... . There has yet to be a one universal explanation of love and there has yet to be one who understands it's powers fully. As we see from Plato's Symposium, even the wisest of men in a time when the search for knowledge was seen as the pathway to enlightenment love was still a concept that was not understood ... purpose of this essay, it would seem relevant to stick with the guidelines and ideals that were presented in the speeches given by the men. It seemed as though in each of the lectures given, Plato put a message into each one. Each man brought up valid guidelines for dealing with lo...

• Word Count: 2004
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

... meaning, something deeper than the author's main point, or something that can be found in a summary. In reading Horace's Satires and Epistles and Plato The Symposium, a very ironic discovery can be made. Socrates and Horace have apparently been granted authority by their immediate audience on their respective topics, however they ... live a satisfying life and can administer advice on it; he too struggles against his damning nature. Plato's Symposium is a collection of speeches, made by a group of social degenerates about love. The first few speeches were fairly vague and uninteresting. E...

• Word Count: 1606
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... the group. The ideas these men put forward in describing the nature of something as powerful yet intangible as love are wonderful. The people in Plato's Symposium are truly great and wise men. They each have their particular viewpoints, based on their characters and professions. The physician and healer, Eryximachus, ... such great minds, it stands to reason that the thoughts they have should be somewhat similar, especially since they are friends. But their speeches are completely different from one another, which makes it had to see which of them is actually true. To many people, rulin...

• Word Count: 1657
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

1 Eros, or love, is the topic for discussion in Plato's Symposium. In a series of speeches, men debate the superlative meaning of eros the entire night. Socrates concludes the night by giving what is thought to be the last speech. ... with a woman (Diotima), in which Diotima, not Socrates, gives meaning to the word and concept of eros. This is ironic because from the beginning of the Symposium it is made explicitly clear that women are not wise enough to know and discuss eros. This is the first speech that the opinion of a woman is taken ... it "fills us with togetherness and drains all of ...

• Word Count: 925
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

Throughout history Love has been a topic of conversation. Plato's Symposium provides us with many different views and theories about Love. Socrates and his intellectual partners discuss what Love is and twist it's meaning in every possible way. One of the memorable speeches is the Speech of Aristophanes. After describing history of Love, he proposes that each person is half of a complete love relationship, a whole ... ...

• Word Count: 367
• Approx Pages: 1