From the book
Symposium
Plato · Diotimos Editions · 2026
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At a Glance
- The wordThe familiar divine names occupy different explanatory roles as the speakers develop their accounts of Love.
- In the SymposiumAristophanes gives Zeus the problem of punishment and survival, and Apollo the practical repair of the divided bodies.
- In this editionThe edition marks the Zeus phrase at 197b as a quotation whose source is unknown.
- A place to readZeus devises, Apollo repairs, and Zeus makes a second intervention.
Meaning
The familiar divine names occupy different explanatory roles as the speakers develop their accounts of Love.
Use in the book
Aristophanes gives Zeus the problem of punishment and survival, and Apollo the practical repair of the divided bodies. Agathon reverses the hierarchy of expertise by making Apollo, the Muses, Hephaestus, Athena and Zeus pupils of Love in their characteristic crafts. This supports his claim that Love has the wisdom he imparts. The two speeches need not be forced into one literal divine chronology: their craft-images serve different explanations.
Places to read
Translation in this edition
The edition marks the Zeus phrase at 197b as a quotation whose source is unknown. The body-repair passage uses the shortened accusative Apollō, distinct from the nominative Apollōn in the craft-list.
Ἀθηνᾶ (Athēna)
Athēna — Athena, included as a learner of weaving from Love.
- 197b — Ἀθηνᾶ ἱστουργίας. Her craft is woven into Agathon’s list of divine pupils.
Ἀπόλλων (Apollōn)
Apollōn — Apollo, the body-repairer in Aristophanes’ myth and discoverer of crafts under Love’s guidance in Agathon’s praise.
Ζεύς (Zeus)
Zeus — Zeus, a deliberating governor in Aristophanes’ myth, and himself instructed in governing by Love in Agathon’s praise.
Μοῦσα (Mousa)
Mousa — A Muse; the collective Muses learn their musical expertise from Love in Agathon’s list.
- 197b — Μοῦσαι. The Muses appear alongside the named craft-gods.