Where Is Your Other Half?
The Symposium and the Creation Myth of Aristophanes
“You complete me.”
— The Joker
“‘Love’ is the name for our pursuit of wholeness, for our desire to be complete.”
― Plato, The Symposium
The Symposium is a very famous and influential philosophical text by Plato, dated c. 385–370 BC. It depicts a friendly contest of extemporaneous speeches given by a group of notable men of Athens — and now historical figures — which include the philosopher Socrates, the general and political figure Alcibiades, and the comic playwright Aristophanes. The speeches are given in praise of Eros, the god of love and desire. This dialogue is one of Plato’s major works and is appreciated for both its philosophical content and its literary qualities.
This dialogue is seen as a sequel to the content of the Frogs (405 BC) a comedy by Aristophanes which attacks the new tragedy of Agathon and Euripides and opposes it to the old tragedy of Aeschylus. A heated debate takes place between Euripides and Aeschylus over who is the best creator of tragedy. Dionysus is the judge. Dionysus declares Aeschylus the winner because Aeschylus prefers Alcibiades. But this is a political choice as Alcibiades — the Athenian’s exiled hero — is still a dominant political presence in the…
