From the book
Symposium
Plato · Diotimos Editions · 2026
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At a Glance
- The wordThe prayer is a reported action following prolonged standing, not a transcription of its words or an explanation of the thought that preceded it.
- In the SymposiumAlcibiades says Socrates stands until dawn and sunrise, then leaves after praying to the sun.
- In this editionThe note supplies a comparison concerning prayer to the rising sun, but the continuous passage names neither the prayer’s content nor the solution of Socrates’ problem.
- A place to readWinter walking is followed by a separate summer episode ending in sunrise and prayer.
Meaning
The prayer is a reported action following prolonged standing, not a transcription of its words or an explanation of the thought that preceded it.
Use in the book
Alcibiades says Socrates stands until dawn and sunrise, then leaves after praying to the sun. The temporal sequence is clear; its theological or philosophical motive is not supplied. The episode occurs in summer, when the observers bring their pallets into the cool, and is distinct from the preceding account of barefoot endurance in winter frost.
Places to read
- 220b–dWinter walking is followed by a separate summer episode ending in sunrise and prayer.
Translation in this edition
The note supplies a comparison concerning prayer to the rising sun, but the continuous passage names neither the prayer’s content nor the solution of Socrates’ problem.
ἥλιος (hēlios)
hēlios — The sun, whose rising ends the all-night episode of inquiry.
- 220d — ἥλιος. Socrates remains standing until the sun rises.
Read: Sun and prayer.
προσεύχομαι (proseuchomai)
proseuchomai — To pray; Socrates’ departure follows a prayer directed to the sun.
- 220d — προσευξάμενος. The aorist participle places the prayer before his departure.
Read: Sun and prayer.