Hípias

Hippias (late 5th century bc)

The Greek Sophist Hippias of Elis is a familiar figure in Plato’s dialogues. He served his city as ambassador, and he earned a great deal of money from his lectures. His unusually wide range of expertise included not only rhetoric but also history, literature, mnemonics, mathematics and natural philosophy.

As a contemporary of Socrates, Hippias of Elis appears (as a rather self-important character) in several dialogues of Plato. Because of his learning and eloquence, he served as ambassador for Elis, and he lectured with great success at Athens and elsewhere. His intellectual range was very wide. Plato depicts him as lecturing on Homer (Hippias Minor 363a–b) and on astronomy and natural philosophy (Protagoras 315c). He also composed poems in several genres, and is credited with an important discovery in geometry, the quadratrix, a curve for trisecting angles and squaring the circle. He was one of the earliest specialists in mnemonics, and is reputed to have been able to memorize fifty names at first hearing. His historical research included compiling a list of Olympic victors (an important basis for Greek chronology) and collecting information on genealogies, tribes, famous or legendary persons and the foundation of cities.

Hippias’ energy and versatility must have been extraordinary. Plato makes fun of him for appearing once at Olympia dressed in his own handiwork from head to foot, including his home-made signet ring, ornamental belt and sandals. He offered to answer questions on any subject, and he seems to have a prepared speech ready for any occasion (Protagoras 347b; Hippias Minor 363a–d, 369c).

The most original work of Hippias was a book from which we have the opening sentence:

Some of these things have perhaps been said by Orpheus, some by Musaeus briefly here and there, some by Hesiod and Homer and other poets, as well as by prose authors, both Greek and barbarian. I will compose a novel and manifold discourse by combining the most important and similar items from all these.

(fr.6)

The book seems to have been an allegorical work in which doctrines from Presocratic philosophy were attributed to the early poets. Hippias is apparently the authority Plato and Aristotle are following when they find the doctrines of Thales and Heraclitus in verses from Homer, Hesiod and Orpheus. It is likely that he was Aristotle’s primary source for information on Thales. Hippias thus appears as the first doxographer and hence as the remote precursor for ancient and modern historians of philosophy (see Doxography).

Plato’s satirical presentation suggests that he found Hippias’ vanity great and his learning superficial. Nevertheless, of all the Sophists Hippias was apparently the most universal in his intellectual activity, a fifth-century precedent for Aristotle.

Hippias is the title of two dialogues in the Platonic corpus, the shorter of which (Hippias Minor) is surely by Plato. The authenticity of the longer dialogue (Hippias Major) is contested.