Symposium, Plato
Symposium, Plato
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Symposium

Author: Plato

Narrator: Paul Landergan

Unabridged: 3 hr 36 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 03/24/2026


Synopsis

At a gathering in ancient Athens, a group of distinguished men assemble for an evening of wine, conversation, and philosophical challenge. Each is tasked with delivering a speech in praise of Eros—the force of love that shapes human desire, ambition, and understanding.In Symposium, Plato presents a series of perspectives that move from the practical to the profound. Love is explored as a source of courage, a guide to beauty, and ultimately, a path toward higher truth. As each speaker builds upon—or challenges—the last, the dialogue unfolds into one of philosophy’s most enduring examinations of human connection.At the center stands Socrates, whose reflections shift the discussion beyond admiration and into inquiry, revealing love not merely as emotion, but as a force tied to knowledge, aspiration, and the pursuit of the eternal.Narrated with clarity and restraint by Paul Landergan, this production preserves the intellectual richness and timeless relevance of Plato’s work, inviting listeners into a conversation that has resonated for over two millennia.

About Plato

Plato (427-347 B.C.) was a classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, writer, and student of Socrates. Most of his works, which form some of the core foundations of Western philosophy, are written in the form of dialogues, in which Socrates often figures prominently. His best-known writings include the Republic, the Apology, the Symposium, Crito, and Statesman. Plato's work addresses such diverse themes as the nature of love, human knowledge and understanding, and the ideal form of government.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Glenn on May 01, 2024

Plato’s Symposium is one of the most loved classics from the ancient world, a work of consummate beauty as both philosophy and as literature, most appropriate since the topic of this dialogue is the nature of love and includes much philosophizing on beauty. In the spirit of freshness, I will focus o......more

Goodreads review by Manny on July 28, 2014

OPRAH: Good evening and welcome to What's the Most Spiritual Book of All Time? For people who missed last week's exciting semi-final round, The Sermon on the Mount beat The Bhagavad Gita 4-1 while Jonathan Livingston Seagull unexpectedly lost 3-2 to outsider The Symposium. Let's all welcome our fina......more

Goodreads review by Trevor on July 07, 2007

In this book Socrates argues that it is not always a good idea to have sex with boys and Aristophanes explains we were once co-joined creatures of three sexes - either male/female, male/male or female/female and were shaped like balls. How could anyone not find this a book worth reading?......more

Goodreads review by marie on April 27, 2024

plato really said “fuck socrates” and meant that literally......more

Goodreads review by Roy on February 20, 2020

It has been a long time since I first read The Symposium. That was back in university, in my freshman year course Sexuality in Literature. I admit I found it all a bit shocking: the open tolerance of sexual relationships between men and boys—wasn’t it pederasty? Even now, it is surprising to find th......more