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Greek mythology and the origins of love

Discussion in 'Chit Chat' started by silas99, Feb 16, 2009.

  1. silas99

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    OK so I'm a real geek and I love the ancient classics. I know some people get really bored by it but have a read of this extract from Plato's symposium. Give it a go, I havent met anyone who hasn't loved this interpretation of love. Basically its about a few friends who get together and debate the origins of Love....this is one of their stories. It's beautifully written and is just a small section of Plato's story, but the best part.

    Anyone interested can read the whole thing here:

    http://www.ac-nice.fr/philo/textes/Plato-Works/17-Symposium.htm


    “Mankind ; he said, judging by their neglect of him, have never, as I think, at all understood the power of Love. For if they had understood him they would surely have built noble temples and altars, and offered solemn sacrifices in his honour ; “
    “The sexes were not two as they are now, but originally three in number ; there was man, woman, and the union of the two // the primeval man was round, his back and sides forming a circle ; and he had four hands and four feet, one head with two faces, looking opposite ways, set on a round neck and precisely alike ; also four ears, two privy members, and the remainder to correspond. Now the sexes were three, and such as I have described them ; because the sun, moon, and earth are three ; — and the man was originally the child of the sun, the woman of the earth, and the man-woman of the moon, which is made up of sun and earth, and they were all round and moved round and round : like their parents. Terrible was their might and strength, and the thoughts of their hearts were great, and they made an attack upon the gods // Doubt reigned in the celestial councils. Should they kill them and annihilate the race with thunderbolts, as they had done the giants, then there would be an end of the sacrifices and worship which men offered to them ; but, on the other hand, the gods could not suffer their insolence to be unrestrained.
    At last, after a good deal of reflection, Zeus discovered a way. He said : “Methinks I have a plan which will humble their pride and improve their manners ; men shall continue to exist, but I will cut them in two and then they will be diminished in strength and increased in numbers ; this will have the advantage of making them more profitable to us. They shall walk upright on two legs // After the division the two parts of man, each desiring his other half, came together, and throwing their arms about one another, entwined in mutual embraces, longing to grow into one, they were on the point of dying from hunger and self-neglect, because they did not like to do anything apart ;// They were being destroyed, when Zeus in pity of them invented a new plan : he turned the parts of generation round to the front, for this had not been always their position and they sowed the seed no longer as hitherto like grasshoppers in the ground, but in one another ; and after the transposition the male generated in the female in order that by the mutual embraces of man and woman they might breed, and the race might continue ; or if man came to man they might be satisfied, and rest, and go their ways to the business of life : so ancient is the desire of one another which is implanted in us, reuniting our original nature, making one of two, and healing the state of man.
    Each of us when separated, having one side only, like a flat fish, is but the indenture of a man, and he is always looking for his other half. Men who are a section of that double nature which was once called Androgynous are lovers of women ; // the women who are a section of the woman do not care for men, but have female attachments ; the female companions are of this sort. But they who are a section of the male follow the male, and while they are young, being slices of the original man, they hang about men and embrace them, and they are themselves the best of boys and youths, because they have the most manly nature. Some indeed assert that they are shameless, but this is not true ; for they do not act thus from any want of shame, but because they are valiant and manly, and have a manly countenance, and they embrace that which is like them. And these when they grow up become our statesmen, and these only, which is a great proof of the truth of what I am saving. When they reach manhood they are loves of youth, and are not naturally inclined to marry or beget children, — if at all, they do so only in obedience to the law ; but they are satisfied if they may be allowed to live with one another unwedded ; and such a nature is prone to love and ready to return love, always embracing that which is akin to him. And when one of them meets with his other half, the actual half of himself, whether he be a lover of youth or a lover of another sort, the pair are lost in an amazement of love and friendship and intimacy, and would not be out of the other’s sight, as I may say, even for a moment : these are the people who pass their whole lives together ; yet they could not explain what they desire of one another. For the intense yearning which each of them has towards the other does not appear to be the desire of lover’s intercourse, but of something else which the soul of either evidently desires and cannot tell, and of which she has only a dark and doubtful presentiment. Suppose Hephaestus, with his instruments, to come to the pair who are lying side, by side and to say to them, “What do you people want of one another ?” they would be unable to explain. And suppose further, that when he saw their perplexity he said : “Do you desire to be wholly one ; always day and night to be in one another’s company ? for if this is what you desire, I am ready to melt you into one and let you grow together, so that being two you shall become one, and while you live a common life as if you were a single man, and after your death in the world below still be one departed soul instead of two — I ask whether this is what you lovingly desire, and whether you are satisfied to attain this ?” — there is not a man of them who when he heard the proposal would deny or would not acknowledge that this meeting and melting into one another, this becoming one instead of two, was the very expression of his ancient need. And the reason is that human nature was originally one and we were a whole, and the desire and pursuit of the whole is called love. //
    Wherefore let us exhort all men to piety, that we may avoid evil, and obtain the good, of which Love is to us the lord and minister ; and let no one oppose him — he is the enemy of the gods who oppose him. // I believe that if our loves were perfectly accomplished, and each one returning to his primeval nature had his original true love, then our race would be happy.
     
  2. Fiorino

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    I heard this in Philosophy class, cool story huh
     
  3. Ojala

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    "OK so I'm a real geek and I love the ancient classics"
    Why do you say this like it is a bad thing?
    It's awesome!

    I've always loved this story but I've never read it in such detail so, thank you so much for this!
     
  4. Bookmarked

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    As much as I generally dislike Plato for his ideas he puts forwards in Republic, Symposium is one of his better works, and this is one of the best passages of the whole text.

    An interesting side point, I believe that later on in Symposium, Plato presents a fascinating concept using the word "kaloskaiagathos" meaning (if memory serves) "physically and spiritually beautiful" and then goes on to talk about how a nice looking body means there has to be a nice looking soul inside, which is rather reflected in this piece.
     
  5. lostinthought9

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    ooooh....I LOVE Greek Mythology!!
    I heard this story before, on Xena, of course XD...but I never read the passage.
    Thanks for sharing!!
     
  6. FinalFantasyFan

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    I actually took a class last semester all about classic Greek Literature and am currently enrolled in a class that surveys the works of Plato as well as some Latin and Italian stuff. We read the Symposium at the very beginning of the semester, and it was really interesting. I think that some of our best discussions thus far have been about the symposium. I like the speech of Aristophanes; it is probably the most entertaining of all of them, and it does make me feel good. I just hope that I do well on my midterm on Plato and Virgil on Thursday:dry:
     
  7. Synth177

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    I love Greek mythology! I was the only person in my class that actually enjoyed Homer's Odyssey. I'm also 50% Greek so I guess it's in my blood.
     
  8. No One

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    I love mythology
     
  9. silas99

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    Haha! Could have guessed from the picture that you're a xena buff. I use to love that show as a kid...havent seen it for years! I think though I may be the only lesbian who watched it for the mythology and not for the half naked women prancing around in torn up outfits!
     
  10. RENThead

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    you should listen to a song called 'origins of love' from the musical 'hedwig and the angry inch' its about this...
    it is amazing... what im getting my tattoo of
     
  11. xXHolic

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    Πλάτων is one of the greatest greeks ever!
    so proudto be greek! :')
     
  12. premiumheart

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    I'm a Greek mythology geek as well, but I haven't read that story before, so it's nice to know more about something I'm quite passionate about.
     
  13. davo-man

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    [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YO9FpWX57E&feature=related[/youtube]

    Here's the vid RENThead was talking about :slight_smile: As soon as I started reading the story it's what I thought too :grin:
     
  14. RENThead

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    nice to know im not the only one who can relate everything to a musical :slight_smile:
    thanks

    (ive never been able to figure out how to get a video into a thread here)
     
  15. Rygirl

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    Hey I also love Greek Literature, I'm studying Classical Civalisation at school and we study the playwrites like Euripides and Sophocles.
     
  16. Jenni7117

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    The story of cupid and psyche is my all time favorite! Its soooo good.