Plato's Symposium And The Oppression Of Sappho

The language in Plato’s symposium and the expression of Sappho’s poetry are similar in that they both deal with homoerotic love. Sappho, the only ancient Greek female author whose work survived, talks from the female point of observation, where as Plato’s work concentrates on the idea of love among males. In spite of the fact that both of their points of view are comparative in courses, for example, their thoughts of physical fascination and want, Plato’s work creates a better understanding of the nature of love then Sappho’s ideas. This understanding will be shown with three arguments and counter- arguments in order to demonstrate the dominance of Plato over Sappho. It will than be concluded with an overview of the main idea and a recap of the three arguments made for Plato.

In the Symposium, Pausanias (Greek geographer) conveys the second speech which talks about a few of the societal standards representing homoerotic relationships. The way that a companion (an older man) and his lover ( a younger man) may act towards each other is largely based on what society accepts. It is shown that the totality of this relationship is pursuer/pursued; the older man takes the initiative in the relationship and is the dominant during sexual intercourse whereas the younger man would gain in return the assistance, support and mentor ship from the older man. For example, Pausanias articulates the ethical component when he talks about the conditions under which it is adequate to satisfy a