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This article analyzes the concept of good through an overview of Xenophon’s Memorabilia. It begins with the dialogue between Socrates and Aristippus (3.8), in which the philosopher links the good with utility, indicating the recurrence of this conception in the dialogue with Euthydemus (4.6). It shows how the conception of good as useful is expanded to the divine realm, identifying the passages in which the gods appear as benefactors of humanity. Then, it deals, in contrast, with the human difficulty of accessing good, either by not recognizing it, or by the need for preliminary practice of virtue, understood as enkrateia, i.e., restraint of pleasures. In this context, the relevance of self-knowledge as the knowledge of one’s own power (δύναμις) stands out. Finally, the article highlights the figure of Socrates as a benefactor, describing the way Xenophon portrays him as a guide and a paradigm for those who wanted to learn from him.
