The Stereotypical Matter Of Love In Plato's Symposium
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In Western literature, the author Plato presents a book called the Symposium. In his book a number of speeches are given by Athenians from Greece, in particular Diotima, Alciabides, Pausanias, Eryxamachus, Aristophones, and Agathon. In the Symposium the speeches that are given are based on the philosopical matter of love, what it means for the Athenians that each say their speeches, and converse amongst each other about the matter. The story begins with an introductory dialogue where a man named Apollodorus encounters a man named Glaucon who asks Apollodorus about the gathering that took place in Agathon’s house. Apollodorus tells the man that Aristodemus, a good friend of his was the one who told him the story about the gathering and the speeches that were given at the gathering. So Apollodorus agrees to tell the story on behalf of Aristodemus and when he was invited by Socrates to go to a gathering at Agathon’s house and so the story follows. At the gathering, people arrive and begin to have dinner, converse, and drink. A guest of Agathon, Eryximachus who is a physician from Athens speaks and starts talking about the hymns and the god of love and how he finds it absurd how people don’t write…show more content… Eryximachus being the medicine doctor explains that he doesn’t agree with Pausanias speech ans explains that the love of god is what leads medicine and that when some things don’t come together in peace and harmony then they do not work out. He uses the comparison of medicine and love and how they find the means of being in harmony. Plato writes, “ Medicine, therefore, is guided everywhere by the god of Love…”(21). Eryximachus further compares it to other things like the seasons, and music. He believes that with love there should be an agreeement and harmony between love and that it is a powerful feeling when those two things come together in perfect and balanced