Significance of Feet in Plato’s Symposium Essay -- Philosophy Religion

The Signifi gutterce of Feet in Platos Symposium Platos Symposium presents an account of the society given at the house of Agathon, where Socrates and Alcibiades are in attendance. The men at the party take turns eulogizing the god physical attraction. In Agathons eulogy, he describes Eros as a soft and tender being. When Socrates speaks, however, he makes a chastening of his hosts account, by saying the soft and tender social occasion is the be relishd, and not the have a go at itr, as Agathon would have it. When Alcibiades enters the party toward the end of the dialogue, he complains that Socrates is deceiving Agathon. Alcibiades was in one case the lover of Socrates, and if he knows anything about his sexual love, it is that Socrates is a tough man who can drink without getting d run awayk and wander the streets of Athens day in and day out without shoes to protect his feet. though it may bet preposterous that feet matter in a dialogue about love, throughout the Symposiu m, the condition of the characters feet helps run across who is the lover and who is the beloved, and furthermore, that those who run outside from love in shame are cowardly and those who stand console are noble. Alcibiades could love Socrates for the very reason that he is tough and unwavering. At the beginning of the dialogue, when Socrates is on his way to Agathons house he retreats to a neighbors porch and stands there, and when Agathon c each(prenominal)s him, he is unwilling to come in (236).1 Though Agathon and the other men want Socrates to join them, Aristodemus who is most in love with Socrates at the time says No, no, leave him alone. That is something of a habit with him. Sometimes he moves off and stands stock still wherever he happens to be (236). Aristodemus shows note and admiration for... ...that Socrates would never be so weak as to run off or wander about in distraction (282) as Alcibiades did when he loved Socrates. Socrates is therefore remarking on the absurdity of his own statement. passim the dialogue, the condition of the characters feet helps determine who is the lover and who is the beloved, just as the tendency to stand firm or to run away helps determine who is noble and who is base. Socrates is noble and firm, as Alcibiades takes off in headlong flight. And, Socrates is beloved by Alcibiades and Aristodemus for his steadfastness, but tries to be tender before Agathon to win his love as well. Alcibiades assertion that Socrates is deceitful is correct and Socrates does try to get all the beauties for himself.Work Cited1. Plato, Symposium, in The Dialogues of Plato, trans. Seth Benardete (New York Bantam Books, 1986).