17 Summary of Speeches

Phaedrus (fae-druhz):

Phaedrus describes Eros as a marvel to all, men and gods included. To Phaedrus, Eros is the oldest of all the gods and therefore, one of the greatest. One of the greatest powers of Eros is his influence on man. He creates “a sense of shame at acting shamefully, and a sense of pride in acting well. Without these, nothing fine or great can be accomplished in public or in private.” (178D). Phaedrus believes that it is the power of Love that guides men to be courageous and have a “passionate desire for what is good” (178D). According to Phaedrus, this passionate desire for good is so strong that men (and women) should and will die for their love. Phaedrus gives multiple examples of this ultimate act of courage in death. Most notably he references the love between Patroclus and Achilles. After Patroclus has been killed, Achilles avenges him, and in the process sacrifices his own life. The Gods see this ultimate act of love with the utmost respect and that is why, according to Phaedrus, the Gods grant Achilles the ultimate honor in his death. Phaedrus then goes on to describe how the gods honor virtue the most when “it belongs to Love” (180B). Further, the Gods are most impressed when a “young man is loyal to his then when the lover is loyal to the young man”, this is because, according to the gods, a lover is a more “divine creature”. In contrast, this understanding depicts the young man as “divinely inspired”. Phaedrus finishes his speech by recounting his main points:

“Eros is the oldest of the gods,

the most deserving of our respect,

and the most useful, for those men, past and present,

who want to attain excellence and happiness”

Pausanias (paw-saa-nyuhz):

Pausanias gave his speech next in which he outlined his praise of Eros and argued for a definition of Eros that holds two differing ways to love, Heavenly Eros and Common Eros. These are the ways to call “good” and “bad” ways of loving. To Pausanias, Heavenly Eros is an attraction to intelligence, to things stronger and more virtuous than themselves. It can be understood as more of a soul connection, or a deep friendship. It excludes women, it is a love for men to other men, (according to Pausanias and the men at the symposium, women lacked the intelligence and virtue required for such a love). There is an emphasis on restraint in Heavenly Love. It is free from Lust, so any engagement in physical desire is rooted in an affection of the mind. If a lover has affection for a young man, it is only Heavenly if it begins after the young man is old enough to think for themselves. In contrast, Pausanias outlines Common Eros as “love for the man in the street”, or lustful attraction. This can be both lust for women and for young boys (who haven’t begun growing beards or thinking for themselves). There is no care for intelligence because a person engaging in Common Eros falls in love with the body, not the mind. Pausanias makes it clear that Common Eros is far inferior to Heavenly Eros, and that it is “love felt by the vulgar” (181B), and those who participate in Common Eros are only seeking for their own immediate benefit. It is through examples of Common Eros and Heavenly Eros that Pausanias defines how to love well, and how to love poorly.

Agathon (ag-aa-thon):

Agathon begins his speech by praising the nature of Eros himself, rather than the benefits of Love. He claims that Eros is the youngest, most delicate, most beautiful, and bravest of the gods with the utmost sense of justice and sense of moderation. Thus, Agathon spends the majority of his speech explicating the overall good nature of Eros. At the end of the speech, Agathon claims that Eros is the giver of good things to humans and moves us to kindness, and fills us with only the best of emotions and ornamental luxuries. Following his speech, Socrates questions Agathon. In his questioning, he asks if Love desires what he loves, and if this is the case, Love might not necessarily have what he desires. Then, if Love were to desire an object, he would not currently be in possession of this object. Socrates, then, points out that Agathon suggested that Love is the love of all beautiful and good things. To this end, Love must not actually possess love and beauty. Thus, Agathon concedes to Socrates and admits to the falsification of his speech.

Eryximachus (air-rix-ee-mack-us):

Eryximachus presented his praise for Eros next. As the physician of the group, he felt as though he must comment on the body and its relationship to Eros. He states that the desire to “satisfy the good and healthy” of the body is right, while the desire to “satisfy the bad, unhealthy elements” is wrong. He says that this is all a doctor does, the helping of the body to discover the “right” desires. Eryximachus goes further to say all of these desires are natural and therefore, one must find a balance between the two, (similar to a balance between Common Eros and Heavenly Eros). It is the balance of the two versions of Eros, and of bodily desires, that is true praise of Eros, honoring the god aptly.

Socrates (saa-kruh-teez):

Socrates speaks next and calls upon a recent conversation he had with Diotima, a proclaimed expert on the subject from Mantinea. Socrates’ speech draws immensely from Diotima’s opinions to combat Agathon’s speech just prior. He begins his argument by proving that not all that is not beautiful is ugly. Through a series of roundabout points, this leads Socrates, (with Diotima’s points), to identify Eros as neither god nor man, but somewhere between the two. He also identifies Eros as lacking “what is good and beautiful” and that therefore, he desires these things. Through all these points, Diotima/Socrates defines the difference between the lover and the beloved. Eros is the lover of good and beautiful things, and a lover does not possess (yet) what they desire. Before finishing the speech, Socrates ties Eros to man’s desire for immortality. He states that some desire immortality through childbirth, as a way to extend their legacy. While Socrates does not diminish the importance of this attempt, he holds no attempt as high as the passing of knowledge, from man to man, as a way of achieving immortality. This is superior to Socrates for many reasons, one of which is that it is a male-to-male convergence, nothing to do with females can come close to this version of Eros. This is the ultimate desire of Eros, according to Socrates.

Alcibiades (al-suh-bai-uh-deez):

Alcibiades joins the symposium last and is the last to speak about the idea of Eros. It is important to note that according to the chronology described by Plato, he has not listened to the other speeches, so his speech is as uninfluenced as the first speech by Phaedrus. His contribution therefore seems detached from the rest of the speeches. Alcibiades refers multiple times to his affection and attempts on Socrates. All to no avail, he describes how Socrates rejects him. While this seems unfortunate and like the end of Alcibiades’s point, he finishes by praising Socrates for denying his advances. He believes that this speaks to Socrates’ intelligence and virtue. Alcibiades ends this speech by calling it his “praise for Socrates”, in contrast to the original goal of the symposium as “praise for Eros”. This speech was not taken as seriously as the others, in part because he was heavily intoxicated (a contrast to their choice to limit their social drinking for the evening), as well because he was speaking from being in love, rather than objectively speaking on the matter.