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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why does Socrates refuse to attend Agathon's sacrifice of victory?

2. As Eryximachus explains, what is harmony composed of?

3. Besides Apollodorus, to whom else has Aristodemus recounted the events of the party?

4. Which one of the following is not an example that Eryximachus uses to describe the hostile elements?

5. What is Apollodorus' old name?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Aristophanes' opinion, what other changes do the gods make to humans, and what is the reason for the changes?

2. Why do Socrates and Agathon argue after Aristophanes' speech?

3. Who are the parents of love, according to Pausanias?

4. As Eryximachus explains, what is the role of a doctor in healing a patient?

5. What approach does Eryximachus take when speaking about love and how does it differ from the previous speeches?

6. What is the intention of Aristophanes' speech, and what clarification does he add to the end of it?

7. What are the different types of the creatures that Aristophanes speaks about?

8. What might be seen as controversial about Pausanias' speech?

9. What advice does Eryximachus have for Aristophanes before he starts speaking?

10. What effect does love have on nature and the seasons, as mentioned in the end of Eryximachus' speech?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explain how the subject of love is decided as the main topic for the speeches given at the Symposium. Be sure to include whose idea it was, how it was suggested, how the guests and Socrates, in particular, respond, and what conditions were agreed upon before the speeches begin.

Essay Topic 2

Describe the parallels between love and music that Eryximachus makes in his speech. Include several examples of how love and music are similar and why Eryximachus uses music as an effective metaphor in analyzing the way that love works.

Essay Topic 3

Explain the way that humans were created and developed, according to Aristophanes' speech. Include the descriptions of the creatures themselves, the purposes for the changes made to them, and how they formed relationships and married. Also, analyze how the speech by Aristophanes might highlight a broader point about the need for answers during the time of the Ancient Greeks.

(see the answer keys)

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