From the book
Symposium
Plato · Diotimos Editions · 2026
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At a Glance
- The wordThe printed form is a participle describing those who undergo the Corybantic condition, not the proper noun alone.
- In the SymposiumAlcibiades compares the bodily effects of hearing Socrates with ritual excitement: his heart leaps and tears flow.
- In this editionThe edition’s “the Corybants’” compresses the Greek participial construction into familiar English.
- A place to readBodily agitation and tears distinguish Socratic discourse from admired oratory.
Meaning
The printed form is a participle describing those who undergo the Corybantic condition, not the proper noun alone.
Use in the book
Alcibiades compares the bodily effects of hearing Socrates with ritual excitement: his heart leaps and tears flow. The comparison’s “more” intensifies the claim, while the following confession explains its ethical content. He recognises his own servile condition and his neglect of himself. The passage neither identifies philosophy with a particular cult nor supplies a general classification of inspired madness.
Places to read
- 215d–216aBodily agitation and tears distinguish Socratic discourse from admired oratory.
Translation in this edition
The edition’s “the Corybants’” compresses the Greek participial construction into familiar English. Its note supplies ritual context; the claim of heightened response belongs to Alcibiades.
κορυβαντιάω (korybantiaō)
korybantiaō — To be seized by Corybantic frenzy or perform its ecstatic response; Alcibiades uses a comparison, not a formal diagnosis.
- 215e — κορυβαντιώντων. His heart leaps even more than the hearts of those in Corybantic frenzy.
Read: Corybantic response.