Abstract: In modern academics, Pseudo-Xenophon' The Athenian Politeia is generally called The Old Oligarch, probably because the scholars did not thoroughly study the content and theme of this pamphlet. Although the "old oligarch" repeatedly expressed his anti-democratic viewpoint in the most striking parts of the article, andcriticized the Athenian democracy at length, he immediately defended it after the criticism, and admitted that the Athenians had successfully maintained their democracyand that it was not possible to overthrow it. At the same time, the democratic government allowed the aristocrats to play important role in politics, and the Athenian empirebrought abundant economic benefits，so the aristocrats generally adapted to democracy. In the face of these realities, it may be the author's intention to suggest that the oligarchs should abandon their political positions and adapt to the current democratic constitution.

Published on Journal of the History of Political Thought, Issue 3, 2019.