The men include the philosopher Socrates, the general and political figure Alcibiades, and the comic playwright Aristophanes. It depicts a friendly contest of extemporaneous speeches given by a group of notable men attending a banquet. The Symposium is a philosophical text by Plato dated c. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. The Symposium is a deft interweaving of different viewpoints and ideas about the nature of love-as a response to beauty, a cosmic force, a motive for social action and as a means of ethical education.įor more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. The discussion culminates in a radical challenge to conventional views by Plato's mentor, Socrates, who advocates transcendence through spiritual love.
From their conversation emerges a series of subtle reflections on gender roles, sex in society and the sublimation of basic human instincts.
In the course of a lively drinking party, a group of Athenian intellectuals exchange views on eros, or desire. A fascinating discussion on sex, gender, and human instincts, as relevant today as ever.
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