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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. Where does Pausanius think the laws are perplexing?

2. How is the muse, Urania, described in Eryximachus' speech?

3. According to Eryximachus, how many kinds of love exist in the human body?

4. According to Glaucon, what is the road to Athens made for?

5. What memory does Aristophanes believe humans are supposed to have of their creation?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is music used by Eryximachus as a metaphor for love?

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

3. What do Socrates and Aristodemus talk about on the way to the house and what is Aristodemus' dilemma?

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

5. How does Phaedrus use Alcestis' story as an example in his speech?

6. What musical example does Eryximachus use to explain the difference between good and bad relationships?

7. Why does Phaedrus include the story of Achilles in his speech?

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

9. What is the setting of the Symposium and the circumstances around it?

10. How is the subject of the speeches at the Symposium decided?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze the two types of love that Pausanias describes in his speech. What are their characteristics, the way they are both applied, and what Pausanias thinks the origin of love is. Also, describe the examples that Pausanias provides to support his theory.

Essay Topic 2

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 3

Diotima teaches Socrates about love and Socrates relates what he has learned to the guests at the Symposium.

1) Describe the definition of love that Socrates begins his speech with, as well as how he reached his opinion.

2) Discuss what Socrates thinks the characteristics of love are, along with why and how they contradict Agathon's speech.

3) Explain the reasons why Socrates believes that love is a spirit.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 890 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample