ABSTRACT
Hegel describes Socrates's fate as the highest tragedy and, like poetic creations, the drama turns on a collision between individuals who embody irreconcilable principles, as each antagonist appeals to different conceptions of justice and right. While aspects of the connection between Socrates's conflict with Athens and the modern state have been explored by Richard Velkley, the historical episode has further ramifications for an understanding of Hegel's aesthetics, politics, and philosophy of history. Socrates threatens the prevailing beautiful freedom of the Athenians by undermining the criteria by which the city understands itself. The conflict is not contingent, for the Socratic principle can develop only in opposition to the actuality of Athenian Sittlichkeit. To understand the full extent of the threat posed by Socrates, Hegel describes two dimensions of Athenian ethical life that bear on the charge of impiety.
