1 Love and Beauty in Plato s philosophy Mercedes López Mateo This project is about Love and Beauty in Symposium and Phaedrus, both are Plato s work. First of all, we make it with E.J. Ríos article who is a philosophy student. This article is called Beauty and Mysticism in Plato. In addition, we have got the project which our schoolmate, Marisol González López (2014), has made about the sibyls (oracular women who possessed prophetic powers in ancient Greece). After that, we are going to show a panoramic view of the most important Greek words in this books with a little introduction to Plato s world. We are going to explain a general view of Symposium (or the Love). Afterwards, we are going to give you some introduction details from the dialogue Phaedrus (or the Beauty), but we are not going to talk about it in depth. We are going to point out the role that Symposium has got in the Art history and how was the sculpture in ancient Greece. Then, we are going to compare the Plato s work with the Aristotle s one where he includes all the beauty in the theatre. Finally, we are going to see a extract from Symposium and Phaedrus in classic Greek and also in Spanish.
Love and Beauty in Plato s philosophy Mercedes López Mateo 2 1. The voice which guides me: E.J. Ríos: Beauty and Mysticism in Plato. 2.1 Panoramic view of the most important Greek philosophical words used by Plato. 2.2 Introduction to Plato s world. 3. Symposium or Love. 4. Phaedrus or Beauty. 5. Four paintings from Symposium in Art history and the ancient Greek sculpture. 6. Aristotle and the beauty in the theatre. 7. Extract from Symposium and Phaedrus. Conclusions and continuity. Longseller s Edition Plato s bust from IV B.C. Anagrama publisher Salvador Pániker
2.1 PANORAMIC VIEW OF THE MOST IMPORTANT GREEK PHILOSOPHICAL WORDS 3 Greek word Pronunciation Translation Ἔρος Eros Love Ἀγαθός Agathós Good Καλὸς Kalós Beauty Ἐπιστήμη Epistéme True Ψυχή Psiché Soul Δαίμων Daimón Daemon Ἐνθουσιασμός Enthusiasmós Enthusiasm Ἀθάνατος Athánatos Immortal (eternal) Λόγος Lógos Word, reason Aἰσθητική Aisthetikê Aesthetic
3. SYMPOSIUM: MAIN FACTS 4 -This text give us a general theory about love, with six different intellectual men s points of view: Phaedrus, Pausanias, Eryximachus, Aristophanes, Agathon and Socrates, who lived in Athens between V and IV b.c. -The real purpose, despite what many people think, is to build a complete love s theory with timeless elements, like the religion, art or medicine. -We can see the religion in the mythology, also in the beloved s faith, which rise him beyond the rest of people. -This intellectual men met at Phaedrus s house for have dinner, drink and have a good time talking about whatever they want, banal or transcendental. -The meetings, called Symposiums, took part when the sun went down, like our dinners. They were celebrating an award which was given to Agathon. -Also, we find the medicine, on Eryximachus s discourse, when he made a distinction between an ill love and a healthy one. -Finally, we have got the art, which take part two times, with Arostophanes and Agathon. -There are two common interpretation s problems with this text: People think that this is an homosexual apology. This theme is in the text, but it s not the only one. -Some authors like Pániker describe Plato s love like something mystical. I think that this isn t right, because the mysticism is the human soul s ascension, and the main feature from Plato s love is its nearness to men. -After the discourses, Alcibiades appeared. He was a young disciple who was in love with Socrates. He came drunk to the celebration.
5. SYMPOSIUM AT THE HISTORY OF PAINTING 5 A) Rubens s sketch, ca. 1602 Starting Baroque C) Giambattista Gigola, ca. 1790 Late Neoclassical B) Pietro Testa, 1648 Baroque D) Anselm Feuerbach, 1873 Late Romanticism -In the Ancient Greece, people attached too much importance to love, but it wasn t the love that appears here, in Symposium, it was only an homosexual love, not an intellectual one. -As we can see here, each author adapts the characters to his period and his place. -In D) image, we have got German costumes from XIX century. Making this, the author creates a mix of Ancient Greece and his present.