Showing posts with label literature. Show all posts
Showing posts with label literature. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 11, 2024

The Symposium by Plato: Exploring Love's Depths #shorts


In Plato's "The Symposium," a banquet is held where several prominent figures, including Socrates, gather to discuss the nature of love. Each guest presents their own view, leading to a rich tapestry of perspectives. Phaedrus praises love as the greatest motivator for honor and sacrifice. Pausanias distinguishes between Common and Heavenly love, emphasizing the purity of the latter. Eryximachus, the physician, sees love as a cosmic force, harmonizing the universe. Aristophanes offers a whimsical myth, describing humans as originally being double beings, split apart by the gods, with love being the search for our other half. Finally, Socrates recounts Diotima’s teachings, presenting love as a ladder of ascent from physical attraction to the love of pure, eternal Beauty. Through these dialogues, "The Symposium" explores love's profound complexities and its role in the human quest for meaning and connection.

Thursday, May 9, 2024

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Poems of Sappho #ancienthistory #history


Sappho, an ancient Greek poet from the island of Lesbos, is known for her lyric poetry, particularly her poems celebrating love and beauty. Although only fragments of her work have survived, her poetry continues to captivate readers with its emotional depth and vivid imagery. Here are a few fragments attributed to Sappho:

  1. Fragment 31: "He seems to me equal to the gods that man Whoever he is who opposite you Sits and listens close To your sweet speaking And lovely laughing—oh it Puts the heart in my chest on wings For when I look at you, even a moment, no speaking Is left in me"

  2. Fragment 1: "And moon sets, and Pleiades and the hours go by and I alone lie in bed"

  3. Fragment 16: "Some say a cavalry corps, some infantry, some, again, will maintain that the swift oars of our fleet are the finest sight on dark earth; but I say that whatever one loves, is."

  4. Fragment 94: "Beauty endures only for as long as it can be seen; goodness, beautiful today, will remain so tomorrow."

These fragments offer glimpses into Sappho's themes of love, desire, and the fleeting nature of beauty. Despite the fragmentary nature of her surviving work, Sappho's poetry continues to resonate with readers across the ages, inspiring countless poets and artists with its timeless elegance and emotional resonance.