Plato's Symposium

Plato, Allan Bloom wrote, is "the most erotic of philosophers," and his Symposium is one of the greatest works on the nature of love ever written. This new edition brings together the English translation of the renowned Plato scholar and translator, Seth Benardete, with two illuminating commentaries on it: Benardete's "On Plato's Symposium" and Allan Bloom's provocative essay, "The Ladder of Love." In the Symposium, Plato recounts a drinking party following an evening meal, where the guests include the poet Aristophanes, the drunken Alcibiades, and, of course, the wise Socrates. The revelers give their views on the timeless topics of love and desire, all the while addressing many of the major themes of Platonic philosophy: the relationship of philosophy and poetry, the good, and the beautiful.

Seth Benardete is professor of classics at New York University. Among his many books are The Argument of the Action and Plato's Laws: The Discovery of Being, both published by the University of Chicago Press.

Allan Bloom was the John U. Nef Distinguished Service Professor in the Committee on Social Thought at the University of Chicago and the author of several books, including The Closing of the American Mind and Shakespeare on Love and Friendship, the latter published by the University of Chicago Press.