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Plato

Symposium

Ancient Greek with an independent English translation.

SymposiumSymposium · 172a–172c

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Symposium · 172a–172c

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Ancient Greek

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ΣΥΜΠΟΣΙΟΝ

ΑΠΟΛΛΟΔΩΡΟΣ ΕΤΑΙΡΟΣ

172aΑΠΟΛ. Δοκῶ μοι περὶ ὧν πυνθάνεσθε οὐκ ἀμελέτητος εἶναι. καὶ γὰρ ἐτύγχανον πρῴην εἰς ἄστυ οἴκοθεν ἀνιὼν Φαληρόθεν· τῶν οὖν γνωρίμων τις ὄπισθεν κατιδών με πόρρωθεν ἐκάλεσε, καὶ παίζων ἅμα τῇ κλήσει, “Ὦ Φαληρεύς,” ἔφη, “οὗτος Ἀπολλόδωρος, οὐ περιμένεις;” Κἀγὼ ἐπιστὰς περιέμεινα. Καὶ ὅς, “Ἀπολλόδωρε,” ἔφη, “καὶ μὴν καὶ ἔναγχός σε ἐζήτουν βουλόμενος διαπυθέσθαι τὴν Ἀγάθωνος συνουσίαν 172b καὶ Σωκράτους καὶ Ἀλκιβιάδου καὶ τῶν ἄλλων τῶν τότε ἐν τῷ συνδείπνῳ παραγενομένων, περὶ τῶν ἐρωτικῶν λόγων τίνες ἦσαν· ἄλλος γάρ τίς μοι διηγεῖτο ἀκηκοὼς Φοίνικος τοῦ Φιλίππου, ἔφη δὲ καὶ σὲ εἰδέναι. ἀλλὰ γὰρ οὐδὲν εἶχε σαφὲς λέγειν. σὺ οὖν μοι διήγησαι· δικαιότατος γὰρ εἶ τοὺς τοῦ ἑταίρου λόγους ἀπαγγέλλειν. πρότερον δέ μοι,” ἦ δ’ ὅς, “εἰπέ, σὺ αὐτὸς παρεγένου τῇ συνουσίᾳ ταύτῃ ἢ οὔ;” Κἀγὼ εἶπον ὅτι “Παντάπασιν ἔοικέ σοι οὐδὲν διηγεῖσθαι 172c σαφὲς ὁ διηγούμενος, εἰ νεωστὶ ἡγῇ τὴν συνουσίαν γεγονέναι ταύτην ἣν ἐρωτᾷς, ὥστε καὶ ἐμὲ παραγενέσθαι.” “Ἐγώ γε

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Symposium

p. 3

Apoll. 172a I think I am not unrehearsed in what you are asking about. For the day before yesterday I was in fact going up to town from my home at Phaleron, and one of my acquaintances, from behind, a long way off, caught sight of me and called out, joking as he called, “O man of Phaleron,”1 he said, “you there, Apollodorus,2 won’t you wait?” And I stopped and waited. And he said, “Apollodorus, I was indeed looking for you only lately, wanting to find out all about the gathering of Agathon3 172b and Socrates and Alcibiades and the others who were at the dinner then, about the speeches on love, what they were. For someone else was telling me about them, who had heard it from Phoenix the son of Philippus, and he said that you knew as well. But he had nothing clear to say. So you tell me; for you have the best right to report your companion’s speeches. But first tell me,” he said, “were you yourself at this gathering or not?” And I said, “It seems that 172c the man who was telling it told you nothing clear at all, if you believe the gathering you are asking about took place so lately that I too could have been there.” “I did

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About This Reading Edition

The complete Symposium, 172a–223d: at Agathon’s banquet the guests praise Love, Socrates recounts Diotima’s teaching, and Alcibiades praises Socrates. Burnet’s Greek faces a new Diotimos Editions English translation, with an introduction, key words, outline, glossary, critical apparatus, and linked translator notes.

Historical Text and Translation

Greek: Plato, Symposium, in John Burnet, Platonis Opera, volume II (Oxford, 1901; second edition, 1910), in a later impression printed by John Johnson and issued by Humphrey Milford no earlier than January 1935, as described by the supplied edition. Its Greek was taken from the Perseus Digital Library transcription and checked against photographs of that impression; Burnet’s readings and critical apparatus are retained. The digital Greek transcription and its modifications are attributed to the Perseus Digital Library, Tufts University, under CC BY-SA 4.0. English translation and editorial matter: Diotimos Editions, 2026.

About Diotimos Editions

This historical edition credits Diotimos Editions as its English translator.

Rights

The ancient Greek work and Burnet’s printed edition are in the public domain. The Perseus digital Greek transcription and its modifications are reused under CC BY-SA 4.0, as verified from the official Perseus repository license. The supplied edition reports checking its transcription against Burnet’s printed pages. The new English translation and editorial matter are credited to Diotimos Editions, 2026; no open license for those new contributions is stated in the supplied files.