Book Jacket Status Jacketed It has been said that after the Bible Platosdialogues are the most influential books in Western culture. And of thedialogues the Sym... » 

Book Jacket Status Jacketed It has been said that after the Bible Platosdialogues are the most influential books in Western culture. And of thedialogues the Symposium is the most delightful and accessible requiring nospecial knowledge of ancient Greek philosophy or customs. Dramatizing a partyin fifthcentury B.C. Athens the deceptively unassuming Symposiumintroducesin the guise of convivial afterdinner conversationprofound ideasabout the nature of love. In Phaedrus here published together with theSymposium Plato discusses the place of eloquence in expounding truth. Inboth dialogues Socrates plays the leading role by turns teasing arguinganalyzing joking inspiring and cajoling his followers into understandingideas that have remained central to Western thought through the centuries. «