Speeches in Symposium by Plato

Student’s Name Professor’s Name Course Date Speeches in Symposium by Plato In Symposium, Apollodorus recounts to an unnamed associate a tale he gathered from Aristodemus about a dinner party, or a symposium, held in honor of Agathon, a renowned playwright. Aside from Agathon and Aristodemus, there are other guests: the young Phaedrus, the celebrated comic poet Aristophanes, the doctor Eryximachus, and Agathon’s lover Pausanias. Socrates also arrives, though late, having spent most of his time thinking about a neighboring porch. After dinner, Eryximachus suggests that all the guests should give speeches praising the god of love. This endeavor was to replace the usual order of taking refreshments after dinner. The first speaker, Phaedrus praises love as the most ancient gods and the one in the forefront in the promotion of virtue in people. The second speaker, Pausanias, distinguishes the base passions connected with Common Love from the chastity of Heavenly Love, a kind of love experienced between a man and a boy. He infers that the man poses as a mentor, imparting wisdom and virtue to as to receive sexual gratification from the boy. The next speaker, Eryximachus, asserts that Love encourages moderation and order in all things, not just in people as many believe. To him, love exists in unimaginable realms like medicine and music. The fourth speaker is Aristophanes whose interpretation is presented in the form of a myth. He explains that human beings were at one time four-leg...