From the book
Symposium
Plato · Diotimos Editions · 2026
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At a Glance
- The wordThe proof turns on holding and being held, with the god Love and the passion named by the same word.
- In the SymposiumAgathon invokes Ares’ love for Aphrodite: since Love holds the god most courageous among the others, the holder must be stronger and more courageous.
- In this editionThe edition notes that the adapted line originally names Necessity as what Ares cannot resist, and that the Ares-Aphrodite story is the familiar Homeric one.
- A place to readThe sequence from temperance through mastery to courage.
Meaning
The proof turns on holding and being held, with the god Love and the passion named by the same word.
Use in the book
Agathon invokes Ares’ love for Aphrodite: since Love holds the god most courageous among the others, the holder must be stronger and more courageous. The sequence is a rhetorical proof by mastery, not a demonstrated definition of courage. Its shift between the god and the passion is part of the verbal ingenuity.
Places to read
Translation in this edition
The edition notes that the adapted line originally names Necessity as what Ares cannot resist, and that the Ares-Aphrodite story is the familiar Homeric one. The article follows the adaptation as spoken here.
Ἄρης (Arēs)
Arēs — Ares, the war god, used by Agathon as the apparently strongest test of Love’s courage.
- 196d — οὐδ’ Ἄρης ἀνθίσταται. The adapted verse says not even Ares withstands Love.
- 196d — Ἔρως Ἄρη. Love holds Ares, rather than Ares holding Love.
Read: Ares held by Love.