-Unlike modern times, pederasty with young boys was seen as an important part of Greek society.
-Young boys were considered the "beloved", whereas the man was the "lover".
-It's assumed that physical pleasure and attraction were not necessarily mutual.
-What was the benefit of being a "beloved"?
-The lover took it upon himself to teach the beloved about adult society, along with giving the beloved political connections, experience, etc.
-Because of this, the beloved was expected to resist as a sort of "game" between the lover and the beloved.
-Plato (c. 427-347 BC) thought this system was dumb and critiqued it in dialogues such as "Symposium", "Phaedrus", and "Lysis".
-It's from these dialogues that we get the term "Platonic love" (a loving relationship without a sexual element (eros)).
-The concept of eros is addressed primarily in "Symposium" and "Phaedrus".
-"Symposium" takes place at a drinking party (lying down, drinking wine, talking, and listening to music.
-Usually at these things were "flute girls" too (prostitute entertainers).
-Everyone is actually hungover from the night before, so it starts out pretty laid back.
-Eros is discussed in a number of different monologues, by various characters.
-Best speeches are by Aristophanes (Athenian comedian and playwright) and Socrates.
-Phaedrus (Athenian aristocrat) describes eros as a god.
-Pausanius (unclear as to who this dude actually is) describes love as two gods, both called Eros, but are different.
-One is a higher, "heavenly" love, which brings loyalty to his beloved.
-The other is a "lower" love that involves only the satisfaction of sexual gratification.
-Eryximachus (doctor) sees love as a cosmic force which manifests itself in our body's harmony and well-being.
-Aristophanes says that originally humans were joined together in pairs. Some were both male, some both female, and some half-half, but all of them had 8 legs and 2 heads.
-These beings were super-powerful and ended up challenging the gods, so Zeus got pissed off and split them in half with his thunderbolts and this is why we have sex- we're trying to unite with our other halves.
-Therefore, gay men are more "manly" because they come from a body that was 100% man! Also, we better respect the gods, or Zeus will split us again!
-Aristophanes still makes an interesting point though, even if this is meant to be funny- that sex is about union, about making ourselves "whole" again; alone, we are incomplete.
-Agathon (poet and host of the party), gives a speech saying Eros is a beautiful god and blah blah.
-Next is Socrates, who recalls a conversation he had with a woman named Diotima (philosopher and priestess/prophetess) .
-Diotima believes that love is a divine being, but rejects the notion that Eros is a straight-up god because eros is a desire for what is beautiful, an if one desires something then by definition they don't have that thing.
-Therefore, if Eros is a god, then it can't be beautiful and wondrous because he/she/it would embody emptiness and always try to attain things, which doesn't make sense.
-Diotima also said that love can't be simply a desire for union, because you don't have to desire something just because it is a part of you, you can just desire something because it's "good". Love, therefore, is about seeking what is beautiful and good.
-Thus, it doesn't make sense to just seek out hot people for sex, you must seek seek out the Form of Beauty itself! Our desire for beauty is a desire to "give birth in the beautiful and transcend our limitations and finitude by seeking immortality."
-We produce children as a way to live on after we die. Unfortunately, this is not actually immortality, just as hot people are not only "beautiful" people, but actually all people are beautiful because of the inherent beauty of souls.
-A lover will try to "educate" his beloved in this way.
-However, truly seeking beauty is not just finding the beauty in everyone because of their souls, but in seeking beautiful laws in order to educate as many souls as possible.
-For example, Solon (Athenian politician) was considered to be an advanced practitioner of "the erotic arts" :D
-However, even Solon himself had not yet reached the "peak", which Diotima described as a transcendent experience in which the lover arrives at "the Great Sea of Beauty", achieving immortality by realizing immortal truths (e.g. the nature of beauty itself).
-Therefore, true love is love of wisdom- i.e. philosophy!!
-Next, Alcibiades (Athenian politician and general) arrives, and the party gets crazy!
-He ends up making a speech about how awesome Socrates is.
-In the dialogue "Phaedrus", Socrates is walking around in nature when he encounters a beautiful male youth named Phaedrus.
-They start talking about love and what kind of a lover a beloved should satisfy sexually.
-The question arises- is it better to have a lover that is truly in love with him (the beloved), or not?
-Key questions in this dialogue- Is a lover also a friend? Does love really make a lover provide benefits for his beloved, or does it give him reason to ultimately harm his beloved?
-Socrates suggests that love gives a reason to harm his beloved since the lover is expected to work until the beloved "gives in". Therefore, the lover wants his beloved to be weak and dependent, and it's also expected that the beloved will eventually be abandoned once he gets older and hits puberty. A non-lover is a real friend!That's who the boy should give his body to, not just some horny lover who's on the prowl.
-Suddenly, Socrates' "guardian spirit" that keeps him out of trouble appears and Socrates begins to argue the opposite point of view!
-He starts saying that actually, the beloved SHOULD give himself to a lover because our souls are like a pair of winged horses being steered by a charioteer.
-One horse is vicious and wild; the other horse is noble and obedient.
-The charioteer must steer a straight path with these two horses. If he is successful, he can rise up to the heavens to glimpse the gods (or Forms/Truth), but the shitty horse can cause him to fail and he'll fall to earth and join with an earthly body.
-The shitty horse is desire, which defies reason.
-The good horse is honor, which can subdue desire.
-A fallen soul has forgotten what it has seen in the heavens above.
-When we see beauty, our souls are reminded of the beauty we saw in the heavens. Some souls get lost in the trap of being attracted to physical (i.e. imperfect) beauty, but real beauty can make souls want to grow the wings of their horses again. Therefore, the boy must not give in to crude physical unions, but instead hold out for a more true, lasting union- philosophy!
-"Lysis" is a dialogue in which Socrates and friends try to define "friendship" (filia).
-Lysis is, like Phaedrus, another beautiful male youth.
-Socrates wonders whether friendships spring up between people who are alike or different.
-Socrates then posits that all friendships are based on a mutual love for something "good".
-Ultimately, this is seeking out "goodness" with something else- philosophy!
No comments:
Post a Comment