The Symposium (Penguin Classics)

Everyone should read. This is base for much of humanity today. Especially art and beauty. Would give it all the stars in the sky if I could. Loved it!

This is a short read, the book was written extremely well. I read it college many years ago, just read it again and it opened my eyes and mind ten folds

I enjoyed the story it's interesting in the way it questions the human ideology.

Wild read. Didn’t expect to enjoy it this much—Plato really knew how to stir up a dinner party

5 out of 5 stars! If you like ancient philosophy, then you will love this book. As most of his Socratic dialogues go; Plato, through the lens of Socrates and his interlocutors, examines the nature of love and beauty. It was unlike anything I’ve ever read from Plato before. I found the levels of perspective to be extremely interesting—if you keep that in mind while going through this, it makes for a very interesting read. The idea of “a ladder”, seems to present itself if more than one way.

I like it

The dialogue is compelling and interesting with plenty of contrasting opinions. Love may make the world go round but it has a strange down side, would you not agree?

I can hardly offer a crit of Plato: that would be hubris. The Symposium's words are perfectly clear and therefor this seems to be a good translation. I liked the illustrations but was surprised that more ancient pictures were not used, e.g from Pompeii's murals, as depictions of (a) the different forms of love and (b) the style of classical feasting. Also I thought the introductory section didn't add much value as it seemed to be more of a rehash of Plato's own words without much explanation or giving contemporary context to the concepts of love, nor of how long these concepts have been in philosophical fashion and their influence on philosophers down the ages. And it seems to me to be clear that the love between mentor and mentored boy is not intended to include erotic love, but that no great fuss is made if it occurs, which is more than can be said for many of the intervening generations' and our own approach.

The Symposium is a classic dialogue of Plato's and is set during an ancient Greek drinking party, with the discussion revolving around Love/Desire. As well as a philosophical work, it is a fantastic piece of history and the scene of the party is so well presented that you really do get a sense of the social scene in ancient Greece at the time (circa 400BC). I am quite new myself to the works of Plato and philosophy in general, so I can't offer up a discussion of how it fits into the wider scheme of things but I can say that Symposium is an enjoyable and interesting discussion. Whether the ideas presented in this dialogue are scientifically or even philosophically relevant now I'm not too sure, but it's still a wonderful piece of ancient Greece, complete with the usual references to Greek Gods and Goddesses and musings on the mystery of love. You may be as surprised as I was to read that nearly all references to love and lovers are concerning man and boy relationships, rather than heterosexual relationships, though this is not really important to the nature of love as is discussed. It seems to have been a much more acceptable and normal practice to the ancient Greeks, than it is in the modern world. Some of Penguin classic' series on Plato's dialogues can be difficult to read, being interspersed with lengthy commentary and footnotes, though that this does not happen with this book. The dialogue is unbroken by any commentary and this is better for the reader, as it allows him or her to produce their own understanding of the text. There is a lengthy introduction and closing notes, though if you do intend to read these then these are best read after you have read the dialogue, again so as not to be influenced by the ideas and conclusions of someone else. All in all, this a fairly short but enjoyable book, that is an interesting and an enlightening glimpse into the social and philosophical beginnings of western civilisation.

Très bon service et produit.

I just got the book and I'm looking forward to read it. The only reason, I gave a one star review, is because of the poor packaging of the book😡😡😡. The book was creased and corners looked worn, feels like I bought a book from a vintage bookstore, instead of a brand new book.

Must read

This is probably one of Plato's most accessible texts. Lighthearted and profound. Interesting excursion on the topic of love that offers an intimate glance of an evening amongst friends in ancient Greece.