Symposium
Plato
Date of Birth
              427 BCE
          Date of Death
              347 BCE
          Known For
              The Symposium, Republic
          In this philosophical dialogue, set during a banquet to celebrate a prize awarded to the tragic poet Agathon for his work, Socrates and his companions discuss the nature of love. In their speeches, which include touches of both tragedy and comedy, Plato’s real-life characters give us some of the most sublime meditations on this topic and make us confront questions about how we speak and write about such philosophical themes.