The Symposium of Plato

impiety, which it is the function of divination to cure; and religion may be defined as "the science of human Erotics in regard to piety."

Epilogue: To Eros, as a whole, belongs great power; to the virtuous Eros great influence in effecting human concord and happiness. If my eulogy is incomplete, it is for you, Aristophanes, to supplement it, if you choose.

VII. The second Interlude: 189 A—C.

Aristophanes explains that he is now cured of his hiccough, as a result of sneezing according to Eryximachus’ prescription. He makes a jocular allusion to Eryximachus’ discourse, to which the latter retorts, and after some further banter, Aristophanes proceeds to deliver his encomium encomium A speech or piece of writing that praises someone or something highly..

VIII. The Discourse of Aristophanes: 189 C—193 D.

Prologue: Men have failed to pay due honor to Eros, the most "philanthropic" of gods, who blesses us by his healing power, as I shall show.

(a) Man's original nature was different from what it now is. It had three sexes—male, female, and androgynous; all were globular in shape, with double limbs and organs, derived respectively from the sun, the earth, and the moon.

(b) Man's woes were due to the pride of these primal men, which stirred them to attempt to storm Heaven. In punishment, Zeus sliced each of them in two and handed them to Apollo to stitch up their wounds. But because they began dying of hunger, owing to the yearning of each for his other half, Zeus devised the current mode of reproduction for them, altering the position of the sex organs accordingly. Thus, Eros aims at restoring primal unity and healing the cleft in human nature.

(c) Each of us is a split half of an original male, female, or androgynous being; the other halves we seek in love are determined accordingly. Courage is the mark of boy-loving men and man-loving boys, as both are derived from the primal male. In the intense passion of Eros, it is not merely sexual intercourse that is sought, but a permanent fusing into one (as if by the soldering of an Hephaestus); for Love is “the pursuit of wholeness.”

(d) As it was impiety that caused our separation and bisection, so in piety toward the god Eros lies the hope of meeting with our proper halves and regaining our pristine wholeness.

Epilogue: Let us, then, praise Eros as the giver of both present blessings and bright hopes of healing and restoration in the future.