Plato s Symposium : Issues in Interpretation and Reception

James H. Lesher

ISBN 10: 0674023757 / ISBN 13: 9780674023758

Published by Harvard University, Center For Hellenic Studies Jan 2007, 2007

About this Item

Neuware - In his 'Symposium,' Plato crafted a set of speeches in praise of love that has influenced writers and artists from antiquity to the present. Early Christian writers read the dialogue's 'ascent passage' as a vision of the soul's journey to heaven. Ficino's commentary on the 'Symposium' inspired poets and artists throughout Renaissance Europe and introduced 'a Platonic love' into common speech. Themes or images from the dialogue have appeared in paintings or sketches by Rubens, David, Feuerbach, and La Farge, as well as in musical compositions by Satie and Bernstein. The dialogue's view of love as 'desire for eternal possession of the good' is still of enormous philosophical interest in its own right. Nevertheless, questions remain concerning the meaning of specific features, the significance of the dialogue as a whole, and the character of its influence. This volume brings together an international team of scholars to address such questions.

Seller Inventory # 9780674023758

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Plato s Symposium : Issues in Interpretation and Reception
• Publisher: Harvard University, Center For Hellenic Studies Jan 2007
• Publication Date: 2007
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0674023757
• ISBN 13: 9780674023758
• Binding: Taschenbuch
• Condition: Neu
• Dimensions: 228W x 153H x 26D millimeters 228 millimeters width by 153 millimeters height by 26 millimeters depth
• Weight: 702 grams

About this title

Synopsis

In his Symposium, Plato crafted a set of speeches in praise of love that has influenced writers and artists from antiquity to the present. Early Christian writers read the dialogue's 'ascent passage' as a vision of the soul's journey to heaven. Ficino's commentary on the Symposium inspired poets and artists throughout Renaissance Europe and introduced 'a Platonic love' into common speech. Themes or images from the dialogue have appeared in paintings or sketches by Rubens, David, Feuerbach, and La Farge, as well as in musical compositions by Satie and Bernstein. The dialogue's view of love as 'desire for eternal possession of the good' is still of enormous philosophical interest in its own right. Nevertheless, questions remain concerning the meaning of specific features, the significance of the dialogue as a whole, and the character of its influence. This volume brings together an international team of scholars to address such questions.

About the Authors

James H. Lesher is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Maryland.

Debra Nalls is Professor of Philosophy at Michigan State University.

Frisbee Sheffield is Research Fellow in Classics at Cambridge University.

Diskin Clay is R.J.R. Nabisco Professor of Classical Studies at Duke University.

C. D. C. Reeve is Delta Kappa Epsilon Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.