Everybody is familiar with the expression Platonic love: most of us think of it a strong pure feeling of affection which is non-

Everybody is familiar with the expression Platonic love: most of us think of it a strong pure feeling of affection which is non-
sexual. But Plato wrote about other possible visions of love in his work The Symposium. Which one do you consider the best?
sexual. But Plato wrote about other possible visions of love in his work The Symposium. Which one do you consider the best?

Love (Eros / Cupid) is the most

ancient of gods and the most powerful
one to help men to excel. This is so
because those who are in love make the
greatest efforts to be admired by their
beloved and that leads them to do their
best in every field of life, which grants
them courage, honour and magnificence.
Love makes us want to be always
truthful and noble.
Love helps us to become wiser and
more virtuous but this only happens
when one loves the soul and not the
body. Only when one finds talent and
intelligence can one call it love. This is
the purest of all possible kinds of love,
because the body changes and beauty
disappears, but good qualities are
eternal.

Another theory says that there is a

perfect match for everyone somewhere,
the right person who will complete us
Love means harmony between and fulfil our lives. It’s as if each one of
opposites. Love governs music, us had been split in half and our soul
astronomy and medicine. It brings us was always yearning for its missing part.
closer to god and virtue and gives us That’s what explains why we feel whole
health and order in our lives, because when we find our love partner.
with love everything is its due place:
Love is a cosmic force.

One last theory proposes that Love

Love is delicate, young and flexible.
He is graceful, wise, just and
courageous. He is the greatest god and
gathers the highest possible qualities.
Love makes it possible for lovers to
have all those gifts, too. Love makes us
better.
(Cupid / Eros) is neither a god nor a mortal,
but a “daemon”, a supernatural creature
which mediates between both. He is always
in search of wisdom, beauty and virtue. He
yearns for what he is not and all that he
hasn’t got, above all immortality. This leads
him to promote procreation, both physical
and mental: giving birth to children and,
especially, to creations of the spirit, immortal
works of art.
 All these visions of love are purely Greek and are but a vision of the universe. Plato is a reflection of Socrates,
whose thoughts we have received thanks to him. The last definition is Socrates’ view of love, the one which brings
mankind and divinity together, while allowing both. Love is a human feeling, one which can make men stronger or
weaker.

The other visions of love are all included in The Symposium. They belong to:

1. Phaedrus (the first speaker and first reference)

2. Pausanias (a legal expert)
3. Eryximachus (a doctor, a man of science)
4. Aristophanes (a comedian)
5. Agathon (a writer of tragedies, and the host of the party)
6. Socrates (the Greek philosopher)