The Symposium Lecture Notes

A set of vocabulary flashcards derived from lecture notes on 'The Symposium,' exploring essential terms and concepts related to the themes of love and its philosophical implications.

The Symposium

A dialogue recounting a drinking party attended by Socrates and other prominent Athenian men.

Apollodorus

The narrator who recounts the events of the symposium based on accounts from Aristodemus.

Eros

In the context of the Symposium, Eros refers to love, which is explored in different forms and significances throughout the dialogue.

Aristodemus

An attendee at the symposium who shares his experiences indirectly with Apollodorus.

Phaedrus

A younger man at the symposium and a proponent of heroic poetry, he speaks about Eros as a revered god.

Pausanias

A lawyer who distinguishes two kinds of love: Heavenly and Common Aphrodite.

Eryximachus

A medical doctor who views Eros as a cosmic principle that pervades all living things.

Aristophanes

A comic playwright who provides a myth explaining love as the desire to restore a lost unity.

Agathon

A tragic poet who claims to honor Eros and emphasizes love's qualities of beauty and virtue in his speech.

Diotima

A wise woman and a key figure in Socrates' speech, she teaches him about the nature of love and its philosophical implications.

Eros as a spirit

According to Diotima, love is a spirit that exists between the divine and the mortal realms and is characterized by a search for wisdom.

Heavenly Love

The type of love that is associated with the mind, virtue, and the development of the soul, as described by Pausanias.

Common Love

A type of love that prioritizes physical attraction and pleasure over virtue, typically seen as less noble.

Shame and Honor in Love

Phaedrus suggests that love facilitates a sense of shame and honor, pressuring individuals to act virtuously.

Alcestis and Admetus

A story highlighting self-sacrificial love where Alcestis dies for her husband, illustrating the depths of love celebrated at the symposium.