Throughout Plato’s Symposium there are many encounters where a theme is present. All seven of the eulogies touch on a few important points, origin of genealogy, good qualities other than virtue but also virtue such as, wisdom, justice, and courage, habits and way of life, and lastly, achievement of subject contested with those of the other. The most relevant theme of all was, love and wisdom. Plato is known for the style of writing, frame within a frame. This style of writing will become important throughout Symposium because the reader will be only able to approach the truth and gain access to stories about the meaning of love through framing. The Greek language has four different ways as to how the word love is use. It will become very clear
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This level of love is considered the type of love that is still physical attraction, but instead of only that, the love is deeper. Pausanias, Agathon, and Aristophanes are considered on this level. All three of the speaker’s quotes are similar on their knowledge of love. They show very similar meanings and understandings. Pausanias explains the relationship between a young boy and a man. “the lover appreciating that any service he performs for a boyfriend who gratifies him would be morally acceptable, and the boy appreciating that any favors he does for a man who is teaching him things and making him good would be morally acceptable, the lover is capable of increasing wisdom and other aspect of goodness, the boy eager to learn and generally to increase his knowledge. (184 d, e)” Agathon’s speech on love describes the sensitivity of love. “So he is young, and sensitive as well as young. He’s never has a poet like Homer, however to demonstrate his divine sensitivity […] we can draw on the evidence for loves sensitive too since he doesn’t even step on men’s skulls, let alone on the ground; he lives and moves in the softest environment of all. (185 d, e)” Lastly, Aristophanes’ describes his meaning of love as “So Zeus moved their genitals round to the front of their bodies and this introduced intercourse between two humans beings. […] Love draws our original nature back together, he tries to reintegrate us and heal the split in nature. (191 c, d)” It should be relevant now what exactly Diotimos was meaning from this understanding. These quotes were important because they showed the reader partaking in desire, but, the speaker was getting closer to being enlightened and understanding the full
This level of love is considered the type of love that is still physical attraction, but instead of only that, the love is deeper. Pausanias, Agathon, and Aristophanes are considered on this level. All three of the speaker’s quotes are similar on their knowledge of love. They show very similar meanings and understandings. Pausanias explains the relationship between a young boy and a man. “the lover appreciating that any service he performs for a boyfriend who gratifies him would be morally acceptable, and the boy appreciating that any favors he does for a man who is teaching him things and making him good would be morally acceptable, the lover is capable of increasing wisdom and other aspect of goodness, the boy eager to learn and generally to increase his knowledge. (184 d, e)” Agathon’s speech on love describes the sensitivity of love. “So he is young, and sensitive as well as young. He’s never has a poet like Homer, however to demonstrate his divine sensitivity […] we can draw on the evidence for loves sensitive too since he doesn’t even step on men’s skulls, let alone on the ground; he lives and moves in the softest environment of all. (185 d, e)” Lastly, Aristophanes’ describes his meaning of love as “So Zeus moved their genitals round to the front of their bodies and this introduced intercourse between two humans beings. […] Love draws our original nature back together, he tries to reintegrate us and heal the split in nature. (191 c, d)” It should be relevant now what exactly Diotimos was meaning from this understanding. These quotes were important because they showed the reader partaking in desire, but, the speaker was getting closer to being enlightened and understanding the full