalia a ring which makes the bearer invisible when carried in one's mouth and which protects against enchantment when worn on one's finger.
-* [[Jean-Jacques Rousseau]], in his "sixth walk" from his 1782 ''[[Reveries of a Solitary Walker]]'' (French: ''Les Rêveries du promeneur solitaire''), cites the Ring of Gyges legend and contemplates how he would use the ring of invisibility himself.
-* Alberich's Ring in the [[Richard Wagner]]'s opera ''[[Der Ring des Nibelungen]]'' (''The Ring of the Nibelung'')
-* [[H. G. Wells]]' ''[[The Invisible Man]]'' has as its basis a retelling of the tale of the Ring of Gyges.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.depauw.edu/sfs/backissues/57/holt57art.htm|title=H.G. Wells and the Ring of Gyges|first=Philip |last=Holt|journal=Science Fiction Studies|issue=57|volume=19, Part 2 |pages=236–247|date=July 1992 |jstor=4240153}}</ref>
-* The [[One Ring]] from [[J. R. R. Tolkien]]'s ''[[The Hobbit]]'' and ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' grants invisibility to its wearer but corrupts its owner. Although there is speculation<ref>{{cite web
-|url = http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl201/modules/Philosophers/Plato/plato_dialogue_the_ring_of_gyges.html
-|title = Plato: Ethics - Ring of Gyges
-|access-date = April 16, 2013
-|publisher = Oregon State University
-}}</ref> that Tolkien was influenced by Plato's story, a search on "Gyges" and "Plato" in his letters and biography provides no evidence for this.  Unlike Plato's ring, Tolkien's exerts an active malevolent force that necessarily destroys the morality of the wearer.<ref>Tolkien, ''The Lord of the Ring'', Book I, Chapter 2, "The Shadow of the Past".</ref>
-* Nobel laureate [[Naguib Mahfouz]] includes a modified subplot in his novel ''[[Arabian Nights and Days]]''.
 ==See also==
-* [[Allegorical interpretations of Plato]]
 * [[Helm of Hades]]
-* [[Online disinhibition effect]]
 ==References==
@@ Line 45: / Line 35: @@
 ==External links==
-*[https://ssrn.com/abstract=1661519 ''Glaukon's Challenge''] Glaukon's speech from book 2, translated by Cathal Woods (2010).
 *[http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/republic.3.ii.html Plato, ''Republic''] Book 2, translated by [[Benjamin Jowett]] (1892).
 *[http://plato-dialogues.org/tetra_4/republic/gyges.htm ''The Ring of Gyges''] Analysis by Bernard Suzanne (1996).
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 {{Greek religion|state=collapsed}}
-[[Category:Platonism]]
-[[Category:Greek mythology]]
-[[Category:Mythological clothing]]
-[[Category:Concepts in ethics]]
-[[Category:Magic rings]]
 [[Category:Fiction about invisibility]]
+[[Category:Gyges of Lydia]]
 [[Category:Individual rings]]
+[[Category:Legendary objects]]
+[[Category:Magic rings]]
+[[Category:Objects in Greek mythology]]
+[[Category:Platonism]]
 [[Category:Thought experiments in ethics]]
-[[Category:Gyges of Lydia]]