Hippias major

Hippias Major (or What is Beauty? or Greater Hippias (Greek: Ἱππίας μείζων), to distinguish it from the Hippias Minor, which has the same chief character) is one of the dialogues of Plato. It belongs to the early dialogues, written while the author was still young. Its precise date is uncertain, although a date of c. 390 BCE has been suggested; its authenticity has been doubted.

In the Hippias Major, Socrates and Hippias set out to find a definition for "beauty", but are destined to fail due to their inability to formulate an answer which encompasses the entire concept. The actual Greek term that is used in the dialogue is καλόν, which as an adjective often means fine or noble as well as beautiful. For this reason, translators such as Paul Woodruff typically translate the term (τὸ καλόν—the abstract noun of the adjective) as "the Fine" (things) instead of "Beauty."

As in Charmides, Lysis and Euthyphro, Hippias Major has an "anatreptic" purpose, that is, the result of the dialogue is to defeat commonly held opinions, without necessarily offering a resolution. The concept of something good in and of itself (if only obliquely) makes its first appearance in this work. The dialogue can be read as much as a serious philosophical work as a light satirical comedy with two actors. The astuteness of Socrates in taking refuge under the authority of a supposed third protagonist in order to direct biting criticism at Hippias, endows the dialogue with humour.

Hippias, whose business had kept him away from Athens for a long time, arrives in the city to give a lecture at Pheidostratus's school in the next few days. He meets Socrates, and the latter asks him why such a precious and wise man as Hippias has deprived the Athenians of his presence for so long. It is, explains the great Sophist, because his native Elis was so in need of his services, and entrusted him with several important diplomatic missions to different cities; notably in Sparta. He made use of his travels throughout the Greek world to educate a large number of youth and earn large sums of money. One such example was the small town of Inycus, in Sicily, where the modest inhabitants sacrificed a good part of their savings to see their children educated.

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