Symposium

Summary

«Symposium» is a philosophical dialogue by Plato that explores the nature of love. The setting is a banquet hosted by the poet Agathon to celebrate his victory in a dramatic competition. The main participants in the dialogue are Socrates, Aristophanes, Alcibiades, Phaedrus, Pausanias, Eryximachus, and Agathon himself. Each delivers a speech praising Eros, the god of love. Phaedrus speaks of love as the greatest good, Pausanias distinguishes between noble and base love, Eryximachus examines love from a medical perspective, Aristophanes tells a myth about the division of androgynous beings, and Agathon praises Eros as the youngest and most beautiful god. Socrates, in turn, conveys the teachings of the priestess Diotima, who asserts that love is a pursuit of eternal beauty and wisdom. The dialogue concludes with the arrival of Alcibiades, who, in a drunken state, delivers a laudatory speech in honor of Socrates.