Classical Greece Worksheet 19

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Jan 9, 2024

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C LASSICAL G REECE W ORKSHEET 19 Plato, “Symposium” [198 – 223d] This is considered one of Plato’s greatest dialogues, along with Republic . As great as it is, I did not require you to read the whole thing, though the complete dialogue is in your textbook. I asked you to read only the second half where Socrates is leading the discussion. The first half: “Symposium” means “drinking party.” This was a common form of entertainment, in which they would drink, pick a topic of conversation, and then takes turns speaking for the others. This night, the topic is love ( eros ). Five people orate before Socrates begins his dialogue: (a) Phaedrus claims that Eros is divine and tells a creation myth. (b) Pausanius, possibly a legal expert, claims that love is the ethical code of the polis binding citizens together. (c) Eryximachus, a doctor, compares it to the harmony of a healthy body. (d) Aristophanes, the comic playwright, tells a humorous story about a race of conjoined humans split down the middle and now searching for their missing half. (e) Agathon, the party host and famous orator, presents a flowery speech praising the god Eros as good and beautiful. This is where Socrates begins. 1. Why does Socrates believe that it is not possible for Eros to be good and beautiful? [199c – 201c] He argues that what is beautiful is not necessarily good. The pursuit of beauty can lead to neglecting moral values. 2. Having failed to define love, Socrates explains that he once found himself in the same situation when he was young and in a dialogue with Diotima. Who was Diotima? [201d] She was a woman who taught Socrates about the mystery of Eros and love. 3. How does Diotima describe Eros? [202b – 204a] Ultimately, what is the true object of love? [204b, 206a, 207a] She described Eros as a great spirit that mediates between gods and humans, representing lust and desire for the pursuit of beauty. The true object of love is the eternal and everlasting possession of good. 4. Diotima leads Socrates through the rising levels of truer and truer love. What are the steps? [210a – 211d] They are love for one beautiful body, love for all beautiful bodies, love for all beautiful souls, love for the beauty of law, and love for the knowledge of eternal beauty. 5. Socrates’ dialogue comes to an end, but we have a surprise guest: Alkibiades. Do you remember this person? What condition is he in? [212d – 213a] He is drunk and disheveled. 6. Alkibiades provides his own speech praising Socrates as the figure of love. How does he describe Socrates? [213e – 217d] He then describes an episode with Socrates. What did he try to do? How did Socrates respond? [217e – 222a] He described Socrates as a captivating, intriguing figure of love. Alkibiades attempted to seduce Socrates in an episode, but Socrates rejected his advances.
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