Plato’s Sym posium
(Com plete Notes)
The Sym posium Section 1: 172a - 177e
NOTE: There are no breaks in The Symposium as Plato wrote it. These notes on the text
were made later, with sections beginning or breaking off where a new theme or topic is
introduced or dropped. Sections in this guide are demarcated according to
the Stephanus numbers (the page numbers from the complete works of Plato edited by
Henri Estienne—"Stephanus"—in Latin) published in 1578). For Plato's works,
the Stephanus numbers are the standard page references, and most editions of Plato's
work contain the Stephanus numbers along the margins.
Su m m ar y
The dialogue opens with Apollodorus agreeing to tell an unnamed companion who is a
rich businessman the famous story of the party held in honor of Agathon to celebrate the
success of his first tragedy. Apollodorus retells the account he gave to Glaucon (Plato's
half-brother and main interlocutor of the Republic) who had in turn heard of the party
from some other, less reliable source. Glaucon had thought Apollodorus had been in
attendance, but Apollodorus points out that the party took place many years ago, when
he and Glaucon were just children. Apollodorus had heard the story from Aristodemus,
one of the guests at the party, and had also checked some of the facts with Socrates
himself.
The story begins with Aristodemus encountering Socrates, who has recently bathed and
put on sandals--things he rarely does. Aristodemus inquires as to why Socrates is all
dressed up, and Socrates answers that he is going to dinner at Agathon's. Agathon's
tragedy won him first prize at the Lenaean festival the previous day, and while Socrates
shunned the large crowds of yesterday's celebrations, he promised to join Agathon
today. Socrates invites Aristodemus to join him, and while Aristodemus is at first
hesitant about dropping in uninvited, Socrates persuades him that he must come.
Aristodemus and Socrates head off toward Agathon's together, but Socrates keeps falling
behind, lost in thought. Socrates urges Aristodemus to go ahead, saying he will catch up.
As a result, Aristodemus arrives at Agathon's without Socrates and is welcomed in alone.
Agathon is delighted to see him, saying that he was looking for him yesterday so as to
invite him. Aristodemus explains that he came upon Socrates' invitation, and is
surprised to find that Socrates has not caught up with him. Agathon sends out a slave to
,find him, and the slave returns, reporting that Socrates is standing on a neighbor's porch
and will not come in. Agathon orders the slave to go and fetch him in, but Aristodemus
insists that Socrates be left alone: he will come of his own accord when he has finished
thinking.
Aristodemus joins the other guests and they begin eating. Among those assembled,
there is the young Phaedrus, Agathon's life-partner Pausanias, a doctor named
Eryximachus, and the great comic playwright Aristophanes. The meal is halfway over by
the time Socrates finally appears. Agathon encourages Socrates to join him on his couch
so that he may share in the wisdom that came to Socrates on the neighboring porch.
Socrates remarks that if wisdom could flow freely from the wiser to the less wise,
Socrates should be the one benefiting from sitting near Agathon. Noting the mocking
tone in Socrates' voice, Agathon suggests they might test one another's wisdom later
that evening.
After dinner, Pausanias takes responsibility for organizing the drinking. All the guests
but Socrates have participated in the wild revelry of the previous night and are feeling
rather hung over. Eryximachus recommends that they not drink too much this evening
in the interests of their health. He suggests further that they send away the flute-girl,
who was to be their entertainment, and engage instead in conversation. He had been
speaking recently to Phaedrus, who had lamented that the poets compose songs of
praise to all the gods but Love. Consequently, Eryximachus recommends that each
person present, starting with Phaedrus, make the finest speech he can in praise of Love.
Com m en tar y
The "symposium," translated literally as "drinks-party," was a central and highly
ritualized part of Greek social practice. The party takes place in a square room,
the andron, which is the main room in the men's part of the house. Guests at the
symposium, who are always freeborn adult males, recline on couches, two to a couch,
arranged in a square that allows easy conversation. The party is sharply divided into two
parts. First, there is the meal, which is not a particularly ritualized affair. Once the meal
is done, the drinking begins. First, the guests are cleaned and perfumed by attendant
slaves, and then unmixed wine is poured out and tasted, while the guests sing hymns in
honor of the gods. One member of the party--Pausanias in this case--is appointed
"symposiarch," and determines in consultation with the other guests exactly how much
wine will be drunk and to what extent the wine should be mixed with water. Normally,
the subsequent drinking is accompanied by conversation, singing, and speeches. Male
and female slaves provide music and other entertainment, and serve as "escorts," flirting
with, though rarely having sex with, the guests. That Eryximachus sends away the flute-
player suggests that this party will be more serious than normal, and philosophical
discussion will take the place of erotic stimulation.
,The Symposium is framed by several levels of narrative distancing. Apollodorus tells the
story to his companion, but the story he tells is actually a retelling of the story he told
Glaucon. This story has in turn been gleaned from Aristodemus, and confirmed by
Socrates. Glaucon also notes that he has heard a version of the story. Plato, the actual
writer of the dialogue, is nowhere found in this cast of characters, so there must be a
further level of retelling by which Plato himself learns the story. All this framing serves
two immediate purposes. One is to suggest the extreme importance of this dialogue. It is
being discussed years after the fact, there are many versions floating about, and
everyone wants to hear the story told. The other purpose is to distance the narration
from the events themselves, suggesting that Plato's dialogue is not a direct transcription
of factual events so much as an imaginative retelling that is probably more fiction than
fact. The characters in the dialogue are celebrating a victory for the dramatist, Agathon,
and the dialogue itself is a drama, though it treats of philosophy rather than tragedy.
This framing also reflects another theme of the dialogue, which is the difficulty of
attaining the truth. There are several layers of narrative, and in the story itself we get
several different speeches. In both cases, we are given the sense that truth is not
something we can be given, but something that must be sifted through, something we
must work to acquire.
Agathon's victory comes at the Lenaean festival, one of the dramatic festivals that were
so central in Ancient Greek society. Tragedians such as Aeschyllus, Sophocles, and
Euripides competed in these festivals presented in honor of Dionysus, the god of wine,
fertility, and ritual dance, and patron of drama and poetry (Plato, too, wrote some plays,
though none of them survive). The winner of the festival became a major celebrity, and
was widely celebrated.
Plato was generally skeptical about poetry, and we find expression of this mistrust in
Socrates' sarcastic remark to Agathon about his great wisdom. Tragedy purports to lay
wisdom upon great crowds of people directly and immediately. As this dialogue and its
framing devices suggest, Plato is of a mind that wisdom is something that must be
worked toward, not something that can be given easily. Socrates suggests that wisdom is
not something one can gain by osmosis, simply by sitting near someone wiser than
oneself. Implicit in this suggestion is the claim that tragedy does not transmit wisdom,
and that only careful philosophical thinking can be a successful teacher.
We find further evidence of this claim in Socrates' delay in arriving at the party. He gets
lost in thought and must stand still where he is and think until he has worked his way
through a problem. This kind of inner dialectic is clearly common with Socrates, as
Aristodemus is already familiar with it. We might liken Socrates' behavior with that of
the stereotypical "absent-minded professor" who cannot deal with day-to-day activities
as a result of being so caught up in intellectual pursuits. Socrates does not feel
compelled to abide by social norms, valuing philosophy over propriety.
, The Sym posium Section 2: 178a -
180b
Su m m ar y
Phaedrus asserts that both gods and humans regard Love as great and awesome, for
many reasons. In particular, Love is widely considered older than almost all the other
gods, and has no parents. According to Hesiod, a great poet from around the time of
Homer, Chaos was the first thing in existence, followed by Earth and Love. Acusilaus,
the collector of myths, and Parmenides, the philosopher, both concur that Love is
among the oldest of the gods.
As Love is the oldest, Phaedrus suggests, he confers the greatest benefits. No young man
could derive greater benefit than from a good lover, and no lover could derive greater
benefit than from a young loved one. These relationships implant in men stronger
guidance toward leading good lives than family, state, money, or anything else.
Specifically, Love teaches us shame in acting disgracefully and pride in acting well. The
shame we feel when caught acting disgracefully is far greater when we are caught by a
partner than by a parent or a friend. Phaedrus suggests that an army that consisted
solely of lovers and loved ones would be unmatchable, as they would rather die than
show cowardice in front of their partner, and they would all strive constantly for greater
honor.
Phaedrus provides several examples of brave and honorable actions performed by those
in love. He recalls the story of Alcestis, who was willing to die for her husband Admetus.
Apollo told Admetus that he was to die unless he could find someone to die in his place.
Not even his parents would accept the responsibility, but Alcestis did, impressing the
gods so much that they brought her back to life. The gods have only allowed a very few
people to return from the underworld, which suggests that love is one of the few guides
to action that they value supremely. By contrast, Phaedrus suggests, Orpheus did not
have the courage to die for his love, Eurydice, but descended into Hades to find her
while still alive. As a result he returned empty-handed and was later killed by the
Maenads. Achilles, the great hero of the Iliad, was the loved one of the older Patroclus,
who was killed by Hector. It was prophesied that Achilles would be killed if he killed
Hector, but Achilles still hunted down and killed the man who had killed his lover.
Achilles showed supreme courage in accepting death in order to avenge his lover so the
gods sent him to the islands of the blessed when he died. Thus, Phaedrus concludes,
Love is the most ancient and most honored of gods, and most capable of ensuring
courage and happiness, in this life and the next.
(Com plete Notes)
The Sym posium Section 1: 172a - 177e
NOTE: There are no breaks in The Symposium as Plato wrote it. These notes on the text
were made later, with sections beginning or breaking off where a new theme or topic is
introduced or dropped. Sections in this guide are demarcated according to
the Stephanus numbers (the page numbers from the complete works of Plato edited by
Henri Estienne—"Stephanus"—in Latin) published in 1578). For Plato's works,
the Stephanus numbers are the standard page references, and most editions of Plato's
work contain the Stephanus numbers along the margins.
Su m m ar y
The dialogue opens with Apollodorus agreeing to tell an unnamed companion who is a
rich businessman the famous story of the party held in honor of Agathon to celebrate the
success of his first tragedy. Apollodorus retells the account he gave to Glaucon (Plato's
half-brother and main interlocutor of the Republic) who had in turn heard of the party
from some other, less reliable source. Glaucon had thought Apollodorus had been in
attendance, but Apollodorus points out that the party took place many years ago, when
he and Glaucon were just children. Apollodorus had heard the story from Aristodemus,
one of the guests at the party, and had also checked some of the facts with Socrates
himself.
The story begins with Aristodemus encountering Socrates, who has recently bathed and
put on sandals--things he rarely does. Aristodemus inquires as to why Socrates is all
dressed up, and Socrates answers that he is going to dinner at Agathon's. Agathon's
tragedy won him first prize at the Lenaean festival the previous day, and while Socrates
shunned the large crowds of yesterday's celebrations, he promised to join Agathon
today. Socrates invites Aristodemus to join him, and while Aristodemus is at first
hesitant about dropping in uninvited, Socrates persuades him that he must come.
Aristodemus and Socrates head off toward Agathon's together, but Socrates keeps falling
behind, lost in thought. Socrates urges Aristodemus to go ahead, saying he will catch up.
As a result, Aristodemus arrives at Agathon's without Socrates and is welcomed in alone.
Agathon is delighted to see him, saying that he was looking for him yesterday so as to
invite him. Aristodemus explains that he came upon Socrates' invitation, and is
surprised to find that Socrates has not caught up with him. Agathon sends out a slave to
,find him, and the slave returns, reporting that Socrates is standing on a neighbor's porch
and will not come in. Agathon orders the slave to go and fetch him in, but Aristodemus
insists that Socrates be left alone: he will come of his own accord when he has finished
thinking.
Aristodemus joins the other guests and they begin eating. Among those assembled,
there is the young Phaedrus, Agathon's life-partner Pausanias, a doctor named
Eryximachus, and the great comic playwright Aristophanes. The meal is halfway over by
the time Socrates finally appears. Agathon encourages Socrates to join him on his couch
so that he may share in the wisdom that came to Socrates on the neighboring porch.
Socrates remarks that if wisdom could flow freely from the wiser to the less wise,
Socrates should be the one benefiting from sitting near Agathon. Noting the mocking
tone in Socrates' voice, Agathon suggests they might test one another's wisdom later
that evening.
After dinner, Pausanias takes responsibility for organizing the drinking. All the guests
but Socrates have participated in the wild revelry of the previous night and are feeling
rather hung over. Eryximachus recommends that they not drink too much this evening
in the interests of their health. He suggests further that they send away the flute-girl,
who was to be their entertainment, and engage instead in conversation. He had been
speaking recently to Phaedrus, who had lamented that the poets compose songs of
praise to all the gods but Love. Consequently, Eryximachus recommends that each
person present, starting with Phaedrus, make the finest speech he can in praise of Love.
Com m en tar y
The "symposium," translated literally as "drinks-party," was a central and highly
ritualized part of Greek social practice. The party takes place in a square room,
the andron, which is the main room in the men's part of the house. Guests at the
symposium, who are always freeborn adult males, recline on couches, two to a couch,
arranged in a square that allows easy conversation. The party is sharply divided into two
parts. First, there is the meal, which is not a particularly ritualized affair. Once the meal
is done, the drinking begins. First, the guests are cleaned and perfumed by attendant
slaves, and then unmixed wine is poured out and tasted, while the guests sing hymns in
honor of the gods. One member of the party--Pausanias in this case--is appointed
"symposiarch," and determines in consultation with the other guests exactly how much
wine will be drunk and to what extent the wine should be mixed with water. Normally,
the subsequent drinking is accompanied by conversation, singing, and speeches. Male
and female slaves provide music and other entertainment, and serve as "escorts," flirting
with, though rarely having sex with, the guests. That Eryximachus sends away the flute-
player suggests that this party will be more serious than normal, and philosophical
discussion will take the place of erotic stimulation.
,The Symposium is framed by several levels of narrative distancing. Apollodorus tells the
story to his companion, but the story he tells is actually a retelling of the story he told
Glaucon. This story has in turn been gleaned from Aristodemus, and confirmed by
Socrates. Glaucon also notes that he has heard a version of the story. Plato, the actual
writer of the dialogue, is nowhere found in this cast of characters, so there must be a
further level of retelling by which Plato himself learns the story. All this framing serves
two immediate purposes. One is to suggest the extreme importance of this dialogue. It is
being discussed years after the fact, there are many versions floating about, and
everyone wants to hear the story told. The other purpose is to distance the narration
from the events themselves, suggesting that Plato's dialogue is not a direct transcription
of factual events so much as an imaginative retelling that is probably more fiction than
fact. The characters in the dialogue are celebrating a victory for the dramatist, Agathon,
and the dialogue itself is a drama, though it treats of philosophy rather than tragedy.
This framing also reflects another theme of the dialogue, which is the difficulty of
attaining the truth. There are several layers of narrative, and in the story itself we get
several different speeches. In both cases, we are given the sense that truth is not
something we can be given, but something that must be sifted through, something we
must work to acquire.
Agathon's victory comes at the Lenaean festival, one of the dramatic festivals that were
so central in Ancient Greek society. Tragedians such as Aeschyllus, Sophocles, and
Euripides competed in these festivals presented in honor of Dionysus, the god of wine,
fertility, and ritual dance, and patron of drama and poetry (Plato, too, wrote some plays,
though none of them survive). The winner of the festival became a major celebrity, and
was widely celebrated.
Plato was generally skeptical about poetry, and we find expression of this mistrust in
Socrates' sarcastic remark to Agathon about his great wisdom. Tragedy purports to lay
wisdom upon great crowds of people directly and immediately. As this dialogue and its
framing devices suggest, Plato is of a mind that wisdom is something that must be
worked toward, not something that can be given easily. Socrates suggests that wisdom is
not something one can gain by osmosis, simply by sitting near someone wiser than
oneself. Implicit in this suggestion is the claim that tragedy does not transmit wisdom,
and that only careful philosophical thinking can be a successful teacher.
We find further evidence of this claim in Socrates' delay in arriving at the party. He gets
lost in thought and must stand still where he is and think until he has worked his way
through a problem. This kind of inner dialectic is clearly common with Socrates, as
Aristodemus is already familiar with it. We might liken Socrates' behavior with that of
the stereotypical "absent-minded professor" who cannot deal with day-to-day activities
as a result of being so caught up in intellectual pursuits. Socrates does not feel
compelled to abide by social norms, valuing philosophy over propriety.
, The Sym posium Section 2: 178a -
180b
Su m m ar y
Phaedrus asserts that both gods and humans regard Love as great and awesome, for
many reasons. In particular, Love is widely considered older than almost all the other
gods, and has no parents. According to Hesiod, a great poet from around the time of
Homer, Chaos was the first thing in existence, followed by Earth and Love. Acusilaus,
the collector of myths, and Parmenides, the philosopher, both concur that Love is
among the oldest of the gods.
As Love is the oldest, Phaedrus suggests, he confers the greatest benefits. No young man
could derive greater benefit than from a good lover, and no lover could derive greater
benefit than from a young loved one. These relationships implant in men stronger
guidance toward leading good lives than family, state, money, or anything else.
Specifically, Love teaches us shame in acting disgracefully and pride in acting well. The
shame we feel when caught acting disgracefully is far greater when we are caught by a
partner than by a parent or a friend. Phaedrus suggests that an army that consisted
solely of lovers and loved ones would be unmatchable, as they would rather die than
show cowardice in front of their partner, and they would all strive constantly for greater
honor.
Phaedrus provides several examples of brave and honorable actions performed by those
in love. He recalls the story of Alcestis, who was willing to die for her husband Admetus.
Apollo told Admetus that he was to die unless he could find someone to die in his place.
Not even his parents would accept the responsibility, but Alcestis did, impressing the
gods so much that they brought her back to life. The gods have only allowed a very few
people to return from the underworld, which suggests that love is one of the few guides
to action that they value supremely. By contrast, Phaedrus suggests, Orpheus did not
have the courage to die for his love, Eurydice, but descended into Hades to find her
while still alive. As a result he returned empty-handed and was later killed by the
Maenads. Achilles, the great hero of the Iliad, was the loved one of the older Patroclus,
who was killed by Hector. It was prophesied that Achilles would be killed if he killed
Hector, but Achilles still hunted down and killed the man who had killed his lover.
Achilles showed supreme courage in accepting death in order to avenge his lover so the
gods sent him to the islands of the blessed when he died. Thus, Phaedrus concludes,
Love is the most ancient and most honored of gods, and most capable of ensuring
courage and happiness, in this life and the next.
