Symposium

by Plato

Pages: 54

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Read by Geoffrey Edwards · 2 h 15 min · 3 parts

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About this book

Benjamin Jowett's English translation opens with his own long introduction, then gives Plato's dialogue in full. The setting is a dinner at the Athens house of Agathon, who is celebrating his victory as a writer of tragedy. The guests agree to go easy on the wine, send away the flute-girl and take turns making speeches in praise of love.

The account reaches us secondhand: Apollodorus repeats what Aristodemus, a devoted follower of Socrates, saw that night. Socrates himself turns up halfway through the meal, having lingered behind, lost in thought. Phaedrus praises love as the source of courage and honour, Pausanias separates a heavenly love from a common one, and the physician Eryximachus, after curing Aristophanes of the hiccups, finds love at work in medicine, music and the seasons.

It suits anyone curious about how the ancient Greeks argued over love, beauty and the good life, and Jowett's introduction walks a first-time reader through each speech before the dialogue itself begins.

About the author

Plato

Plato (c. 428-348 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher, student of Socrates and teacher of Aristotle, and founder of the Academy in Athens. His dialogues are among the most influential works in the history of thought.