17 Platonic Love w/ Zina Giannopoulou (Plato's Symposium)
Ancient Greece Declassified
Dr. Lantern Jack
4.8 • 587 Ratings
🗓️ 22 July 2018
⏱️ 34 minutes
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Summary
'Platonic love' is one of the most fascinating (and misunderstood) concepts to have come down to us from the ancient Greeks. Classicist Zina Giannopoulou joins us to set the record straight about the origins of the concept and what Plato's radical theory of love was all about.
In this episode we discuss the book that first introduced this concept of Platonic love – the Symposium by Plato. The Symposium is a philosophical dialogue featuring a cast of characters who try to answer the elusive question, what is love?
Zina Giannopoulou teaches classics at the University of California Irvine. She has written extensively on Plato and recently co-edited the Cambridge Critical Guide to Plato's Symposium, which presents the latest scholarship on Plato's dialogue.
If you are inclined to read the Symposium, we recommend the English translation by Nehamas and Woodruff.
This episode is introduced by Noah Tetzner, host of the "History of Vikings" podcast. Check out his amazing show on your podcast app or visit http://thehistoryofvikings.com/
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello, fellow listeners of ancient Greece declassified. My name is Noah Tetzner, and I host a podcast called The History of Vikings. |
| 0:08.1 | It has been nearly 1,000 years since the last Vikings built settlements and carried out raids on the Christian kingdoms of Europe, and still they continue to fascinate us. |
| 0:18.4 | From hit TV shows to comic book characters and superheroes, |
| 0:21.9 | the Vikings and their gods are still very much a part of our world. Yes, the legendary |
| 0:26.3 | stories, vibrant myths, and rich history of the Vikings can still be seen today. Join me in |
| 0:32.0 | rediscovering the lost stories of history's most legendary people on my podcast, The History of Vikings. |
| 0:39.0 | Now, sit back and enjoy another incredible episode of Ancient Greece Declassified. |
| 0:49.8 | Hi, thanks for tuning in to ancient Greece, declassified. |
| 0:59.1 | Episode 17, Plotonic Love. |
| 1:06.7 | Before we begin today, a brief announcement and explanation for the delay with this episode. |
| 1:12.6 | I spent the last few months finishing up my PhD thesis, which I just defended. |
| 1:17.6 | So that's why it took me a while to get this out. |
| 1:21.5 | Thanks for your patience and really for being such an awesome audience. |
| 1:26.1 | Doing this podcast over the past year and a half |
| 1:28.6 | and getting so much amazing feedback from you guys has truly been encouraging and inspiring. |
| 1:36.3 | Also, I want to thank my advisors and my professors and my family and friends for all you've done |
| 1:43.1 | for me. |
| 1:49.1 | Well then, without further ado, I give you the conversation I recently had with classicist Zena Janopoulou on Plato's Theory of Love. |
| 1:59.0 | Have you ever heard or even said the phrase? |
| 2:02.1 | Let's keep our relationship platonic. |
| 2:05.5 | Well, I've got news for you. |
| 2:06.9 | Y'all are misusing that word. |
... |
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