Symposium

Plato, 427？ BCE-347？ BCEProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

4.8

Word count: 178K words
Chapters: 18

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Symposium by PlatoAuthor: Plato, 427? BCE-347? BCE,Language: English, Class: PA: Language and Literatures: Classical Languages and Literature, Release Date: Jan 1, 1999

Editor's review

Symposium is Plato's classic dialogue exploring eros and beauty, unfolding through a series of speeches delivered in turn at a banquet and rising step by step toward a philosophical contemplation of beauty itself. This Project Gutenberg English edition is a public-domain ebook in the Classical Languages and Literature category, giving readers direct access to the English translation and making it a suitable introduction to Plato's philosophy. Its value lies not in plot but in the tension between the rhythm of argument and the speeches of its characters: readers encounter differing conceptions of Eros and the distinctive questioning method of the Platonic dialogue. It suits close reading in quiet hours, with notes tracing each speaker's position, and book-club discussions on the theme of eros and beauty. The free electronic edition allows repeated searching and cross-checking, but it asks for some patience with English reading.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers new to ancient Greek philosophy and Plato's dialogues
Students who need an English original or translation for course reading
Book-club members discussing the theme of eros and beauty
Self-learners who prefer slow reading with notes to map the structure of arguments

Not a good fit for

Readers looking for light stories or quick entertainment
Readers who rely entirely on modern Chinese translations and avoid English texts
Beginners who expect a systematic philosophy textbook with extensive notes

Reading tips

Read through once, noting each speaker's core position, then return to trace how the argument develops.
Prepare a one-page character list recording who speaks when, to avoid confusing the speakers.
Pause at key passages, restate the argument in your own words, then continue.
Read aloud by role with a book club to sense the immediacy of the dialogue and the rhythm of rebuttal.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this edition in Chinese or English?

According to the information, the language of this edition is English; it is a public-domain ebook released by Project Gutenberg, with an English text. Readers who want a Chinese version may look for a reliable translation elsewhere, but that is not part of this edition.

Can I read Symposium without a philosophy background?

You can try. It is written as a dialogue in which characters speak in turn, so the argument is relatively easy to follow; but it involves concepts such as eros, beauty and the Forms, and without background you may stay at the literal level. Read it once for the gist, then return to key passages with a reliable guide or annotated edition.

Why is a character list recommended?

Symposium consists of several speakers taking turns, whose views echo yet differ from one another. A character list helps readers keep straight who proposes which conception of eros, avoids conflating different positions, and makes it easier on a second reading to follow the argument's development and turns.

What kind of reading suits the electronic edition?

A public-domain ebook is easy to search and revisit, suiting slow reading with notes. Use a reading tool that supports annotation and highlighting to mark key arguments; for book-club discussion, assign different speakers' points to different members in advance.

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About the author

Plato, 427？ BCE-347？ BCE Author

Plato (c. 427–347 BCE) was an ancient Greek philosopher. Reliable details of his life are limited in public sources, and his thought and writings are generally known through later accounts. The library holds 65 of his works, including the multi-volume Republic (Πολιτεία), the Symposium, and the Phaedo. These works are mostly dialogues with Socrates as the central figure, unfolding through question and answer around justice, the governance of the city, love, the soul, and knowledge, combining philosophical inquiry with dramatic literary form. The Republic, which discusses the ideal city and justice, is especially influential. Plato's style is marked by analogy, argument, and open-ended conclusions, and he has had a lasting influence on later Western philosophy and political thought.