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Symposium (Plato)
The Symposium (Ancient Greek: Συμπόσιον, Symposion) is a Socratic dialogue by Plato, dated c. 385 – 370 BC. It depicts a friendly contest of extemporaneous speeches given by a group of notable Athenian men attending a banquet. The men include the philosopher Socrates, the general and statesman Alcibiades, and the comic playwright Aristophanes. The panegyrics are to be given in praise of Eros, the god of love and sex.
In the Symposium, Eros is recognized both as erotic lover and as a phenomenon capable of inspiring courage, valor, great deeds and works, and vanquishing man's natural fear of death. It is seen as transcending its earthly origins and attaining spiritual heights. The extraordinary elevation of the concept of love raises a question of whether some of the most extreme extents of meaning might be intended as humor or farce. Eros is almost always translated as "love," and the English word has its own varieties and ambiguities that provide additional challenges to the effort to understand the Eros of ancient Athens.
The dialogue is one of Plato's major works, and is appreciated for both its philosophical content and its literary qualities.
The dialogue takes place at a banquet in the year 416 BC at the house of the tragedian Agathon in Athens.
The dialogue's seven main characters, who deliver major speeches, are:
In Ancient Greece, the type of banquet depicted in the dialogue, a symposium, was traditionally attended by a group of men, who would first partake in a meal, followed by drinking for pleasure, which was accompanied by music, dancing, recitals, or conversation. The setting means that the participants would be drinking wine, meaning that the men might be induced to say things they would not say elsewhere or when sober. They might speak more frankly, or take more risks, or else be prone to hubris—they might even be inspired to make speeches that are particularly heartfelt and noble.
The dialogue takes place in 416, the year in which the host Agathon had the dramatic triumph mentioned in the text. The disastrous expedition to Syracuse, of which Alcibiades was a commander, took place the following year, after which Alcibiades deserted to Sparta, Athens' archenemy.
Socrates is renowned for his Socratic method, which involves posing questions that encourage others to think deeply about what they care about and articulate their ideas. Unlike most of Plato's works, which take the form of a back-and-forth Socratic dialogue, between Socrates and one or more interlocutors, the Symposium is a series of speeches from different characters. However, the underlying philosophical method remains the same; examining the conflict in ideas between the different speeches can allow the reader to see the philosophy that underlies them all.
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Symposium (Plato)
The Symposium (Ancient Greek: Συμπόσιον, Symposion) is a Socratic dialogue by Plato, dated c. 385 – 370 BC. It depicts a friendly contest of extemporaneous speeches given by a group of notable Athenian men attending a banquet. The men include the philosopher Socrates, the general and statesman Alcibiades, and the comic playwright Aristophanes. The panegyrics are to be given in praise of Eros, the god of love and sex.
In the Symposium, Eros is recognized both as erotic lover and as a phenomenon capable of inspiring courage, valor, great deeds and works, and vanquishing man's natural fear of death. It is seen as transcending its earthly origins and attaining spiritual heights. The extraordinary elevation of the concept of love raises a question of whether some of the most extreme extents of meaning might be intended as humor or farce. Eros is almost always translated as "love," and the English word has its own varieties and ambiguities that provide additional challenges to the effort to understand the Eros of ancient Athens.
The dialogue is one of Plato's major works, and is appreciated for both its philosophical content and its literary qualities.
The dialogue takes place at a banquet in the year 416 BC at the house of the tragedian Agathon in Athens.
The dialogue's seven main characters, who deliver major speeches, are:
In Ancient Greece, the type of banquet depicted in the dialogue, a symposium, was traditionally attended by a group of men, who would first partake in a meal, followed by drinking for pleasure, which was accompanied by music, dancing, recitals, or conversation. The setting means that the participants would be drinking wine, meaning that the men might be induced to say things they would not say elsewhere or when sober. They might speak more frankly, or take more risks, or else be prone to hubris—they might even be inspired to make speeches that are particularly heartfelt and noble.
The dialogue takes place in 416, the year in which the host Agathon had the dramatic triumph mentioned in the text. The disastrous expedition to Syracuse, of which Alcibiades was a commander, took place the following year, after which Alcibiades deserted to Sparta, Athens' archenemy.
Socrates is renowned for his Socratic method, which involves posing questions that encourage others to think deeply about what they care about and articulate their ideas. Unlike most of Plato's works, which take the form of a back-and-forth Socratic dialogue, between Socrates and one or more interlocutors, the Symposium is a series of speeches from different characters. However, the underlying philosophical method remains the same; examining the conflict in ideas between the different speeches can allow the reader to see the philosophy that underlies them all.
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