Open Philosophy LibrarySymposium
Symposium
Read Plato’s Symposium free in Benjamin Jowett’s English translation, with a PDF, summary and explanation of love, Diotima and the ladder of beauty.
About this work
Symposium is Plato's celebrated dialogue about love, desire, beauty and philosophical education. At a banquet honouring the tragedian Agathon, the guests agree to deliver speeches in praise of Eros. Phaedrus associates love with courage; Pausanias distinguishes common from educational love; Eryximachus extends love into medicine and cosmic harmony; Aristophanes presents the myth of divided humans searching for wholeness; and Agathon offers an elegant portrait of Love's beauty and virtue. Socrates questions whether Love can possess the beauty it desires, then recounts the teaching of Diotima. Love is an intermediary condition born of lack and resourcefulness. Mortals seek lasting possession of the good through bodily and intellectual creation. Diotima's ascent leads from attraction to one beautiful body through beauty in souls, practices, laws and knowledge towards contemplation of Beauty itself. The movement educates desire rather than simply suppressing it. Alcibiades interrupts the philosophical order with a personal praise of Socrates. His admiration, resentment and failed attempt to acquire wisdom reveal the difficulty of transforming insight into character. The dialogue joins argument, myth, humour and dramatic action to ask what love wants and what it can help a person become.How to read Plato’s Symposium
Follow the speeches in order and compare what each speaker thinks love seeks. When Socrates recounts Diotima’s teaching, ask why desire for one person develops into an inquiry about beauty and the good. Finally, consider whether Alcibiades’ arrival supports that philosophical ascent or reveals how difficult it is to live by it.
Start with our Symposium summary, then explore the explanation of the dialogue and its key ideas about love and beauty. New readers can also use our philosophy reading guide for beginners to plan their next book.