Hephaestus and fusion · Lexicon

From the book

Symposium

Plato · Diotimos Editions · 2026

Orientation

At a Glance

The wordHephaestus supplies an artisan’s answer to an otherwise unspoken erotic wish.
In the SymposiumAristophanes asks the company to imagine Hephaestus addressing two lovers who cannot explain what they want beyond continued company.
In this editionThe printed form at 192e is symphysēsai, which the edition renders “forge … together”; later hands offer the different verb “make grow together”.
A place to readThe halves initially want to grow together.

Meaning

Hephaestus supplies an artisan’s answer to an otherwise unspoken erotic wish. The verbs describe fusion and smithing: the second should not be silently assimilated to the earlier desire of the halves to grow together.

Use in the book

Aristophanes asks the company to imagine Hephaestus addressing two lovers who cannot explain what they want beyond continued company. The smith proposes to unite them permanently, alive and in Hades, so they become one instead of two. Aristophanes says none would refuse. This is a hypothetical device for making desire articulate, not an event that occurs within the prehistoric story, and not the narrator’s report of an actual divine offer.

The craft-image anticipates the conclusion that love seeks the whole. It also makes vivid a tension within that desire: perfect union would remove the distinction between the partners who now love one another. The dialogue does not explicitly settle this tension. Agathon’s later list makes Hephaestus himself a learner from Love, extending the erotic explanation from human union to the crafts of the gods.

Places to read

191aThe halves initially want to grow together.
192c–193a2Hephaestus’ hypothetical offer clarifies the unspoken wish.
197a–bCrafts, including bronze-working, are taught by Love.

Translation in this edition

The printed form at 192e is symphysēsai, which the edition renders “forge … together”; later hands offer the different verb “make grow together”. The dictionary headword here is supplied for the printed inflection. The difference is small in appearance but material to the smith’s image.

Ἥφαιστος (Hēphaistos)

Hēphaistos — The divine smith, introduced hypothetically to articulate lovers’ wish for complete joining; later a pupil of Love in Agathon’s craft-list.

192d — ὁ Ἥφαιστος. He stands over the imagined lovers carrying his tools.
197b — Ἥφαιστος χαλκείας. Hephaestus’ bronze-working is taught by Love in Agathon’s praise.

Read: Hephaestus and fusion.

συμφυσάω (symphysaō)

symphysaō — To blow together, as at bellows, hence weld or forge together in this context. It differs from growing together.

192e — συμφυσῆσαι. Burnet’s printed verb for the smith’s second operation.

Read: Hephaestus and fusion.

συντήκω (syntēkō)

syntēkō — To melt or fuse together; the smith offers to make two into one.

192d — συντῆξαι. First verb in the offer of union.

Read: Hephaestus and fusion.