Books VIII–XII of the Nomoi conclude Plato’s thoughts on the political order he created for a fictitious society. They contain texts that are of particular importance to Plato’s later theories of political philosophy and theology: regulations for sexual behavior, a surprisingly modern theory of punishment, a long theological treatise that includes a rebuttal of atheism and a detailed proof of the existence of God including a theodicy, and finally the role of the so-called night assembly that serves as a supervising body over the laws in order maintain the body politic.
