![]() ![]() There is little doubt that the content of the dialogue is fictitious, although Plato has built a very realistic atmosphere. Set in Athenian social life, it develops the themes of love and also of Socrates’ character. ![]() ![]() The Symposium was written as a dramatic dialogue – a form used by Plato in more than thirty works – and is regarded as one of his best. Commonly regarded as one of Plato’s major works, the dialogue has been used as a source by social historians seeking to throw light on life in ancient Athens – in particular, upon human sexuality and the symposium as an institution. Socrates in his speech asserts that the highest purpose of love is to become a philosopher or, literally, a lover of wisdom. The party takes place at the house of the tragedian Agathon in Athens. Each man must deliver an encomium, a speech in praise of Love (Eros). Love is examined in a sequence of speeches by men attending a symposium, or drinking party. It concerns itself at one level with the genesis, purpose and nature of love, and (in latter-day interpretations) is the origin of the concept of Platonic love. The Symposium (Ancient Greek: Συμπόσιον) is a philosophical text by Plato dated c. ![]()
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