The Republic (novel)/YMMV


 * Fair for Its Day: Phenomenally so in its treatment of women. Socrates, while by no means devoid of certain questionable attitudes, emphasizes several times (among other things) that the Guardians and Auxiliaries may be male or female, directly stating that women are just as capable of possessing the required virtues (justice, courage, fortitude, intelligence, et cetera) as men. Consider that it would be more than 2000 years before women would even achieve suffrage, and his argument becomes pretty damn impressive... that said, it's fairly depressing that that alone merits a description as "impressive"...
 * Values Dissonance: Values have changed since the days of ancient Greece, to put it mildly.