The Symposium

THE SYMPOSIUM

PLATO

THE SYMPOSIUM

LioriVox £

The Symposium

by Plato (428-347 BCE)
translated by Benjamin Jowett (1817-1893)

The Symposium (ancient Greek: Łuutóoiov) is a philosophical work written
by Plato sometime after 385 BCE. On one level the book deals with the
genealogy, nature and purpose of love; on another level the it tackles the
topic of knowledge -- specifically how does one know what one knows. The
topic of love is taken up in the form of a series of speeches, given by a
group of men at a symposium or a wine drinking party at the house of the
tragedian Agathon at Athens. Plato constructed The Symposium as a story
within a story within a story. This architecture creates the space for Plato to
build his philosophy of knowledge. The speech of Socrates points out that
the highest purpose of Love is to become a Philosopher, or Lover of
Wisdom. (Wikipedia)

Total running time: 2:15:06

Read by Geoffrey Edwards

Cover design by Kathryn Delaney
Fresco depicting a symposium from the north wall of
the Tomb of the Diver, Paestum, Italy, c. 475 BCE

acoustical liberation of books
in the public domain

OLV1d

INNISOdINAS SHL