The Symposium
by Plato, Christopher Gill (Translator, Introduction by, Notes by)
ISBN-10: 0140449272
ISBN-13: 9780140449273
$10.00
Book Specs
Binding
UK-B Format Paperback
Publisher
Penguin Classics
Published on
Apr 29, 2003
Edition
1st Edition
Dimensions
0.31x5.51x8.50 Inches
Weight
0.25 Pounds
About the Book
In the course of a lively drinking party, a group of Athenian intellectuals exchange views on eros, or desire. From their conversation emerge a series of subtle reflections on gender roles, sex in society and the sublimation of basic human instincts. The discussion culminates in a radical challenge to conventional views by Plato's mentor, Socrates, who advocates transcendence through spiritual love. The Symposium is a deft interweaving of different viewpoints and ideas about the nature of love - as a response to beauty, a cosmic force, a motive for social action and as a means of ethical education.