Teaching Plato in Translation
by Susan Gorman, Boston University
Original text © 2004 Susan Gorman
The Symposium
The Mediator
I try to make sure that the students understand the important pieces of the banqueters' and Diotima's speech and that they do not get bogged down in digressions. To help do this, I ask them as they are reading the assignment, to look for the major innovation of each speech.
The main innovation that is set forth in Diotima's speeches about love is that love is a mediator. The introduction of the intermediary is the key.
It is precisely because of the nature of love and his parents that he is a mediator (203a). Love is constant but always in flux. Love is complementary to both gods and men (202e).
This movement of love from lover to beloved is key. But what really is the important move? Why is this so innovative? Ask your students. Ask them to find the specific moments in the text when love is described by Diotima (and, therefore, Socrates and, therefore, Plato).
The pivotal moment is that love is no longer a goal in and of itself. Instead, love helps propel movement. In this case, love is the propulsion up the ladder of immortality. If you love another's body, you can create a specific kind of immortality - that is, children. If you love thought, you can create immortal ideas and achieve immortality through their enduring power. Love conveys immortality upon someone not because it itself is immortal, but, instead, because it compels one to produce something immortal.
