Aristophane's Views On Love
The Symposium by Plato revolves around the subject matter of love. Plato writes about seven different views on love. All of the different views come from the speakers that attended the symposium in honor of Agathon. Eryximachus suggests that each guest should make a speech in admiration of the g-d of Love. The most irrational view on love is provided by Aristophanes' speech. Aristophanes decides to explain love in the form of a legend.
Aristophanes spoke about a myth in order to explain his view on love. He claims that long ago there were three types of people: male, female, and androgynous. He explained that each body had twice of what they have now. Each person had two heads, two sets of hands, two sets of legs, two sets of genitals, etc. He also explained that males were descended from the sun, females were descended from the earth, and the androgynous were descended from the moon. Aristophanes explained that humans did not remain this way because they were very powerful and they made threatening attacks on the g-ds. The only way the g-ds could stop the humans without sacrificing their lives was to have Zeus split them in half in order to make them less powerful.
As each human was split in half, the male human would become two males. The female human would become two females. Finally the androgynous human would become a female and a …show more content…
male. Apollo turned their heads around so that they would be forever facing the cut that had been made. Apollo did this to constantly remind them of the punishment they had been given because Zeus threatened to split them in half once more and let them hop around with one leg.
Love comes into play with this speech when Aristophanes explains the need for the humans’ original nature. People were so drawn to their past and their original bodies that they began to search for their other halves to reunite their bodies and make themselves feel ‘whole’ once more. He also explained that once the bodies found each other they would stay together, not wanting anything else. The humans began to die and Zeus felt pity for them. Zeus decided that he would move their genitals around so that they would face forward. With their genitals facing front they could have sexual intercourse. Those who were formerly known as androgynous could now reproduce. The two men who would come together would have sexual satisfaction now that their genitals face forward. Aristophanes thinks highly of relationships between men and boys since couples as such value boldness, braveness, and masculinity. They value these qualities in both themselves and in their partner.
Aristophanes stated that this is the origin of our natural desire for other human beings.
He explains that when people find their other half, they are overwhelmed with feelings of affection, concern, and love for that person. He claims that people begin to care so much without really ever understanding why. Aristophanes explains that Love is our leader. It is keeping the people from acting up against the g-ds. He states that if people work against Love, they will find themselves on the wrong side of the g-ds. He claims that if people continue to respect the g-ds, that Zeus one day will restore people to the original whole
body.
The speech Aristophanes gives at the symposium cannot be proved. It is a myth and the definition of myth is a widely held but false belief or idea. The idea of Zeus splitting people in half cannot be proven. The argument of love on the other hand is also hard to believe. Eryximachus suggested that each guest would make a speech on the admiration to the g-d of Love, but Aristophanes instead makes a speech about love being a type of pull to one person you were once physically connected to. He gives a tale about how the human body came to be and loses focus on the cause of humans loving each other. His view on love is contradictory.
Aristophanes contradicts himself when he speaks of how humans realize that they love one another. He claims that love is when you care, feel affection, and feel love for one another. But Aristophanes explains that before you get to feel all that love you have to be sexually attracted to one another. This idea throws off the entire myth about finding your other half to feel whole. People can be sexually attracted to multiple people. Once the people get to know other people, they may have strong feelings for a number of other humans. This makes Aristophanes hard to believe because he claims there is only one other person who can make a person feel ‘whole’.
Aristophanes spoke about a myth in order to explain his view on love. He claims that long ago there were three types of people: male, female, and androgynous. He explained that each body had twice of what they have now. Each person had two heads, two sets of hands, two sets of legs, two sets of genitals, etc. He also explained that males were descended from the sun, females were descended from the earth, and the androgynous were descended from the moon. Aristophanes explained that humans did not remain this way because they were very powerful and they made threatening attacks on the g-ds. The only way the g-ds could stop the humans without sacrificing their lives was to have Zeus split them in half in order to make them less powerful.
As each human was split in half, the male human would become two males. The female human would become two females. Finally the androgynous human would become a female and a …show more content…
male. Apollo turned their heads around so that they would be forever facing the cut that had been made. Apollo did this to constantly remind them of the punishment they had been given because Zeus threatened to split them in half once more and let them hop around with one leg.
Love comes into play with this speech when Aristophanes explains the need for the humans’ original nature. People were so drawn to their past and their original bodies that they began to search for their other halves to reunite their bodies and make themselves feel ‘whole’ once more. He also explained that once the bodies found each other they would stay together, not wanting anything else. The humans began to die and Zeus felt pity for them. Zeus decided that he would move their genitals around so that they would face forward. With their genitals facing front they could have sexual intercourse. Those who were formerly known as androgynous could now reproduce. The two men who would come together would have sexual satisfaction now that their genitals face forward. Aristophanes thinks highly of relationships between men and boys since couples as such value boldness, braveness, and masculinity. They value these qualities in both themselves and in their partner.
Aristophanes stated that this is the origin of our natural desire for other human beings.
He explains that when people find their other half, they are overwhelmed with feelings of affection, concern, and love for that person. He claims that people begin to care so much without really ever understanding why. Aristophanes explains that Love is our leader. It is keeping the people from acting up against the g-ds. He states that if people work against Love, they will find themselves on the wrong side of the g-ds. He claims that if people continue to respect the g-ds, that Zeus one day will restore people to the original whole
body.
The speech Aristophanes gives at the symposium cannot be proved. It is a myth and the definition of myth is a widely held but false belief or idea. The idea of Zeus splitting people in half cannot be proven. The argument of love on the other hand is also hard to believe. Eryximachus suggested that each guest would make a speech on the admiration to the g-d of Love, but Aristophanes instead makes a speech about love being a type of pull to one person you were once physically connected to. He gives a tale about how the human body came to be and loses focus on the cause of humans loving each other. His view on love is contradictory.
Aristophanes contradicts himself when he speaks of how humans realize that they love one another. He claims that love is when you care, feel affection, and feel love for one another. But Aristophanes explains that before you get to feel all that love you have to be sexually attracted to one another. This idea throws off the entire myth about finding your other half to feel whole. People can be sexually attracted to multiple people. Once the people get to know other people, they may have strong feelings for a number of other humans. This makes Aristophanes hard to believe because he claims there is only one other person who can make a person feel ‘whole’.