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Summary:

"A new translation of selections from one of the great philosophical works about love, Plato's Symposium"-- [Provided by publisher]
"Explore the nature of love in this charming new translation of selections from Plato's great dramatic work, the Symposium. What is love? In poetry, songs, fiction, movies, psychology, and philosophy, love has been described, admired, lamented, and dissected in endless ways. Is love based on physical attraction? Does it bring out our better selves? How does it relate to sex? Is love divine? Plato's Symposium is one of the oldest, most influential, and most profound explorations of such questions-it is even the source of the idea of "Platonic love." How to Talk about Love introduces and presents the key passages and central ideas of Plato's philosophical dialogue in a lively and highly readable new translation, which also features the original Greek on facing pages.The Symposium is set at a fictional drinking party during which prominent Athenians engage in a friendly competition by delivering improvised speeches in praise of Eros, the Greek god of love and sex. The aristocrat Phaedrus, the legal expert Pausanias, the physician Eryximachus, the comic playwright Aristophanes, and the tragic poet Agathon-each by turn celebrates different aspects of love before Socrates proposes not to praise love but to tell the truth about it. In the final speech, the politician and libertine Alcibiades argues that Socrates himself is the epitome of love. Deftly capturing the essence and spirit of Plato's masterpiece, How to Talk about Love makes the Symposium more accessible and enjoyable than ever before"-- [Provided by publisher]

Table of Contents:

• Cover
• Contents
• Introduction: Talking of Love
• 1. The Inspirer of Noble Deeds: Phaedrus
• 2. A Virtuous and Lasting Union: Pausanias
• 3. A Universal Principle of Harmony: Eryximachus
• 4. Finding One's Other Half: Aristophanes
• 5. A Stimulus to Creation: Agathon
• 6. The Ladder to Transcendence: Socrates
• 7. Love Is Who You Love: Alcibiades
• Further Reading
• Concordance to Passages Selected

Author/Creator:

Plato , author

Contributors:

D'Angour, Armand , translator, writer of introduction

Languages:

English
Greek, Ancient (to 1453)

Language Notes:

Text in English and Greek.

Main Work:

How to talk about love: an ancient guide for modern lovers: selections from Plato's Symposium [by Plato]

Included Works:

Symposium [by Plato] > Selections (D'Angour) (English)

Symposium [by Plato] > Selections (D'Angour) (Greek)

Other Related Resources:

Print version: How to talk about love [Plato] (First edition; Princeton : Princeton University Press, [2025] — ISBN 9780691256887; LCCN 2024019964)

Related Series:

Ancient wisdom for modern readers

Subjects:

Plato — Symposium

Socrates

Love — Early works to 1800

Philosophy, Ancient

Plato

Symposium (Plato)

Love

Genres:

Early works

General Notes:

Translation of: Symposium.
Includes bibliographical references.
Description based on: Online resource; title from digital title page (viewed on February 07, 2025).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xxxvii, 166 pages) : illustrations.

Digital Characteristics:

text file

Call Numbers:

B385.A5 D36 2025eb

ISBNs:

9780691268712 (electronic book)
0691268711 (electronic book)
9780691256887 (hardcover) [Invalid]

Library of Congress Control Numbers:

2024019965

OCLC Numbers:

1452294811