Aristophanes' Agathon in Women at the Thesmophoria Aristophanes and Agathon were peers in Ancient Greece. Aristophanes was the master of comedy, and Agathon was the master of tragedy. They traveled in the same circles and are present in the same works. In looking through the comic lens at Agathon in Aristophanes’ Women at the Thesmophoria, the reader is presented with a portrayal of an effeminate man with a flair for the dramatic and a queenly attitude. Aristophanes’ Agathon is a comic character
entertainment, and alcoholic beverages (xiii, Plato). This particular symposium is in celebration of the tragedian playwright, Agathon, who had just won first prize for his tragedy at the Lenean festival (xiii, Plato). At the party there are seven speeches made about love by six different speakers, these speakers include: Phaedrus, Pausanias, Aristophanes, Eryximachus, Agathon, and Socrates; it is believed... ... middle of paper ... ... stray from it and make a mistake. The consequences for straying
discussion Agathon instead of a monologue-styled story. Socrates actually starts by giving Agathon a series of questions about love. Socrates goes on to ask Agathon if a father must be father to something in order to be called a father. Then Socrates asks Agathon whether the same principle applies to mothers and brothers; one must be a brother or mother to someone or something else. Agathon agrees with all of these examples, but then Socrates asks “Does Love love nothing or something?”, and Agathon replies
Aristophanes' Theory of Love in the Symposium 2. Aristophanes' Theory of love: from Plato's Symposium The love as discussed by the characters in the Symposium is homosexual love. Some assumed that homosexuality alone is capable of satisfying “a man’s highest and noblest aspirations”. Whereas heterosexual love is placed at an inferior level, being described as only existing for carnal reasons; its ultimate purpose being procreation. There are differing views in these dialogues, Aristophanes
birth of Love from Want and Wit (203bff.) Phaedrus, Pausanias and Agathon also follow with their conception stories of Love. Now let us consider content similarities between these speeches. There are two concept similarities types. In (195A1-3) Agathon observes that before one makes a speech to praise Love they should first define it and describe its effects. In other words; what is its nature. Socrates not only agrees with Agathon (201d7-e2), he urges his friends to examine and determine what virtue
Alcibiades who demanded to see Agathon. He continues to praise Agathon as the smartest and best looking man in town, asking if he could join the party in which they all agreed. Alcibiades was asked to sit next to Agathon, which he planted his seat right in between him and Socrates. Socrates ends up getting accused by Alcibiades because he asked him how he happened to trap Agathon and sit next to him, which senses a lot of jealousy coming from Alcibiades. He asked Agathon for help and stated that everything
at the house of Agathon, where Socrates and Alcibiades are in attendance. The men at the party take turns eulogizing the god Eros. In Agathon’s eulogy, he describes Eros as a soft and tender being. When Socrates speaks, however, he makes a correction of his host’s account, by saying the soft and tender thing is the beloved, and not the lover, as Agathon would have it. When Alcibiades enters the party toward the end of the dialogue, he complains that Socrates is deceiving Agathon. Alcibiades was once
they discussed the poet briefly: Euripides: There is an Agathon … Kinsman: You mean the suntanned one, strong guy? Euripides: No, a different one. You’ve never seen him? Kinsman: The one with the full beard? Euripides: You’ve never seen him? Kinsman: By Zeus, never, as far as I can recall. Euripides: Well, you must have fucked him, though you might not know it (38-45). This exchange, which foreshadowed the entrance of Agathon, provides us with a clear idea of how a man ought to look:
affects the physical, but rather affects the soul, is the key message of Agathon’s speech. The other important aspect of Agathon’s speech is the distinctions he makes about love. He’s the first speaker to make the distinction betaween beauty (which Agathon calls attractiveness) and goodness (195a), which other speakers equate (Eryximachus does so in 186b-186c) and Aristophanes ignores. Agathon’s speech then proceeds by comparing love to the four cardinal virtues, justice (196b-196c), temperance (196c)
different from the views from the time of Socrates and Plato. To them love was eros, a direct translation of the word love. However, the word itself wasn't the only thing that was different about love. In Plato's "Symposium", there is a celebration for Agathon. He had just won a dramatic contest in Athens, Greece two nights ago. It is customary to drink much wine at these gatherings, however, every one present is too weak from the night before. (Nehamas & Woodruff, pg. xiii) So a proposition is made, by
Pausania, Eryximachus, Aristophane and Agathon, each of them presents a speech to either praise or definite Love. Phaedrus first points out that Love is the primordial god; Pausanias brings the theme of “virtue” into the discussion and categorizes Love into “good” one or “bad” one; Eryximachus introduces the thought of “moderation’ and thinks that Love governs such fields as medicine and music; Aristophanes draws attention to the origin and purposes of Love; Agathon enunciates that the correct way to
the home of Agathon on love. Instead of "singing the honours" (94) of love like the other participants, Socrates uses a retelling of a discussion that he had with a woman named Diotima to tell the audience of what he perceives to be the truth of love. He first speaks to Agathon in order to be on the same wavelength with him. Socrates asks Agathon a series of questions - which leads to Agathon being thoroughly confused and completely re-thinking his entire speech he just made. Agathon is no longer
traditional values, as well as an event that administered freedom in a regulated and controlled atmosphere, where the men could escape from the everyday life of a Greek man. This particular symposium was a special event to take place. This was the evening Agathon hosted the drinking party, due to his first victory at the theater contest of Dionysian (416 b.c) and the discussion of love was to take place. The first speech given at the symposium was given by Phaedrus, a young man and a admirer of Socrates.
to that of medicine's. He used the "things of this world as rungs in a ladder"(211c). Aristophanes then gives love a comedic approach, breaking up the adulation. Agathon was next, and his speech showed how love affected people's minds. It created great poets, and spawned the practices of "hedonism, luxury, and sensualism"(197d). Agathon was last before Socrates, and the closest to Socrates' view. He was at the final steps of the deepest love, seeing the "beauty of people's activities"(211c) and of
It has been borrowed into English. Look it up in your dictionary. You might translate it "feast." ¯ Notice that the work begins in medias res. Who is Apollodorus speaking to as the work opens? We learn that there was a supper at the home of Agathon, at which Socrates was a guest. Aristodemus (an uninvited guest at that dinner) later described that evening to Phoenix, as well as to Apollodorus. Phoenix passed on the story to "another person," who in turn told Glaucon about the occasion. Apollodorus
proved to be the only deserving lover of mine.” As the younger and more beautiful one, Alcibiades had assumed that he would develop a relationship with Socrates that was similar to that of Agathon and Pausanius’ relationship. The older, wiser lover, Pausanius, pursued the beautiful and clever beloved, Agathon. Yet when Socrates failed to act as a conventional lover, Alcibiades decided to take the lead and spend more time with him. Regardless of his efforts, Socrates was seemingly immune to his youth
Aphrodite was born to Poros and Penia and succeeds Aphrodite. There are a few individuals mentioned that are identified as the type of individuals that Athenian men established their perspective regarding love including Agathon, Aristophanes, Eryximachus, Pausanias, and Phaedrus. Agathon is a tragic poet, Aristophanes is a comic poet, Eryximachus is a doctor, Erastes is a older boyfriend,and Eromenos is a younger boyfriend. I The one who loves knowledge will concluseively attain love. Moreover, beauty
Context and Contradictions in Plato's Phaedrus and Plato's Symposium It is well known that Plato, a devoted student of Socrates, chronicled many of Socrates' speeches and conversations. Every so often one can find instances where Socrates and other players in these conversations seem to contradict themselves, or at least muddle their arguments. One such occurrence of this is in Plato's Symposium and Plato's Phaedrus. Both texts speak of love in its physical sense, both texts describe love and
Plato’s Symposium: The 7th Speaker - Interstitial Space of the Twin Soul The Symposium is considered one of Plato’s great literary works. Although short in its Platonic dialogue, many philosophers agree that Plato wrote the Symposium to explore the true nature of love through Socrates’ wisdom. The Symposium is set at a dinner party and offers speeches from six prominent Athenian intellectuals. Each speaker presents varying perspectives on love as a eulogy to Eros, the God of Love. The varying perspectives
decide to forgo drinking games for a symposium—a discussion on love. Unsurprisingly, it is Socrates who offers the best description of love, but not until every other attendant has had an opportunity to voice a view. Socrates’ speech follows that of Agathon, whose eulogy was met with thunderous applause. Before beginning his own, Socrates compliments his comrade’s oration, saying, “Am I and anyone else whatsoever not to be at a loss after quite so fair and varied a speech has been made? Though the rest