From the book
Symposium
Plato · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordEntynchanō means come upon or meet, with no necessary implication that the meeting was planned or that it produces understanding.
- In the SymposiumA chance-seeming meeting starts Aristodemus’ participation in the dinner.
- In this editionThe translation varies “met,” “came across,” and “met with” with the object.
- A place to readA person and an unexpected book are encountered.
Meaning
Entynchanō means come upon or meet, with no necessary implication that the meeting was planned or that it produces understanding.
Use in the book
A chance-seeming meeting starts Aristodemus’ participation in the dinner. The same everyday verb can describe finding an unexpected book, encountering an educable beautiful soul, and recognising the extraordinary person one has been with. Alcibiades’ use after the failed seduction changes the encounter’s significance: bodily proximity has disclosed a character he had not anticipated.
Places to read
Translation in this edition
The translation varies “met,” “came across,” and “met with” with the object. These are local renderings of a common verb, not separate technical kinds of revelation.
ἐντυγχάνω (entynchanō)
entynchanō — To meet or come upon; encounter can concern a person, a book, or a soul recognised as beautiful.
- 174a — ἐντυχεῖν. Aristodemus reports that Socrates met him.
- 177b — ἐνέτυχον. Phaedrus, as quoted by Eryximachus, encountered a book praising salt.
- 209b — ἐντύχῃ. Diotima envisages encountering a beautiful and well-endowed soul.
- 219d — ἐντυχεῖν. Alcibiades says he had never expected to encounter such a person.
Read: Meeting and encounter.