A fascinating discussion on sex, gender, and human instincts, as relevant today as ever

In the course of a lively drinking party, a group of Athenian intellectuals exchange views on eros, or desire. From their conversation emerges to series of subtle reflections on gender roles, sex in society and the sublimation of basic human instincts. The discussion culminates in a radical challenge to conventional views by Plato's mentor, Socrates, who advocates transcendence through spiritual love. The Symposium  is a deft interweaving of different viewpoints and ideas about the nature of love — as a response to beauty, a cosmic force, a motive for social action and as a means of ethical education.

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