Symposium

Symposium by Plato is a story which discusses the different types of love and how each type of man present in the story views love. Men give speeches, discussing the different types of love, the love of men being of the heavens, and love of women being of the earth. However, when analyzing the pieces, it becomes clear that there is more meaning to the writing than simply the existence of an earthly and a heavenly love. Rather, Plato wishes to convey a deeper, societal message in his writing. The…

In Plato’s Symposium, the characters give grand speeches about love, some giving accounts of love while others praise it. At this event, Socrates gives an account of love that once was told to him by the philosopher Diotima. She believed that the origin of love is the inherent human desire for immortality. However, Diotima’s account is inaccurate, and the true origin of love is the human desire for the company of other humans. According to Diotima’s account of love, the origin of love is a…

characters within the development of philosophy. He is major influence was his teacher, Socrates, who impressed in him that ‘love of wisdom’ and He passed that onto his own student, Aristotle. Some of Plato’s marvelous works are: Phaedrus, The Symposium and The Allegory of the Cave and the themes depicted in them are freedom (philosophical education), madness (in love and in life), love and beauty ( in all the aspects of our lives.) Now, I’ll go on into a deep analysis of Plato’s works…

In the Symposium, Phaedrus, Pausanias, Eryximachus, Aristophanes, Agathon, Socrates and Alcibiades all gather at Agathon’s residence to share a drink together. All of whom, not including Socrates, are part of the elite; intellectual and aristocratic. The reason for such a high profile gathering was their intention to celebrate Agathon’s victory at a contest; he was a playwright in tragedy. He is described as a young beautiful man with a superior command of words. Soon after their dinner, they…

Beginning with Plato’s Symposium, many have written about their opinion on the nature of love. Plato’s work is often consulted to understand Ancient Greek society and explain love and sexual behavior. Throughout history, others choose to voice their opinion on the nature of love. There were multiple published works on the topic in the 1500s, but Tullia d’Aragona’s writings were some of the most progressive for the time. She speaks on issues women face, such as status and equality. Tullia…

Plato’s Symposium offers various views on where love can be found in the mind, the body, and the soul. Aphrodite shows how desire fogs the mind, keeping Sappho from seeing one’s true beauty. In Sappho’s Ode to Aphrodite, beauty is where desire remains satisfactory for one as opposed to Plato’s Symposium, where desire leads to an understanding of true beauty, the beauty of the body, the mind, and the soul. The concept of love presented by Diatoma is able to reach the true understanding of beauty…

Erotic love can be categorized as “two kinds of value [and] two kinds of knowledge” () from Plato’s Symposium; it’s content raises the decision between an abstract way of pursuing erotic love and the traditional pursuit of a soulmate. Aristophanes and Alcibiades share a common pursuit of wholeness through the physical form. Aristophanes uses a tale of traditional Greek mythology which teaches humans were once whole, but as punishment humans were separated into two beings and given the life…

In Symposium by Plato there is discussion on what love is and for the assembled guests it has different meanings. Many types of love can be seen in Virgil’s Aeneid as well; there is love between people or of the devotion to gods and family (pietas). These types of loves can be described through Diotima’s speech. Diotima defines love as the desire to give birth to beautiful ideas that last forever; she argues that love is not fully knowledgeable or ignorant, and that the soul is more beautiful…

Is there such a thing as true happiness? Can one live their life to the fullest without feeling a single ounce of regret? In today’s society, one is told constantly that living with happiness is a dream. They are ridiculed if they believe in that notion and are teased if they express it. The cruelty of human nature becomes evident when this comes into play. In Plato’s Phaedrus, the difference between a lover and non lover is discussed. Lysias’ speech discusses the relationship between a boy…

“The best things we have come from madness” (244a). This is a quote from a dialogue written by Plato featuring Socrates and his friend, Phaedrus. It is spoken by Socrates in a second speech about the difference between a lover and a non-lover. In this speech he claims that choosing the non-lover over the lover should only be accepted if madness was intrinsically bad, if instead madness was given as the gift of the gods then one should choose the lover. The relationship between love and madness…