Dialectic of Beauty in the platonic Thought

Undoubtedly, the Idea of Beauty is one of the fundamental notions in the philosophy of Plato so that it would be seen in the line of the ideas of Good and One and, like these ideas, plays an essential role in the dialectical system of Plato. The dialectical orientation of this idea begins with Socrates’ question of Beauty in the Hippias Major and though Hippias fails to answer, it reveals the various implications of the meanings of this idea on the one hand and the understanding of the idea transcending from the concrete level to the abstract level on the other hand and upon this basis, tow ascending and descending paths are shaped in the Symposium. The ascending path is from the beautiful bodies to the Beauty itself and the descending path is after visiting Beauty to the corporal world for giving birth to the beautiful thoughts and deeds. Socrates is the central character in both paths whose trait of mutiny and contrary to the custom and habit makes him different from others and also gives him the ability to pass both paths. That is why, despite of his ugliness, he has the beautiful and godly figures within himself and giving birth of these figures is by his language and logos so that according to confirmation of Alcibiades, it has a profound effect on the heart and soul of his audiences.So, the aim of the present paper is to pursue this dialectical path in the platonic thought from initial question about Beauty to the birth of Beauty.