Plato Homosexual Love Essay

The exquisite society to emerge will be governed by an elite comprised of gay poets. One of the major requirements for a position of power in the new society of homoeroticism will be indulgence in the Greek passion. Any man contaminated with heterosexual lust will be automatically barred from a position of influence. All males who insist on remaining

Social attitudes about “homosexuality” in ancient Rome differed remarkably to those assumptions of the contemporary Western civilization. The Greeks and Romans had no concept of homosexuality or heterosexuality; the ancient world was exceptionally tolerant of homosexuality, or more specifically bisexuality, as these relationships had been present even in Trajan’s reign. Male prostitutes were appropriately common on the streets, however, what was of great consequence within the sexual relationship between two men were age and the status of sexual dominance and sexual submission (Potts). Men were free to take part in sexual behaviors with other men without any perceived loss of social status, provided that the older male of higher status was in the commanding position. This status reflected on ones manhood and masculinity, “the role of the submissive reduced the passive partner to the level of a woman (Potts).” Nevertheless, Men were still expected to have sexual attraction and relationships towards women because virility and procreation were important to Roman

Socrates attempts to justify homosexual relationships by quoting Diotima’s differentiation between heterosexual relationships ("those who are pregnant in terms of their bodies" and produce children) and homosexual relationships (those "who are pregnant in terms of the soul" and produce "prudence and the rest of virtue" in their partner) (Plato 271).2 This ideal of productivity in homosexual relationships is realized by the lover passing knowledge and wisdom on to his beloved. Thus, Socrates successfully justifies homosexual relationships; with this reasoning, he demonstrates to the other partygoers that their homosexual relationships must be productive to be justified.

The poetry of Sappho, and the speeches in Plato’s Symposium both deal primarily with homoerotic love, although Sappho, one of the only female poets in Ancient Greece, speaks from the female perspective, while Plato’s work focuses on the nature of this love between men. There are several fundamental elements that are common to both perspectives, including similar ideals of youth and beauty, and the idea of desire as integral to both views on love. Despite these similarities, however, there is an important distinction, which can be understood in terms of Pausanias’ concepts of Common versus Celestial Love, where Sappho’s view represents

ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊHomoerotic desire, longing, and love in Greek texts are depicted as equally strong or stronger than the heterosexual equivalents.Ê Plato?s philosophers argue over who receives the privilege of sharing a couch with the handsomest of them.Ê Agathon and Pausanius are shown to be affectionate and loyal to each other.Ê Some of the strongest expressions of desire are found in Sappho?s lyric poetry.Ê She speaks of a certain woman as being what she most desires, claiming, ?I?d rather see her comely step, the shining luster of her face than the Lydians? chariots and infantry in armor (16 L-P lines

Throughout time stories are often passed down and shared. Slowly changing to fit that culture’s values and beliefs during their given time. In this case with Wolfgang Petersen’s 2004 film, Troy. Homer’s The Iliad tells the story of the rage of Achilles in a way to reflect Greece during the time of Homer, while Troy, tells the same story in it’s own way which reveals the values of the modern day. In this paper, I will argue that the alteration to Achilles and Patroclus relationship in the movie Troy, as compared to the suggested lover bond in the Iliad represents how modern culture feels toward homosexuality. To prove this claim, I will provide various scenes in the movie and where Director Petersen altered Achilles’s character to fit a more modern idea. Then I will analyze the Greece’s culture beliefs on homosexual compared to that of the modern day, I will also address the opposing argument’s position.

In Symposium by Plato, a group of men gather around to seek one’s full understanding of the underestimated reasons of Love. Despite having different occupations, they all seem to agree on their views of love except for Socrates. Socrates communicates that Love is a god, and then decides to add that he came to his conclusion with the help of a woman named Diotima. Although their views of love are similar, they are also different and can be seen through another philosopher’s stories; Antigone and Oedipus. Socrates’ definition of love is characterized by Oedipus the King and Diotima’s definition of love is characterized by Antigone. Socrates’ understanding of love is that love is a desire to be conscious of what you need for something you do not have and for what you have because once you have it you will not feel the need to want it anymore; love is also a display of what you already have and are afraid to lose forever. Diotima’s understanding of Love is that Love is not a god, love is a demi-god. Because, he is a demi-god, he is in between wisdom and ignorance.

Many of us grew up enjoying the myths and legends about Greek gods, mortals, and monsters that have been enjoyed by adults and children around the world for thousands of years. But not many, if any, would remember ever reading about homosexual relationships involving the great deities and brave heroes. In facts, those pieces of information were considered by our moral standards unappropriated and negligible, such that they had to be distorted in some way before the stories reach the public. The Greeks in Plato’s Symposium, however, are loud and proud of their homosexuality. Some argue that same-sex romance is the ideal and most honorable example of love since it guides the lover and the beloved to achieve the highest goods of life – wisdom

Plato’s “The Symposium” is the oldest source on love available in Kevin Reilly’s “Worlds of History: To 1500”; it paints a picture of different interpretations of love in ancient Greece and hints at how women were treated in this society. This story has been dated to 385 B.C.E. In it, Plato recounted an exchange between his teacher, Socrates, and several other men, who each shared their own interpretation of love. Pausanias, the second to speak, differentiated between Common Love and Heavenly Love. Common love, he said, was between a man and a woman, and was “of the body rather than of the soul.” He stated that only “foolish beings are the object of this (common) love…” Heavenly love only existed between a man and a young man and was more

In Plato’s Symposium looks at a dialog between intellectual men about a variety topics such as love. We can relate this to modern

In Greece, homosexuality became common within their culture; which with this socially accepted involvement, some could say, provided the groundwork for the child molestation act of pederasty. It appears the Greek’s institutionalized sodomy to a new level for children that involved predominantly upper-class men in the 7th century B.C.; shamefully, boosted with pride concerning this ‘training system as their civil duty.’ They professed to be giving needed guidance to young boys (eromenos); who became effectively courted by older men (the erastes or ‘lover’). The Greeks became flamboyant with their exploitation of adolescents and cunningly gave personal attention to young boys to produce sexual cooperation. Distinctly, there existed a real challenge between Greek homosexuals, involving who would become the ‘dominating partner;’ (which transpires as an extreme shame if you were the lesser); therefore, an infinite number of repugnant circumstances arose, while using children’s passiveness to conceal the men’s perverted actions.

Joshua Mark’s claim that Sappho’s poetry “…concerns itself with romantic love between women” (Mark 2014) is valid and evident in the text. Sappho states if “…she does not love, soon she will love / even unwilling” (Poem 1 23-24). This statement is more likely to be literal in nature; rather than referring to the abstract love of the world, it refers directly to the love of another woman. This conclusion is further supported by Aphrodite who states “…Who, O Sappho is wronging you?” (19-20), reaffirming the idea that a particular is the subject of discussion rather than an idea. Another confirmation of the relation to romance is Sappho’s direct mention of the heart when she states “…do not break with hard pains, / O lady, my heart…” (3-4).

In Plato’s Symposium, a group of philosophers all get together at a man named Agathon’s house and eventually decide to give speeches on love. The men all take turns giving their various speeches on Love, each attacking the idea of Love in a different way. Phaedrus talks about Love’s origins and how Love encourages people to be virtuous, Pausanias makes the distinction between Common Love (love of body) and Celestial Love (love of mind), Eryximachus talks about how Love promotes balance, Aristophanes talks about how Love is about people continually searching for their other half (quite literally), but how people can never find this other half, so people will never be whole, and finally Agathon talks about Love’s beauty and Love’s desire for beauty. When Socrates speaks, he starts off by saying that he will give the truth about Love, which he claims no one else did. He proves this by questioning Agathon’s speech, asking how Love can both be beautiful and desire beauty when people do not desire what they already have. Furthermore, Socrates recounts a conversation about Love with Diotima, whose view of Love combines parts of all the other speeches into one truth about love. True love is passing on one’s ideas through celestial love in order to live forever.

Plato's Argument from Recollection is about the way learning and the mind goes hand in hand. The Theory goes as follows: In the case, that man is at a time to recall information; he should have initially known that idea at one particular time beforehand. He also argues that information is acquired through experience and something inside of us that needs to be awakened. The Theory indirectly calls attention to the chance that memory resembles a spirit along with being a part of a whole otherworldly way with recalling knowledge.

There is one undeniable truth, love is the greatest force in the world, perhaps the greatest force to permeate the entire universe. We feel it through our personal relationships with our loved ones, and experience it all throughout the natural world. Love is a power so absolute that it has inspired numerous millennia of philosophers, theologians, and artist alike, some even dedicating their entire lives to this effusive force. Sappho, the congenial Greek lyrical poet, devoted her entire life to the pursuit of love. She thought that beauty was something to be sought out, stating that love is the most beautiful thing of all.