From the book
Symposium
Plato · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordThe cooler and the final drinking bowl are not the same named object.
- In the SymposiumAlcibiades’ substitution magnifies his attempted command over the party: he fills the cooler, drinks it, and orders an equivalent pour for Socrates while acknowledging that the trick cannot defeat him.
- In this editionThe note estimates eight kotylai at about two litres.
- A place to readA cooling vessel becomes the instrument of Alcibiades’ drinking challenge.
Meaning
The cooler and the final drinking bowl are not the same named object. The measure describes the cooler’s capacity, not a prescribed serving for ordinary drinking.
Use in the book
Alcibiades’ substitution magnifies his attempted command over the party: he fills the cooler, drinks it, and orders an equivalent pour for Socrates while acknowledging that the trick cannot defeat him. The later large bowl accompanies the last philosophical conversation. The continuing rightward circulation preserves one small piece of symposium order after the formal programme has collapsed.
Places to read
Translation in this edition
The note estimates eight kotylai at about two litres. That is the edition’s approximate conversion, and the Greek says the cooler holds more than eight. The form phialē should not be replaced by psyktēr in the closing scene.
κοτύλη (kotylē)
kotylē — A measure of capacity; the vessel’s unusually large volume is explicit.
- 214a — κοτύλας. The cooler holds more than eight measures.
φιάλη (phialē)
phialē — A bowl used for drinking in the closing scene.
- 223c — φιάλης. The three remaining speakers drink from a large bowl, going to the right.
ψυκτήρ (psyktēr)
psyktēr — A wine-cooling vessel, pressed into service by Alcibiades as an exceptionally large drinking cup.
- 213e — ψυκτῆρα. Alcibiades orders the cooler after asking for a large cup.