DR Apr.23

In Plato’s Symposium, set in 416 BCE amidst an all-male symposium of elite Athenians, seven eloquent discourses are rendered on the nature of love. Among the interlocutors is Socrates, whose contribution subverts expectation. Unlike his characteristic dialectical reticence in other Platonic dialogues, where he professes ignorance in matters as profound as virtue, knowledge, or courage, here he asserts an uncharacteristic certitude. He claims to articulate the "truth" about love—not as an originator of wisdom, but as a transmitter of insights imparted to him by a woman. He names her Diotima of Mantinea, a foreigner—xenฤ“—and extols her as an instructor endowed with esoteric knowledge, encompassing not only love but a panoply of human concerns. Though most scholars accept Diotima as a Platonic invention—an allegorical priestess of divine wisdom—the implications of taking Socrates at his word are far-reaching, particularly regarding gendered transmission of philosophical knowledge and the biographical contours shaping Socratic thought.

The doctrine ascribed to Diotima delineates Eros not merely as carnal impulse, but as a daimonic force operating on ascending levels of abstraction. At its base, love manifests as desire for corporeal beauty; yet, Diotima argues that the allure lies not in bodies per se, but in the transcendent attribute of beauty that they instantiate. From this recognition, the lover ascends—through appreciation of beauty in all bodies, then in customs, institutions, and finally in wisdom itself—culminating in the contemplation of the abstract Form of the Good. Thus, the lover, initially motivated by sensual desire, undergoes a kind of philosophical apotheosis, reaching toward a vision of moral and metaphysical perfection.

This schema, an erotic ladder of ascent, finds resonance—if fragmentarily—in the preceding speeches. Phaedrus valorizes love as the progenitor of heroic sacrifice. Pausanias distinguishes vulgar gratification from a nobler, enduring affection rooted in shared virtue. Eryximachus medicalizes love as a harmonizing principle, omnipresent in nature and the human body. Aristophanes allegorizes love as a yearning for primal completeness, imagining ancient humans as spherical beings sundered by Zeus, now forever seeking their other halves. Agathon, the tragedian, offers an ornate eulogy to love’s generative and aesthetic power, celebrating it as the muse of orators and poets. Yet each oration is partial, akin to the parable of blind men describing an elephant—true in part, incomplete in totality.

Socrates’ invocation of Diotima is unusually precise, marked by the curious detail that she “postponed the plague by ten years” through ritual sacrifice. This peculiarity gains historical resonance when one recalls the campaign against Samos, led by Pericles around a decade before the plague of 430 BCE. Aspasia of Miletus, Pericles’ companion, is posited by some as the historical prototype for Diotima. Renowned for her intellect and influence, Aspasia was often vilified by Athenian comedians for her perceived sway over Periclean policy, particularly regarding the brutal suppression of Samos—her native city’s rival. The campaign, infamous for branding prisoners and denying burials, invoked religious anxieties over miasma, or ritual pollution, a theme echoed in Sophocles’ Antigone, composed shortly thereafter. The play’s protagonist, whose name mirrors “Aspasia” in metrical structure, insists on burying her condemned brother, invoking divine law above civic edict. This thematic interweaving suggests not only that Aspasia’s historical agency may have shaped the intellectual genesis of Socratic eros, but also that the Platonic dialectic itself may have been midwifed by female wisdom—both marginalised and seminal.

Difficult Word Definitions:

  • Interlocutor: someone who takes part in a dialogue or conversation.

  • Dialectical: relating to the logical discussion of ideas and opinions.

  • Reticence: restraint or reserve, especially in speaking.

  • Panoply: a complete or impressive collection of things.

  • Esoteric: intended for or likely to be understood by only a small number of people with specialized knowledge.

  • Daemon: in ancient Greek belief, a divinity or supernatural being of a nature between gods and humans.

  • Instantiate: to represent or embody something abstract.

  • Apotheosis: the highest point in the development of something; culmination.

  • Valorize: to assign value or merit to something.

  • Eulogy: a speech or piece of writing that praises someone or something highly.

  • Miasma: a noxious atmosphere or influence, especially thought to cause disease.

  • Metaphysical: relating to the abstract or theoretical aspects of reality.

  • Seminal: strongly influencing later developments.

Word Count: 599

Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level: 17 


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