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Symposium (Oxford World's Classics)
 
 
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Symposium (Oxford World's Classics) [Paperback]

Plato (Author), Robin Waterfield (Translator)
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

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Book Description

0199540195 978-0199540198 January 15, 2009 1
In his celebrated masterpiece, Symposium, Plato imagines a high-society dinner-party in Athens in 416 BC. The guests--including the comic poet Aristophanes and Plato's mentor Socrates--each deliver a short speech in praise of love. The sequence of dazzling speeches culminates in Socrates' famous account of the views of Diotima, a prophetess who taught him that love is our means of trying to attain goodness, and a brilliant sketch of Socrates himself by a drunken Alcibiades, the most popular and notorious Athenian of the time. Engaging the reader on every page, this new translation conveys the power, humor, and pathos of Plato's creation and is complemented by full explanatory notes and an illuminating introduction.

About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

'In his lucid introduction Waterfield highlights the artistry and subtleties which might elude non-classicists. He emphasises that Plato's Symposium is fun.' Sophia Sackville-West, London Evening Standard

About the Author

Robin Waterfield is a well-known writer, translator, and editor, much praised for his translations of Plato which include Philebus (1982), Theaetus (1987), Early Socratic Dialogues (1987), and the Republic (1993). He currently works as a consultant editor for Collins-Harvill.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 160 pages
  • Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 1 edition (January 15, 2009)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0199540195
  • ISBN-13: 978-0199540198
  • Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5 x 0.4 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #33,317 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

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Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Adequate Translation; Useless Introduction, October 11, 2011
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This review is from: Symposium (Kindle Edition)
The introduction to this translation by Benjamin Jowett betrays the translator's late-Victorian attitude toward homosexuality. Unless one is studying Jowett himself, it is completely useless and a waste of time to the modern reader. That anyone would try to revise Plato to serve one's bias may be amusing, but this lengthy introduction is far too dull to be humorous, and far too unbalanced to be instructive.

It is more difficult for me to assess the quality of the translation, since I have little background in Greek, but the structure of the text is readable, and the spirit of Socrates certainly shines through. Jowett, it seems, was a better translator than commentator. This translation would certainly serve the casual reader. Just skip the introduction. Please.
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7 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Free, but the introduction is far too long, September 22, 2010
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Andrew (United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Symposium (Kindle Edition)
I gave this five stars because it's free but the introduction takes up 1/3 of the text, which is annoying. Otherwise a good translation of a beautiful work.
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