Aristophanes on Love

Analytical Essay # 112233

English > Analysis
Gender and Sexuality
Literature > Greek and Roman
Literature > Mythology

Presents Aristophanes' myth about human love from Plato's dialogue "Symposium".

2,660 words () | 0 sources | 2008 | United States

Published on: Feb 17, 2009

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that playwright Aristophanes, author of "Clouds", instead of speaking in rhetoric as other scholars did in Plato's dialogue "Symposium", devises an entertaining myth about the origins of man. Aristophanes seems to propose an idea of love, free from the virtue; however, the author believes that Aristophanes' stance on love is very different from it appears. Aristophanes begins his discourse on love by describing that there originally were three different genders: males, females and androgynous. The paper analyzes the story and the reaction of the other scholars represented in this ancient dialogue.

From the Paper:

"Aristophanes begins his speech by talking about the complete human being. The complete human being was actually two of today's human beings, and they were much stronger. This suggests a type of harmony between two human beings that is not seen in the split humans. It is odd that Plato writes that Aristophanes was scheduled to speak after Pausanias, but was unable because of hiccups. Eryximachus then takes his spot and speaks of love as harmonies. I think this is a key to the fact love is seen more in the harmony of the original human beings, rather than in the split human beings that are purely concerned with sex. It is said that these beings are more powerful and have a concept of overtaking the gods."