Alcohol And Love In Plato's Symposium

Alcohol and love, two main forces that transport one outside of themselves and into a new state of being. In Plato’s Symposium the topic is of love and the effects of alcohol become quite apparent through the introduction of Alcibiades. Prior to Alcibiades entrance, it is Eryximachus who sets the tone of the piece in regards to drinking preaching about holding oneself to a standard of moderation. Of course this is all abandoned when Alcibiades comes in. Besides their contrasting views on alcohol, it is Eryximachus’ and Alcibiades’ views on how one should pursue love that set them apart from each other. Eryximachus’ idea of moderation carries over to love as well, while Alcibiades comes to reveal the full, true expression of Dionysiac love,

He becomes broken and is beside himself. While at first this seems like an insult to Socrates, it is actually Alcibiades expression of love. To Alcibiades love is a maddening experience born out of the affect of someone transporting one outside themselves, such as what happens when Alcibiades hears Socrates’ words. Since Socrates never feels the true affects of alcohol he is never able to take apart in Alcibiades’ idea of love. Alcibiades believes in a true and total devotion of self to the object of ones love. To truly take part in love one must entirely give themselves over in madness and drunkenness to their love forming an Dionysiac expression of love. In continuing his speech Alcibiades recognizes that his words, which he initially cautioned should not be taken a full value, actually hold a greater truth to them. During his account of the reverse seduction, Alcibiades makes a play on a common phrase, “το λεγομενον, οινος ανευ τε παιδων και μετα παιδων ην αληθης,” (As the saying goes that there is truth in wine both when the children/slaves are present and when they are gone. Symposium 217E). The original phrase was “There’s truth in wine and children,” but Alcibiades also plays on a pun on the phrase “There’s truth in wine without slaves,” since the word παιδων means both children and slaves. Alcibiades intentions in his play on words is to show that in this drunken state it does not matter if

Symposium 222C) Socrates once again shows that he is unaffected by words of love. The fullness of Alcibiades devotion to him is just played off as Socrates commends him on his mental acuteness. However this is not how the seemingly out of his mind Alcibiades sees himself. Amidst a complete declaration of another’s love to himself and the madness that follows this love Socrates still stands stoic and unchanging. Socrates tries to continue on his conversation with Agathon dismissing the total interruption of Alcibiades when yet again the conversation is interrupted. Though this time an interruption of a party of people not just an individual and the whole thing collapse into absolute chaos as once again the drinking begins, “και ουκετι εν κοσμω ουδενι αναγκαζεσθαι πιωειω παμπολυν οινον,” (and in no clear order they were all compelled to drink a vast amount of wine, Symposium 223B). Here Alcibiades gets his way as the drinking commences again. This ending of the Symposium would seem to be a complete collapse into Alcibiades drunken Dionysiac love if it were once again not for the stoic Socrates. One by one they begging dropping off to sleep, but it is Socrates who remains awake and then heads back to the city to continue his day