Symposium
Tuesday, September 09, 2025 09:25AM
by Xenophon
In Oeconomicus, Socrates explains how to manage a household. Both the Apology and the Memorabilia defend Socrates' character and teachings. The former is set during the trial of Socrates, while the latter explains his moral principles and that he was not a corrupter of the youth.
The Symposium (Ancient Greek: Συμπόσιον) is a Socratic dialogue written by Xenophon in the late 360s B.C.[1]
In it, Socrates and a few of his companions attend a symposium (a dinner party at which Greek aristocrats could enjoy entertainment and discussion) hosted by Kallias for the young man Autolykos. Xenophon claims that he was present at the symposium, although this is disputed because he would have been too young to attend. The dramatic date for the Symposium is 422 B.C.
Entertainment at the dinner is provided by the Syracusan and his three performers. Their feats of skill thrill the attendants and serve as points of conversation throughout the dialogue. Much of the discussion centers on what each guest is most proud of. All their answers are playful or paradoxical: Socrates, for one, prides himself on his knowledge of the art of match-making.
Major themes of the work include beauty and desire, wisdom, virtue, and laughter which is evoked by Philippos the jester and the jocular discourse of the dinner guests. Xenophon demonstrates clever, intelligent, and reasoned use of playfulness (paidia παιδία) and seriousness (spoude σπουδή) to manipulate the discussion of the above-mentioned themes in a manner appropriate to a symposium.
Misunderstanding
As part of the Socratic Corpus, the symposium was, until fairly recently, regarded as an entirely serious dialogue. Scholars thought that it was written sincerely and they largely interpreted the text literally. Bernard Huss completely changed scholars' understanding and interpretation of the work. He effectively proved that much of the dialogue is intended to be comical, satirical, and ironic. Xenophon cleverly manipulates playfulness (paidia) and seriousness (spoude) in a manner appropriate to the mood of a symposium and conducive to lighthearted discussion.
Ancient authors did not comment upon the work's comedic nature, but treated it seriously as a Socratic dialogue. Modern scholars were thus predisposed to such an interpretation. Before Huss, most scholars awkwardly explained and translated certain sections of the text, but now it is understood that in such sections (for example, 2.15-2.19, 3.10, 4.18, 4.25-4.28, 4.45, 4.60-4.61, 5.1-5.2) a joke is intended.
The Symposium as apologetic literature:
Bernhard Huss presented the theory that the Symposium acts as an apology, a defense, of Socrates.[7] In the dialogue Xenophon portrays Socrates not as a corrupter of the youth or as being an impious man (the charges levied against him in 399 B.C.) but as a moral man. Kritoboulos’ father had handed him over to Socrates to protect him (4.24). Socrates does not corrupt the youth but exhorts Kallias away from the corruptive forces of physical love in his speech in chapter eight. And Socrates defends himself against the Syracusan's charge of thinking not of the gods, but of celestial objects (6.6). In this way, Xenophon implicitly argues for Socrates’ innocence.
The "Forgiving Xenophon"
In section in 8.27, Socrates concludes that associating with virtuous people can foster virtue within oneself. Bernhard Huss uses this conclusion as an explanation for the “forgiving Xenophon.” He claims that because, after the death of Socrates, some of the symposiasts no longer had a teacher of virtue, they became unvirtuous because of their lack of exposure to it. Huss thinks that Xenophon is attempting to account for the abhorrent behavior of Charmides and the other members of the Thirty.
Relationship to Xenophon's Other Works
The Symposium is a Socratic dialogue, one of Xenophon's smaller works. For a complete list of his works, see Xenophon.
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