Plato s Symposium, By Plato - 1273 Words

In the book,† Plato’s Symposium,† by Plato, who was a philosopher in Greece, he illustrates the dialectic discussion at a party at Agathon’s to celebrate his triumph of his first tragedy. In the Symposium; the guests Phaedrus, an Athenian aristocrat; Pausanias, the legal expert; Eryximachus, a physician; Aristophanes, eminent comic playwright; Agathon ,a tragic poet and host of the banquet; Socrates, eminent philosopher and Plato s teacher; and Alcibiades, a prominent Athenian statesman, orator and general; discuss their own versions and viewpoints to praise the god of love. First, we have Phaedrus, who starts to say that love is the most ancient of the gods and should be praiseworthy, next we have Eryximachus who states that love affects everything in the universe and that it should be protected, next we have Aristophanes, who states that the reason why love is on earth is because god has split humanity in half and that man should fear the gods and should e mbrace love to feel whole again, and last we have Socrates who suggests what Diotima explains that love is in the middle of two things or objects and has both characteristics. Phaedrus starts off the conversation of love stating how the god Love doesn’t get much attention in songs and that he should be praiseworthy because he has helped men to gain honor and blessedness. This begins the symposium and functions as a way to tell the reader what the topic would be about and why the guests in the party should discuss it.Show MoreRelatedComparing Plato s The Symposium1704 Words   |  7 PagesIn one of his most accomplished works, Plato brings to light the topic of alcohol and the significance of drinking in The Symposium. Through this text, Plato is writing about philosophy is the setting of a narrative in order to reinforce the context of the story. Plato was a metaphilosophist that supported the theory of forms. He believed that understanding pure form, achieving true wisdom, is something that cannot be defined or reduced to words, and all people should strive to understand pure formRead MoreThe War And Plato s Symposium, And The Man Discussed1769 Words   |  8 Pageswork, and the effects of the depiction upon the rest of the specific work. 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