Symposium (Oxford World's Classics) 1st Edition, Kindle Edition

The Symposium is what it is: a classic of western culture. So, when one offers a review, it's not about the text itself (I think) but for the translation, presentation and notes. So: Wakefield's translation is the smoothest I've read of this great text. His modern English makes the homoerotic context of the dialogue clear, for one thing. I've taught this text to sleepy undergrads who were clueless about the terms "lover" and "beloved" in the speeches, assuming they were about a boy and a girl. But the notes are where Wakefield really shines. Wakefield gives not only a readable account of each of the speeches, a special discussion of love in Greek thought, and a literary analysis, but also a useful set of notes at the end. Over all, this is so much better than the tired British translations we used to read in college back in the old days.

A fascinating insight on several ancient views of love, including Aristotle's in-depth analysis of what love's properties are and what it is about. The preface contains very useful contextual information while relating it to different parts of Symposium. Plato's Symposium itself reads as a story, making it a read easier than it might be otherwise. All in all, the information is well thought out and dictated to the reader in a very efficient way. As someone who enjoys casual philosophy, I recommend it to anyone else who does.

This is an absolutely LOVELY piece of writing. Absolutley worth owning. Lots of amazing quotes to reference, so much knowledge and wisdom. I want to have a symposium someday when I have a bunch of smart friends. Best introduction I've ever found was in this edition. BUY IT!

Bought it for school and was forced to read it.

Retelling of a philosophy story. Not what I expected.

Great

Ok

Hard to get into the meat of this book. Trying

Symposium is a beautiful narration of a high-society dinner party in Athens in 416 BC, in which all guests, including Aristodemus, Phaedrus, Pausanias, Eryximachus, Alcibiades, Aristophanes, Agathon and of course Socrates each give a short speech eulogising love. The peak of the dialogue is Socrates speech which re-tells his learning about love from a woman named Diotima. Diotima tells us that the object of love is goodness not beauty, and also that loves object is immortality through procreation through a beautiful medium. The final speech is that of Alcibiades who insists on eulogising Socrates. The book gives a lot of insight in to the homosexuality of ancient Athenian and Greek society, it's quite surprising if not a little shocking. Symposium is a beautiful little book, and easy to read, like all of Plato's dialogues. I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in Classical Greek culture.

The work itself is an interesting read, and the product came very quickly. My criticism would be on the translation itself - f you were looking to use this book for supplementary translation as part of academic/scholar work (or even if you like to translate Ancient Greek for fun!) then the English is quite far removed from the literal or stylistic original Greek. It's been made more idiomatic for the usual English reader, so it's a fun read but not particularly useful if you're looking for some translation help!

I haven't done the comparison with the Greek, but this translation was good as teaching text. Helpful notes.

A very interesting philosophical read in which, again, Plato’s protagonist is Socrates.It is a guidebook for everyone exploring concept of Eros vs Agape that later became object of study for Christian philosophy (i.e. St Augustine) being the foundation of Western values.

Really good read and excellent for acquainting yourself with Plato's style if you haven't read anything before. It's also helped by the introduction is breif but informative . If you are interested I would definitely recommend !

What I wanted

the book has a few stains and marks on it but for a pound i can't complain really

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It was dispatched quickly and was as described.

A lovely insight into the philosophy of love

Love is a blind force that moves everything, it is beyond good and bad, he has no rational meaning. This is the main message in this dialogue.

A classic, with great insights into the subject matter. Surprisingly easy to read.

EXCELLENT

Very efficient and reliable. Would recommend highly to my friends.No complaints, only full praise.Would use again in the future. Excellent.

I was always looking for this story I read when I was younger that I loved. The telling of how Zeus separated mankind. I could never remember the name of it. It took me years to finally find it, here, as one of the speechs in Plato's Symposium. This version is very modern. Easy to read. I still find I preferred the old text. Though I am happy with this one.

Translated to very easy to read language with a lot of notes and reference reading matter referred to.