Rotation of Office (Ruling and Being Ruled in Turn)

In a free city, Aristotle held, citizens are equals who take turns holding office — ruling for a season, then stepping down to be ruled by their neighbors. This rotation is what separates genuinely political rule among free men from the despotic rule of a master over slaves, where one side commands forever and the other only obeys. The idea echoes through Herodotus's debate among Persians over rule by the many (with offices assigned by lot) and Plato's Laws, and it remains a cornerstone of how the Greeks imagined liberty and self-government.