From the book
Symposium
Plato · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordThe three labels combine intellectual resource with enchantment and ambiguity.
- In the SymposiumDiotima places these powers beside Love’s lifelong love of wisdom.
- Reading contextDiotima places these powers beside Love’s lifelong love of wisdom.
- A place to readLove’s mixed powers include philosophy and enchantment.
Meaning
The three labels combine intellectual resource with enchantment and ambiguity. They are not a definition of philosophy as fraud.
Use in the book
Diotima places these powers beside Love’s lifelong love of wisdom. The portrait resists a sanitized picture of a tender, securely perfect god: desire is needy, inventive and capable of captivating others. Her own later comparison with accomplished sophists concerns the assurance of her answer. It does not by itself prove that Socrates rejects the account, since he explicitly endorses it at the end. Nor should potion-worker here be converted into a claim that Love literally poisons a named victim.
Places to read
γόης (goēs)
goēs — Sorcerer or enchanter; a potentially unsettling image of Love’s persuasive power.
- 203d — δεινὸς γόης. Love is described as a formidable sorcerer.
σοφιστής (sophistēs)
sophistēs — Sophist or expert performer/teacher; its force varies with context.
φαρμακεύς (pharmakeus)
pharmakeus — A worker with potions, rendered poisoner here.
- 203d — φαρμακεὺς. The label belongs to Love’s mixed, resourceful character.