Synopses & Reviews
In his celebrated masterpiece, Symposium, Plato imagines a high-society dinner-party in Athens in 416 BC. The guests--including the comic poet Aristophanes and Plato's mentor Socrates--each deliver a short speech in praise of love. The sequence of dazzling speeches culminates in Socrates' famous account of the views of Diotima, a prophetess who taught him that love is our means of trying to attain goodness, and a brilliant sketch of Socrates himself by a drunken Alcibiades, the most popular and notorious Athenian of the time. Engaging the reader on every page, this new translation conveys the power, humor, and pathos of Plato's creation and is complemented by full explanatory notes and an illuminating introduction.
Review
"A brilliant translation that gives new life to a classic. The introduction alone is worth the price of the text. Waterfield brings grace and style to the Symposium, brushing away the dust that pollutes the inferior, dead translations of the past."--William McTaggart, Westminster College
"The translation is quite good, remaining faithful to the original while flowing smoothly for the modern reader."--Ancient Philosophy
"Waterfield's translation is scholarly, yet in touch with the ZEITGEIST. More accessible than its predecessors, students will benefit from the refreshingly new tone of the introduction and translation. The notes and the index of names also add a fresh level of usefulness and a measure of charm."--Elf S. Raymond, Sarah Lawrence College
"Great. Superb notes. Informative but not pedantic."--Professor John R. Lenz, Drew University
"[The] introductory material is lucid and well-chosen."--Bryn Mawr Classical Review
"I like full Intro., marginal ref. numbers, excellent notes, size, and comfortable binding."--Madonna R. Adams, Pace University
"Waterfield's editions in the World's Classics series are superlative. Lucidly translated, his notes of explanation are, additionally, useful both to novice and to scholar."--Verna V. Gehring, Hood College