Gorgias / Plato

Taking the form of a dialogue between Socrates, Gorgias, Polus and Callicles, the Gorgias debates some of the crucial questions about the nature of government. While the aspiring politician Callicles propounds the view that might is right and the rhetorician Gorgias argues that oratory and the power to persuade represent ‘the greatest good’, Socrates insists on the duty of politicians to consider the welfare of their citizens before their own advancement – a duty he believes has been dishonoured in the Athens of his time. The dialogue offers fascinating insights into the way in which classical Athens was governed, as well as creating a theoretical framework that has been highly influential on subsequent political debate.