Love In Plato's Symposium
The Ancient Greek word, 'Eros', translates into English as "Love". Love is generally viewed by society as an intense feeling of deep affection, however, love does not pertain to any one object or desire. Rather many various forms of love are believed to be in existence. Some of these more common forms entail romantic love, spiritual love, materialistic love, familial love, and sensual love, and many others. Within the Bernadete translation of the Plato's Symposium, a gathering is held between the characters, where the different philosophical dimensions of Eros are pondered and discussed by each character possessing their own opinions in regards. Plato's Symposium takes place in Athens, Greece. The beginning of the translation leads to two
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"I want first to say how I must speak, and then to speak. For in my own opinion all the previous speakers did not eulogize the god but blessed human beings for the goods of which the god is the cause; yet no one has said what sort is he who makes these gifts." (194E-195A) He then goes on to suggest that the God of Eros is the happiest of the gods because he is the most beautiful. "I declare that though all gods are happy, Eros, (if sacred law allow it and it be without nemesis to say so) is the happiest of them, as he is the most beautiful and the best. As the most beautiful he is of the following sort: First, he is the youngest of gods, Phaedrus; and he by himself supplies a great proof for this assertion, for with healing flight he avoids old age-swift though it plainly is, coming on us, at any rate, swifter than he should. It is precisely old age that Eros naturally detests; he does not even come within hailing distance of it. He is always with and of the young." (195A-B) In this quote by Agathon, he implies that the God of Eros is the happiest of the gods because he is the youngest. He avoids old age, and only stays with and within the young. All obstacles old gods faced against each other have reformed in to peace since the God of Eros has ruled amongst them. "So it is plain that, when Eros came to be among them, the affairs of the goofed were arranged out of love and beauty_for there is no eros present in ugliness. But before that, as I said at the start, many awesome events tok place among the gods, as is said, through the monarchy of Necessity; whereas since the birth of this god, all good things have resulted for gods as well as for human beings from loving the beautiful things." (197B) This quotation by
"I want first to say how I must speak, and then to speak. For in my own opinion all the previous speakers did not eulogize the god but blessed human beings for the goods of which the god is the cause; yet no one has said what sort is he who makes these gifts." (194E-195A) He then goes on to suggest that the God of Eros is the happiest of the gods because he is the most beautiful. "I declare that though all gods are happy, Eros, (if sacred law allow it and it be without nemesis to say so) is the happiest of them, as he is the most beautiful and the best. As the most beautiful he is of the following sort: First, he is the youngest of gods, Phaedrus; and he by himself supplies a great proof for this assertion, for with healing flight he avoids old age-swift though it plainly is, coming on us, at any rate, swifter than he should. It is precisely old age that Eros naturally detests; he does not even come within hailing distance of it. He is always with and of the young." (195A-B) In this quote by Agathon, he implies that the God of Eros is the happiest of the gods because he is the youngest. He avoids old age, and only stays with and within the young. All obstacles old gods faced against each other have reformed in to peace since the God of Eros has ruled amongst them. "So it is plain that, when Eros came to be among them, the affairs of the goofed were arranged out of love and beauty_for there is no eros present in ugliness. But before that, as I said at the start, many awesome events tok place among the gods, as is said, through the monarchy of Necessity; whereas since the birth of this god, all good things have resulted for gods as well as for human beings from loving the beautiful things." (197B) This quotation by