Items related to The Symposium (Classics)

The Symposium (Classics) - Softcover

Plato

 
9780140440249: The Symposium (Classics)

Synopsis

The scene is at a dinner party for the literati of Athens, the action a series of speeches by the guests. From these emerge a complete and compex philosphy of love. The pivot of the argument is Socrates' speech in which sensuality is transcended and we move from the sensible to the ideal world. But just as the preceeding speeches are vital to the theme and scheme of progression, so too is the brilliant character sketch of Socrates by Alcibiades which rounds off the dialogue. By combining his formidible skills as a philospher and as an artist, Plato creates in The Symposium an ingenious harmony of thought and word, idea and expression that is playful, profound and provocative.

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Review

'This commentary ... does three things superbly. It explains Plato's Greek punctiliously, especially the less familiar constructions, particles, and words that are often loosely or wrongly translated. With a razor's sharpness it cuts through sloppy or faulty logic in Plato's Greek. And it provides the necessary background material, whether historical, literary, sexual, or social.' Greece & Rome

' ... few books can have given in three pages so informative and at the same time so provocative an account of Plato's philosophy.' The Times Educational Supplement

'This is a tight-packed, authoritative, but readable edition.' J.A.C.T. Bulletin

Book Description

Plato's Symposium is the most literary of all his works and one which all students of classics are likely to want to read. Sir Kenneth Dover provides here a sympathetic and modern edition of the kind that is long overdue.

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