Plato, I, Euthyphro. Apology. Crito. Phaedo. Phaedrus (Loeb Classical Library)

Plato, I, Euthyphro. Apology. Crito. Phaedo. Phaedrus (Loeb Classical Library)
Average customer rating:

Great for Greek Students

Interesting read...

Useful for the specialist and the student

A FUNNY THING HAPPENED WHILE IMBIBING THE HEMLOCKý

A necessity to any philosophy/greek student.

Plato, I, Euthyphro. Apology. Crito. Phaedo. Phaedrus (Loeb Classical Library)
Plato
Manufacturer: Loeb Classical Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0674990404

Book Description

Plato, the great philosopher of Athens, was born in 427 BCE. In early manhood an admirer of Socrates, he later founded the famous school of philosophy in the grove Academus. Much else recorded of his life is uncertain; that he left Athens for a time after Socrates' execution is probable; that later he went to Cyrene, Egypt, and Sicily is possible; that he was wealthy is likely; that he was critical of 'advanced' democracy is obvious. He lived to be 80 years old. Linguistic tests including those of computer science still try to establish the order of his extant philosophical dialogues, written in splendid prose and revealing Socrates' mind fused with Plato's thought.

In Laches, Charmides, and Lysis, Socrates and others discuss separate ethical conceptions. Protagoras, Ion, and Meno discuss whether righteousness can be taught. In Gorgias, Socrates is estranged from his city's thought, and his fate is impending. The Apology (not a dialogue), Crito, Euthyphro, and the unforgettable Phaedo relate the trial and death of Socrates and propound the immortality of the soul. In the famous Symposium and Phaedrus, written when Socrates was still alive, we find the origin and meaning of love. Cratylus discusses the nature of language. The great masterpiece in ten books, the Republic, concerns righteousness (and involves education, equality of the sexes, the structure of society, and abolition of slavery). Of the six so-called dialectical dialogues Euthydemus deals with philosophy; metaphysical Parmenides is about general concepts and absolute being; Theaetetus reasons about the theory of knowledge. Of its sequels, Sophist deals with not-being; Politicus with good and bad statesmanship and governments; Philebus with what is good. The Timaeus seeks the origin of the visible universe out of abstract geometrical elements. The unfinished Critias treats of lost Atlantis. Unfinished also is Plato's last work of the twelve books of Laws (Socrates is absent from it), a critical discussion of principles of law which Plato thought the Greeks might accept.

The Loeb Classical Library edition of Plato is in twelve volumes.

Customer Reviews:

Great for Greek Students.......2007-01-24

The translation is easy to follow when looking at both languages, which can sometimes be difficult due to certain liberties most translators rightly take to make the English sound better, yet in this Loeb both good English is used and it sticks to the Greek for the most part. This quality makes it helpful for the student of Greek who needs some help while translating if an instructor is not available.

Interesting read..........2005-08-28

I read this book in college when I was learning about Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle...and it's been on the bookself since...but I still read it from time to time...interesting if you're into philosophy or history

Useful for the specialist and the student.......2005-01-10

Like most volumes in the Loeb series, the emphasis is not on word-for-word precision in the translation, but on acheiving greater readability in broader terms. Since the original text in ancient Greek is provided on the facing page, the editors assume that anyone with a little knowledge of Greek can supplement the looseness of the translation by referring to the original. And in general, the compromises made in this way are good ones throughout the series. This particular translation is one of the more succesful in the Loeb series and manages to chart a course quite close to the original while also catching the flavor of idiomatic English.

A FUNNY THING HAPPENED WHILE IMBIBING THE HEMLOCKý.......2003-06-19

The four books in this volume are foundational for anyone interested in Western philosophy. They touch on the "BIG" themes like the gods, Truth, Wisdom and Death...

Death is the ultimate bummer in the ancient Greek worldview. It is not a pretty picture. As seen in the Odyssey, death can be a very nasty place. Even for the best---heroes like Achilles, death is like an eternal waiting room with no eventual appointment. How unsurprising then, that Socrates, who loved to turn Greek convention on its ear, would envision death as the ultimate journey, the ultimate freedom.

Socrates sees the chief value of death as the soul's final separation from the horrid constraints of the body. According to him, the body holds back the soul. With it, man can never encounter the ultimate justice, beauty and truth. Without the body, all things seem possible to Socrates. As far as this line of thinking goes, I find Socrates' thought to be very similar to some forms of Buddhism and the more extreme kinds of Christian asceticism (largely influenced by Plato's Socrates).

However, Socrates goes beyond this. He claims that there is some kind of reward that awaits those who willingly come to death. A seat among the gods he calls it...

How ironic then that Socrates dies amidst the worldly concern of a debt that he owes.

How does that old line go? Something about folks trying to save their own life losing it?

A necessity to any philosophy/greek student........2001-03-04

The mirror text offered in this book is of the most importance to any serious philosophy student. However for the mirror text to have any use you must know some Greek. The Greek text is on one side with Fowler's english translation on the other. It serves as an excellent reference whether using the Fowler translation or another translation because at any point where a misunderstanding occurs which may be due to a word choice in translation, one can simply look at the greek. It serves as a great reference for a person who takes Plato seriously and knows some Greek.

Fables: Babrius and Phaedrus (Loeb Classical Library No. 436)

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A Fabulous Introduction to Fables

Fables: Babrius and Phaedrus (Loeb Classical Library No. 436)
Babrius , and Phaedrus
Manufacturer: Loeb Classical Library
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ASIN: 0674994809

Book Description

Babrius is the reputed author of a collection (discovered in the 19th century) of more than 125 fables based on those called Aesop's, in Greek verse. He may have been a hellenised Roman living in Asia Minor during the late 1st century of our era. The fables are all in one metre and in very good style, humorous and pointed. Some are original.

Phaedrus, born in Macedonia, flourished in the early half of the 1st century of our era. Apparently a slave set free by the emperor Augustus, he lived in Italy and began to write Aesopian fables. When he offended Sejanus, a powerful official of the emperor Tiberius, he was punished but not silenced. The fables, in five books, are in lively terse and simple Latin verse not lacking in dignity. They not only amuse and teach but also satirise social and political life in Rome.

This edition includes a comprehensive analytical Survey of Greek and Latin fables in the Aesopic tradition, as well as a historical introduction.

Customer Reviews:

A Fabulous Introduction to Fables.......2006-03-03

B. E. Perry devoted his long career to the study of fables, culminating in his monumental AESOPICA. His edition of Babrius and Phaedrus was his last major work and he put in it every volt of his high-energy intelligence. His volume has a superb introduction that provides a history of the fable in the ancient world, a far longer and more detailed introduction than can be found in most Loeb editions. The translations are clear and Perry's annotations are invaluable. The fables come through very well, with deeply grounded scholarship but no drag of pedantry. Simply the best edition and translation in English.

Average customer rating:

Socrates is cocky
"To Love - Who Watches Over Beautiful Boys"
Without deepest contemplation of the Soul, all is in error.
Division and Gathering: The Cycle Within the Life
Phaedrus

Phaedrus
Plato , Alexander Nehamas , and Paul Woodruff
Manufacturer: Hackett Publishing Company
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ASIN: 0872202208

Book Description

With a masterful sense of the place of rhetoric in both thought and practice and an ear attuned to the clarity, natural simplicity, and charm of Plato's Greek prose, James H. Nichols, Jr., offers a precise yet unusually readable translation of one of the great Platonic dialogues on rhetoric.

Featuring some of Plato's most soaringly lyrical passages, the Phaedrus investigates the soul's erotic longing and its relationship to the whole cosmos, as well as inquiring into the nature of rhetoric and the problem of writing.

Nichols's attention to dramatic detail brings this dialogue to life. Plato's striking variety in conversational address (names and various terms of relative warmth and coolness) is carefully reproduced, as is alteration in tone and implication even in the short responses. The translation renders references to the gods accurately and non-monotheistically for the first time, and includes a fascinating variety of oaths and invocations. Nichols believes that Plato's thought on rhetoric has been largely misunderstood, and he uses his translation as an opportunity to reconstruct the classical position on right relations between thought and public activity.

Customer Reviews:

Socrates is cocky.......2007-02-16

In this book written by Plato, Socrates is again proving his brilliance (as Plato always has him doing). Phaedrus brings to Socrates a letter from a man claiming that it is better to have sex with a man who doesn't love you than one who does. Socrates then gives his response as to why it is better to be lovers with someone who loves you. A challenging read at points of Socrates speech because he uses crazy metaphors but a wonderful read.

"To Love - Who Watches Over Beautiful Boys".......2006-07-17

This books attempts to answer a question that was apparently very important in ancient Greece:

When an older man wants to seduce a beautiful boy should the older man be in love with the boy or should they just be friends ?

Then it gives this analogy of the feelings of the seducer sprouting like wings from his soul.

All of this was actually quite repugnant for me so I took off a few stars.

If someone were to right a book like this today they would probably be thrown in jail.

Socrates was thrown in jail and executed. I don't know if there's a connection.

It sounds like Socrates was into that man / boy stuff.

I doubt if Plato was into it. He was probably just recording information about the beliefs and customs of the times.

Then again it's hard to really learn much about Plato from these dialogues since they are accounts of conversations between Socrates and someone else (Phaedrus in this case).

I'm planning on reading a few more of these short dialogues before I read "The Laws".

"The Laws" was I think one of Plato's last works so it should tell what Plato finally decided about a lot of issues before he died.

This is the first time I ever read a book where the introduction and editors' notes are longer than the story itself.

However that introductory and additional information was very helpful.

I'll probably order these same authors' version of "Symposium".

Jeff Marzano

Without deepest contemplation of the Soul, all is in error........2005-12-07

_I have heard some call this work a confused jumble of unrelated concepts. These people just didn't get it. There is one unified theme to the Phaedrus: without a deep connection to the soul and to the higher Reality only accessible to the soul, then all human endeavors are in error.

_The first part of the dialogue deals with three speeches on the topic of love. This is used only as an example and is not the primary theme (though it is an extremely thorough and compelling examination of the subject.) The first speech (by Lysias) is clearly in error- it is badly composed, badly reasoned, and supports what is clearly the wrong conclusion. The second speech (by Socrates), while an impeccable model of correct rhetoric, and reaching the correct conclusion is also essentially flawed- for it makes no appeal to the deepest fundamental causes of things. Simply put, it lacks soul. The third argument (attributed to Stesichorus) however, delves deeply into the soul. In fact, the core of the argument is centered around the proof of the existence and nature of the soul. That is the consistency here- unless you are Philosopher enough to have looked deeply within your own soul, to have made contact (recollection) with ultimate Reality (Justice, Wisdom, Beauty, Temperance, etc.) then your arguments are just empty words- even if you are accidentally on the correct side.

_The second part of the dialogue concentrates on showing how true rhetoric is more than "empty rhetoric" (i.e. just clever arguments and tricks used to sway the masses.) True rhetoric is shown to literally be the art of influencing the soul through words. It also reads as the perfect description, and damnation, of modern politics and the legal system. No wonder Socrates was condemned to later take poison- he actually BELIEVED in Justice, Truth, and the Good. As a Philosopher he could not compromise on such things for he knew the profound damage and that it would do to his soul and to his "wings."

Division and Gathering: The Cycle Within the Life.......2003-05-01

'Phaedrus' is the first work ever to provide an explanation to how we organise our ideas, speeches and use our knowledge in a general sense. It explains the basics of an arguing and convincing, within the context of Greek politics and society.

As I said, it's division and gathering that is evident in all of our arguments. We make our claims based upon the similarities and differences in things, and this is the core of argumentation.

In his dialogue style, Plato talks about many other things, that range from what makes a good writing a good one, to the heritance of knowledge. How should knowledge be attained from others? How should we present our knowledge for new generations to understand us? These are some of the questions that come up in Phaedrus.

Plato, one of the clearest writers in philosophy, wrote yet another beautiful work. I've started reading Plato when I was thirteen, and I really enjoy reading his works, which just flow.

I recommend not only this book, but almost any book of Plato's, for all philosophy lovers out there, and all those that would like to make their first attempt in understanding some philosophical issues, which build the base of our living.

Phaedrus.......2001-03-25

In Phaedrus, Plato records the conversation of love and rhetoric between Socrates and Phaedrus. Socrates uses love as a metaphor for rhetoric by categorizing the differences between love and lust, as well as the differences between a philosopher who pursues divine truth, and a poet who forgoes truth for ostentations. Then Socrates and Phaedrus eventually conclude the requirements for being a dialectician. In the course of defending proper love and truth, Socrates pointes out that beauty and truth are divine. Whoever pursues reality would worship beauty and truth with reverence, and his admirations of divinities yield pleasures. Then in order to receive the blessing from gods, the proper lover and the philosopher must overcome desires with reasoning. Conversely, those commoners who are tempted by earthy imitations of the reality would be trapped by carnal or linguistic pleasures, as the improper lover and the poet, who lack reasoning would drown in the momentary enjoyments of their own wantonness.

The Symposium and the Phaedrus: Plato's Erotic Dialogues (S U N Y Series in Ancient Greek Philosophy)

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Some of the best work by histories greatest writer

The Symposium and the Phaedrus: Plato's Erotic Dialogues (S U N Y Series in Ancient Greek Philosophy)
Plato
Manufacturer: State University of New York Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0791416186

Customer Reviews:

Some of the best work by histories greatest writer.......2004-06-13

Yes, Plato could write. He's the best writer ever. Better than Mike Royko, Lester Bangs, Stephen King, Anne Rice, George Will, Homer, Albert Einstein, Stephen J.Gould, Richard Dawkins, William Shakespeare, Ovid, Lao Tzu and Tom Clancey. Aside from a fine pen, this man had a mind beyond belief. He's also much more intelligent than those other authors-only Lao Tzu challenges him (just a little). He worshipped his martyred teacher Socrates, and wrote about him in most of his works.

These works deal with Love, and Plato never just gives you anything. First he has to make you see how little you know about the subject, then he sets you on the right path.

"The Symposium" deals with a party the day after a rather intense drinking party-everyone (almost) is on the verge of a hangover, no one wants to drink to excess, some not at all. They decide to tell stories about Love in mythological style, drinking either wine or water. Socrates goes last, but all the stories are worthwhile-actually there is a mathematical subtext to this that those of you interested in math might enjoy finding out on your own. No doubt there is much here I've never fathomed, and never will. We are left with the impression that the story of Socrates is the most accurate, but the reader (to truly understand) must come up with an explanation of his own, in similar style to the people at the symposium. Plato's books are very intreractive.

Phaedrus is the most inspirational thing I've ever read. It explains Erotic as well as other types of love in basically the same manner, and if I could tell you how beautiful it is, I would. It can take a guy that spends half his time working on his phd and the other half working with amateur wrestlers & wrestling and make him feel like Don Juan. I never appreciated those self help books much, but I actually was inspired to walk up to a strange woman and tell her we'd met in another life after reading this, and she replied that yeah, she thinks she remembers me. It was one of the best moves I ever made, and we've never stopped feeling this way about each other. Enjoy, Learn, and be Happy.

Listening to the Cicadas: A Study of Plato's Phaedrus (Cambridge Classical Studies)
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Platonic Pharmacology

Listening to the Cicadas: A Study of Plato's Phaedrus (Cambridge Classical Studies)
G. R. F. Ferrari
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Self-Knowledge in Plato's Phaedrus

Plato : Phaedrus: A Translation With Notes, Glossary, Appendices, Interpretive Essay and Introduction (Focus Philosophical Library)

Enthusiasm and Divine Madness: On the Platonic Dialogue Phaedrus

Phaedrus

ASIN: 0521409322

Book Description

The focus of this account is how myth and formal argument in the dialogue Phaedrus complement and reinforce each other in Plato's philosophy. Not only is the dialogue in its formal structure a joining of myth and argument, but the philosophic life that it praises is also shaped by the limitations of argument and the importance of mythical and poetic understanding. The book is written for anyone seriously interested in Plato's thought and in the history of literary theory or of rhetoric. No knowledge of Greek is required.

Customer Reviews:

Platonic Pharmacology.......2000-10-16

For twenty-five hundred years we assumed Phaedrus was a badly put together dialogue, an early work, a botched job. Only recently have we decided to take a different tack and think about it as though it were a Masterwork. This is probably the result of literary criticism which places Phaedrus, on the basis of it's literary similarity to other works of that period, not at the beginning of Plato's career, but at the end of the middle period when he was at the height of his powers. It seems ironic that a book that claims that one of the deficiencies of writing is a book's inability to defend itself against misinterpretation should suffer such a fate.

When we assume that the Phaedrus is well written and the author is cogent, then we get commentaries on it like this one that takes the imagery, myth and eroticism of the Phaedrus seriously and explicate it brilliantly. Ferrari covers all the various aspects of the Phaedrus, showing that the parts do make a consistent whole, even a beautiful and profound one. Plato's aim is to show how rhetoric and philosophy differ from each other, as do their practitioners. This he does by having the two interlocutors present three speeches and then speak about the speeches. The speeches are about love, authentic and inauthentic.

What Plato does in Phaedrus cannot be called psychology, it must be called psychomythology. The problem is to comment without demythologizing (Socrates denounces demythologizing as activity for the wise man with nothing better to do). Rather, Ferrari respectfully explicates the myth as myth (unlike Pirsig in Zen and Motorcycle Maintenance), achieving a clarity and fertility of interpretation that is very persuasive. It has to be persuasive because in the end he takes on Jacques Derrida and his famous interpretation of Phaedrus "Plato's Pharmacy" (In his book "Dissemination").

Because of the profoundity of its subject matter, this book is no easy read. But Ferrari helps us out by avoiding academese and writing in a clear, even elegant style. One seldom reads a book so completely satisfying as this one

Plato on Love: Lysis, Symposium, Phaedrus, Alcibiades, with Selections from Republic and Laws
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I hate Plato!!!

Plato on Love: Lysis, Symposium, Phaedrus, Alcibiades, with Selections from Republic and Laws
Plato , and C. D. C. Reeve
Manufacturer: Hackett Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0872207889

Book Description

This collection features Plato's writings on sex and love in the preeminent translations of Stanley Lombardo, Paul Woodruff and Alexander Nehamas, D.S. Hutchinson, and C.D.C. Reeve.

Reeve's Introduction provides a wealth of historical information about Plato and Socrates, and the sexual norms of classical Athens. His introductory essay looks closely at the dialogues themselves and includes the following sections: Socrates and the Art of Love; Socrates and Athenian Paiderastia; Loving Socrates; Love and the Ascent to the Beautiful; The Art and Psychology of Love Explained; and Writing about Love.

Customer Reviews:

I hate Plato!!!.......2007-03-29

Despite my strong dislike for Plato, this translation made his writings easier to read and understand. It is very clear and modern in its language. Indeed, in no other version has any humor come through; and two professors of classical studies have commented on the accuracy of the translation. Perhaps other versions have tried for a more 'high-class' respectable sounding language; regardless, the feel of this makes it seem much more real and accessible. The footnotes are especially helpful giving complete descriptions and explanations of the people, situations, terminology, context, and helping tie together the different sections. Most of Plato's philosophy initially sounds ridiculous and fetishistic, or even to be the inane ramblings of an egocentric, self-important person who over estimates his own intelligence - and may very well be - but in this version the underlying ideas are made obvious and it becomes therefor easy to trace how these writings influenced our cultural philosophy and ideas about sex, the purpose of love, and the nature of human striving for perfection.

Phaedrus and Letters VII and VIII (Penguin Classics)

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Splendor in the grass...Love beside the stream...

Phaedrus and Letters VII and VIII (Penguin Classics)
Plato
Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Customer Reviews:

Splendor in the grass...Love beside the stream..........2001-09-01

The inclusion of "The Seventh Letter" and "The Eighth
Letter," purportedly ascribed to Plato, in this edition of
the *Phaedrus* deserves a comment or two. The translation
and Introductions in this edition by Penguin Classics are
by Walter Hamilton. The edition is copyrighted 1973, but
the copy I have has a last reprinting date of 1988.
The "Introduction" to the Letters states: "Plato's written
works include, in addition to the dialogues, a collection
of thirteen letters. They have formed part of the Platonic
canon since the 1st century A.D. and possibly since the
3rd century B.C., and one in particular, the Seventh,
which is as long as all the rest together, is a document
of crucial importance for our knowledge of Plato's life.
It opens with an account of his early development and of
his reasons for abstaining from public affairs, and it
records in detail the motives which led -- in later life --
to his famous and unsuccessful excursion into the practical
politics of Sicily and his relations with Dionysius II of
Syracuse. It may almost be said that without the Seventh
Letter, Plato's personal history would be unknown."
Plato's relation in the 7th Letter is: "When I was a
young man I expected, like many others to embark, as
soon as I was my own master, on a political career."
[But a revolution occurs in Athens...and the rule of
the 30 is established.] "Naturally enough, in view of
my youth,I expected that this government would bring
about a change from corrupt to upright administration,
and I watched with the keenest interest to see what
they would do. I found that it had taken these men
no time at all to make the previous government look like
an age of gold... So when I saw this and the kind
of men who were active in politics and the principles
on which things were managed, I concluded that it was
difficult to take part in public life and retain one's
integrity, and this feeling became stronger the more I
observed and the older I became."
The *Phaedrus,* on the other hand,
deals with the nature of Love...and the Soul...and
the Realm of Reality and Truth beyond this world
of the senses and shadows... illusions...the Love
spoken of is spoken of in context with the Athenian
mores of the time...it is the Love between two males...
Hamilton's edition is excellent in many ways...he
divides the text at important places and inserts titles
and analyses which alert the reader to the topics which
are going to be discussed in the next section--and
his footnotes are excellent and enlightening as well.
Here are examples of two of his title inserts at most
important places in the dialogue: The Myth./The Allegory
of the Charioteer and His Horses./The Procession of the
Gods and the Vision of Reality./The Fall, Incarnation,
and Liberation of the Soul./The Privilege of the
Philosopher./Recollection as a Means to the Recapture
of Knowledge of the Forms./" ...and... "The Charioteer
Allegory Resumed./The Subjugation of Appetite, typified
by the Bad Horse, and The Awakening of Love for the
Lover in the Beloved./A Concluding Prayer to the God
for Lysias and Phaedrus./"
Hamilton's translation of the dialogue is good, though
there are places that don't please me personally, such
as this: "You are a dear fellow, Phaedrus, genuine gold
all through, if you suppose me to mean that Lysias has
completely missed the mark, and that it is possible to
compose a second entirely different speech." Benjamin
Jowett, in the Dover edition containing both *Symposium*
and *Phaedrus,* translates this as: "You are a dear golden
simpleton if you suppose me to mean that Lysias has
altogether missed the mark, and that I can make a speech
from which all his arguments are to be excluded." And
R. Hackforth, in the Collected Dialogues and Letters
edited by Edith Hamilton and Huntington Cairns, translates
it as: "How kind you are, Phaedrus, and what a pattern
of golden-age simplicity, in supposing me to mean that
Lysias has wholly missed the mark and that another speech
could avoid all his points! Surely that couldn't be so
even with the most worthless of writers."
I much prefer the R. Hackforth translation...it seems
to me to be TRUER to the Spirit and the Subject of the
dialogue...he doesn't flinch...and his prose is clear
and lucid...and meaningful...
But this Hamilton edition is less expensive...as is
the Dover Jowett...and this Hamilton edition has the
excellent inserts in the text which explain what is
being discussed and the flow and pattern
of the argument:
"The argument for the immortality of soul is, like
the final argument of the *Phaedo,* a dialectical
argument; Plato believes that this is something
which can rightly be demonstrated. What soul is
like, however, and the nature of its existence
can be described only in symbols, or what Plato
terms a 'myth.'"
Here is Hamilton at his best: "...and when he
catches sight of the loved one [he] is ready to die
of fear. So at last it comes about that the soul of
the lover waits upon his beloved in reverence and awe.
Thus the beloved finds himself being treated like a god
and receiving all manner of service from a lover whose
love is true love and no pretence, and his own
nature disposes him to feel kindly towards his
admirer."
...it appears the dialogue, here, also resorts
to myth...

Symposium and Phaedrus (Everyman's Library)

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More entertaining than philosophical
Describing love in the Symposium
Voice, comedy, culture

Symposium and Phaedrus (Everyman's Library)
Plato
Manufacturer: Everyman's Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The Republic (Penguin Classics)
The Oresteia: Agamemnon, Choephoroe, Eumenides (Everyman's Library)
The Aeneid (Everyman's Library)
Poetics (Dover Thrift Editions)
The Theban Plays: King Oedipus; Oedipus at Colonus; Antigone (Penguin Classics)

ASIN: 0375411747
Release Date: 2001-03-06

Book Description

It has been said that, after the Bible, Plato's dialogues are the most influential books in Western culture. And of the dialogues, the Symposium is the most delightful and accessible, requiring no special knowledge of ancient Greek philosophy or customs. Dramatizing a party in fifth-century B.C. Athens, the deceptively unassuming Symposium introduces--in the guise of convivial after-dinner conversation--profound ideas about the nature of love. In Phaedrus, here published together with the Symposium, Plato discusses the place of eloquence in expounding truth. In both dialogues, Socrates plays the leading role, by turns teasing, arguing, analyzing, joking, inspiring, and cajoling his followers into understanding ideas that have remained central to Western thought through the centuries.

Customer Reviews:

More entertaining than philosophical.......2003-01-28

The book is not meant to be like Plato's major philosophical works. It is about the nature of love, discussed with a frankness about homosexuality not seen until thousands of years later. For anyone interested in what the Greeks thought of love, it's all there. I found them interesting, also revealing the nature of Plato's writing that is more artistic than technical. Socrate's talk of love being a divine madness or the myth of man and woman once being one are beautiful. The Greeks had a tendency to discuss everything in rational terms or in relation to their mythology, so that some of their ideas seem nonsensical or naive, but that is just from the perspective of someone living centuries later.

Describing love in the Symposium.......2002-04-23

The Symposium was a great book but it was a little hard to understand. I like the way opinions were expressed of the topic of "love!" It makes a person think about "love" in general. What it really is and what it really means. There are many opinions of "love" and not one person has the same idea of love in the book. There are creative ideas expressed in the book about what a person thinks "love" is. It is hard to agree with just one person in the book because all their ideas are great and they all make sense in one way or another. A person may agree or disagree with a speaker in the book because they may not agree with the speaker or they may like the idea of a speaker and agree with him. A person may also agree or disagree with some parts of the idea from a speaker because they may think that the idea starts off great but does not end. A reader may compare and contrast ideas of all the speakers and they may come up with another idea of what "love" is or how it is felt. The Symposium was great to read and it makes you think about what everyone else in the world thinks about "love!"

Voice, comedy, culture.......2001-03-24

Symposium, Plato's most dramatic dialogue, skilfully interweaves six voices together in a discussion of love. More than any other dialogue, this work creates effective characters and provides insight into the Athenian culture's view of love while blending humor into the text. Phaedrus, a later dialogue, is less dramatic in nature but continues the inquiry into the nature of love. Juxtaposing the two in the same text gives the reader a sense of how Plato's style evolved over time

Enthusiasm and Divine Madness: On the Platonic Dialogue Phaedrus

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Enthusiasm and Divine Madness: On the Platonic Dialogue Phaedrus
Josef Pieper
Manufacturer: St. Augustine's Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 189031823X

Book Description

Plato's famous dialogue, the Phaedrus, was variously subtitled in antiquity: "On Beauty," "On Love," "On the Psyche." It is also concerned with the art of rhetoric, of thought and communication.

Customer Reviews:

Miscellaneous- Phaedrus.......2007-01-07

I came across a mention of "Phaedrus" in 'How to Speak a book' by Richard Powers where he refers to Socrates saying 'writing damages memory'. this caught my attention.
Reading Plato, Phaedrus.. about who needs to be accepted- a lover or a non-lover, art of rhetoric, probability's superiority over truth ( I wouldnt have understood this concept without reading 'Gods debris' by Scott Adams), having to summarise after a speech, rules of art .. I just forgot that I was reading this to know about writing and memory..
Its in the Theuth- Thamus tale - the discovery of letters meant to improve memory is seen as creator of forgetfulness.

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