Within Plato's Symposium, a series of six dialogues regarding the nature of Love are discussed at length. ... One aspect that made the interaction with Diotima particularly profound is that it challenged the assumptions which were previously unquestioned by the men who came before her in the Symposium; that Love is a god, which pursues the often-imbalanced relationship between two lovers. ... By having the text flow in this way, it becomes clear that Plato intended for Diotima and her speech to stand out. ... Additionally, Plato's inclusion of a female character was a perfect way to ...

• Word Count: 768
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Immortality of Plato's Love Though Plato died nearly 2500 years ago, the English language still keeps his definition of love in common usage. ... Plato would respond that intellectual association leads to the creation of timeless ideas, and is therefore a greater love than the physical love which creates children. Plato explores and defends his view of love in the Symposium, specifically in the dialogue between Socrates and Diotima (Symposium, 204e ­ 209e). Plato first defines love by examining the lover, then uses this definition to build an abstract function and purpose of love whi...

• Word Count: 1318
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Throughout history Love has been a topic of conversation. Plato's Symposium provides us with many different views and theories about Love. ... After describing history of Love, he proposes that each person is half of a complete love relationship, a whole. ... It is perfectly accepted having males seek Love with females; if no Love is found having males interacting with the females, so that by the mutual embraces of man and woman they might breed, and the race might continue. Or, equally so, if a man came to a man to seek Love; if Love is not found they might be satisfied and go about th...

• Word Count: 367
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These criticisms range from the over-unified state to the perpetual happiness of Plato's farming and merchant class including every notion of Plato's in between. ... Those whose creative instinct is physical have recourse to women, and show their love in this way believing the by begetting children they can secure an immortal and blessed memory hereafter forever; but there are some whose creative desire is of the soul and who long to beget spiritually, not physically, the progeny which it is the nature of the soul to create and bring to birth. If you ask what the progeny is, it is ...

• Word Count: 1570
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

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 and unknown. ... The writing serves as a pamphlet that depicts some of the guidelines of love as the philosophers of Plato's time saw them. ... It seemed as though in each of the lectures given, Plato put a message into each one. ... This may have been a valid reasoning during Plato's era because virtue and honor were seen as great characteristics of men. ... Yet in the reasoning that c...

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

In Plato's Symposium, Socrates shares with us the nature of nature of eros through a speech recounting his dialogue with Diotima. ... Only God is immutable and thus worthy of our true love. ... Augustine also had very different beliefs about sexual desire than did Plato. Plato's teachings taught that through the hierarchy of eros, sexual desire was used to climb the ladder to wisdom. ... Although, his motives in asking her to take off her clothes may already be composed both of a love of Beauty itself and the love of her particular body - and as Augustine knew from personal exper...

• Word Count: 857
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Plato was, as we know, both pupil of Socrates and teacher of Aristotle. ... Plato's five greatest and most well known writings are, The Apology, Phaedo, Crito, The Republic, and Symposium. ... Symposium is about the function and purpose of love. The Republic is about Plato's ideal form of a republic. ... The war demolished the Academy that plato founded. ...

• Word Count: 1563
• Approx Pages: 6

In Plato's "Symposium," the very influential speech by Diotima describes an ascent from loving particular kinds of beauty to loving Beauty itself. ... Throughout the Symposium, the audience hears many accounts from various intellectuals that have been invited to a special party. ... These philosophers talk about Eros (Love) and match their wits to see who can give a greater eulogy of Eros. ... The extent to which this gift can be granted, Diotima says, can be compared to a person giving up everything to be with someone they love. ... On that account, Agathon's main point is that ...

• Word Count: 1088
• Approx Pages: 4

(Symposium, 37)" Love inspires people to do great things, and is the greatest source of pleasure there is. ... This is why the Symposium is considered one of the great works of philosophy, even though Socrates is the only real philosopher in the group. ... The people in Plato's Symposium are truly great and wise men. ... (Symposium, 20)" The moral value of this sentence is questionable. ... Pausanias does, however, say, "But the love of young boys should be forbidden by law because their future is uncertain (Symposium, 23)." ...

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

In Plato's Symposium there are three major speeches given by Aristophanes, Socrates and Alcibiades, where each portrays a different aspect of human sexuality and love. ... Plato then tells us that the human longing for its other half resulted from this cutting of the humans into two halves; "Since their original nature had been cut in two, each one longed for its own other half and stayed with it (191a) That's how, long ago, the innate desire of human beings for each other started. ... Upon further analyzation of Aristophanes" speech one can infer that once humans were united with...

• Word Count: 608
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

1 Eros, or love, is the topic for discussion in Plato's Symposium. ... 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. ... There is a distinction made between love's creation being beautiful and love itself being beautiful. ... Here Socrates admires Diotima in the same way that everyone in the Symposium admires Socrates. Throughout the Symposium, eros is constantly used in conjunction with homosexuality. ...

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

In reading Horace's Satires and Epistles and Plato The Symposium, a very ironic discovery can be made. ... He does not put himself on a heavenly level, like Diotima in Plato's Symposium, but guarantees his readers that although he has knowledge of how to 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. ... Socrates speaks through Diotima on the four stairs of love. The first step is to love one beautiful body; entirely physical...

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

So what is love? ... There have been many ideas and theories of what love is, looks like and how its origins have been speculated by many including the respected philosopher Plato. In his work entitled Symposium, Plato attempted to outline the purpose and nature of love, as well as the many facets love can be to one individual. ... (Plato, 2001). Researchers, philosophers, anthropologists, theologians, neurologists, psychologists and even poets have continued in Plato's steps by presenting various thoughts, theories and ideas as to what love is, although it is fair to say that these views...

• Word Count: 1701
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Thinking along these lines, we must go all the way back through history to ancient Greece and Plato, who wrote in The Symposium: And the true order of going, or being led by another, to the things of love, is to begin from the beauties of earth and mount upwards for the sake of that other beauty, using these as steps only, and from one going on to two, and from two to all fair forms, and from fair forms to fair practices, and from fair practices to fair notions, until from fair notions he arrives at the notion of absolute beauty, and at last knows what the essence of beauty is (Solomon, 652)...

• Word Count: 1527
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

In this paper I will discuss Aristophanes" speech on love found in Plato's Symposium. ... I will also explain Aristophanes" definition of love, and whether or not love is an admirable or good thing. ... In order to explain how this story might shed some light on Aristophanes idea of love, and what he believes are the characteristics of love; we must first acknowledge the difference between physical sexual love, and a deeper spiritual love that emanates from the soul. ... Love, according to Aristophanes, is also the key to our success as a human race "there's just one way for the huma...

• Word Count: 1564
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Comparing Capote's works to that of Plato and Phaedrus, one author states: Baldanza describes their works as "parables on the nature of love", and adds, "They share with Plato's Symposium and Phaedrus in particular that curious tone of purely and absolutely spiritual love which grows out of a diffused and circumambient atmosphere of sexuality that never clearly manifests itself." ...

• Word Count: 2030
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

One of the earliest explanations of homosexuality and homosexual union can be found in a section of Plato's Symposium. In this section Plato write for his friend Aristophanes, following Aristophanes myth about the origin of human beings. ... These forms were eventually split in half by Zeus, but the lifelong search for ones missing half explains both homosexual and heterosexual love. Plato states that "these are the people that finish out their lives together and still cannot say what it is they want from one another. " While he doesn't say it in so many words, Plato is obviously ta...

• Word Count: 2929
• Approx Pages: 12
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

As ancient Greek history has played such a pivotal role in subsequent cultures throughout time, that to learn about women in this society enhances our understanding of western civilization. Ancient Greece was not a united nation, but a collection of individual sovereign communities with a common language, and similar religious rituals and beliefs. Communication was difficult due to the numerous islands and mountainous terrain that bisected the communities of people. Democracy, classical art and architecture, philosophy, and drama all can trace their lineage to ancient Greece. Antique vases and...

• Word Count: 7196
• Approx Pages: 29
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

Plato alluded to the acceptance of homosexuality when he described the effectiveness and power of the "pederasty" in Symposium, "If only there were a way to start a city or an army made up of lovers and the boys they love! ... (Kaplan) Plato's statement accepts homosexuality as well as describing the homosexuals as having a quality that builds strong civilizations. ...

• Word Count: 3001
• Approx Pages: 12

Her legacy became anything but silent and she appears in multiple historical works by Plato, Xenophon, Cicero, Athenaeus, and Plutarch.4 It is clear she had an immense impact on her male counterparts, perhaps the most over her live-in lover Pericles. ... Marie Delcourt wrote in her study on Pericles, "No one would have thought the less of Pericles for making love to young boys, but they (referring to Athenian citizens) were shocked by his treating Aspasia like a human being.... A fellow Athenian, Diogenes Laertius, was quoted as saying Pericles' love was so strong for Aspasia he kiss...

• Word Count: 2630
• Approx Pages: 11
• Has Bibliography

Her legacy became anything but silent and she appears in multiple historical works by Plato, Xenophon, Cicero, Athenaeus, and Plutarch.4 It is clear she had an immense impact on her male counterparts, perhaps the most over her live-in lover Pericles. ... Marie Delcourt wrote in her study on Pericles, "No one would have thought the less of Pericles for making love to young boys, but they (referring to Athenian citizens) were shocked by his treating Aspasia like a human being.... A fellow Athenian, Diogenes Laertius, was quoted as saying Pericles' love was so strong for Aspasia he kiss...

• Word Count: 2630
• Approx Pages: 11
• Has Bibliography

This active procreation, according to Aristophanes, is the source of our love for one another. ... Additionally, beneath the surface of his speech is the idea that love was made to tame eros and ensure that custom/law was not challenged. Eros poses the greatest threat to the law, but the pursuit of love tames it. It is important to remember that the soul is greater then the body, and while sex provides the method for two people to temporarily reunite there is something greater that makes two people want to be mended back together, and that is the love of the soul. ...

• Word Count: 868
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

• Polyamory - is a multiple-partnered marriage whereby the partners get together out of love. ... The Puritans moved marriage to a point where love counted and delighting in the state of marriage became commonplace, yet extremely committed. ... Besides the human need for love and companionship, one reason for priestly marriage was that it ensured succession of the priesthood to their sons. ...

• Word Count: 3999
• Approx Pages: 16
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

Death Comes for the Archbishop Death Comes for the Archbishop (1927) is about two nineteenth-century French priests, Father Vaillant and Father Lour, who come to America to establish a mission in the southwestern desert which changes them. Main Characters - -Father Jean Marie Latour, Vicar Apostalic of New Mexico -Father Joseph Vaillant, his friend, a missionary priest -Kit Carson, frontier scout -Jacinto, an Indian guide Plot - This historical novel is set in nineteenth century New Mexico and describes the experiences of two well-bred French priests sent there to establish Catholicism in ...

• Word Count: 7335
• Approx Pages: 29
• Grade Level: Undergraduate