Symposium by Plato

Symposium by Plato

Plato fully expressed his craft when he wrote one of his most renowned works , the Symposium . The speeches are characterized by highly commendable experiences with a mixture of comic relief and intellectual depth . The setting of the discourses ' delivery is at the banquet of Agathon where the elite guests include Socrates , Aristophanes , and Alcibiades . It was agreed that the evening of merry-making be spent in praise of love and investigating its nature . Each of them offered their thoughts on the matter , and as personality and consensus clash , the

dialogue comes to its highlight , where the climax is ushered with the storming of drama of ideas

When we turn our attention to the speech of Phaedrus , the texts foreground an aspect of Love as a being . Phaedrus affirms that Love is a mighty god and that Love is the eldest of the gods . He further avers that the best incentive to virtue is an honorable love , a love that has dared man to do transcend the impossible , to test the limits of life and to challenge the powers of heavens , all for the sake of their beloved

Phaedrus elaborated that man will do anything for the sake of love . He told the story of Alcestis , who exchanged her life for her husband 's .The tenderness and true love for her beloved spouse . The story of Orpheus also exemplified the tenacity of passionate love within a person 's heart . Unlike Alcestis , Orpheus did not face death but instead he descended into the underworld and rescued his Eurydice . Another plausible example is that of Achilles and Patroclus . Eventhough Achilles is aware that he will die in war against the Trojans , he chose to do so in to avenge the death of his beloved Patroclus

The speech of Phaedrus affirms reasons that Love is the eldest and noblest of the gods , giving and providing virtues and happiness in life Pausanias negates the idea of Phaedrus and asserted that there are two kinds of Love , the spiritual love and the common love . He says that common love is not bias , it depends on the manner of performance or actions . When love is done for the benefit of those concerned , then it is good , but if it is done for the opposite purpose , only then that love becomes evil . On that context , only love which has a selfless purpose is worthy of praise . On the other hand , spiritual love is the love of the soul , which endures any form of pain and is not blinded by the physical appearance of things

Pausanias continues further through his assertion that the higher love is of the male . Those who belong to the masculine gender are regarded to have a superior nature especially in terms of intelligence , strength and spirit . In addition to that , when one displays the affection , it is more honorable than when it is concealed . Custom allows those people who are in love to do strange things

Eryximachus also has a different...