batch.motif.greek-plato-symposium-jowett-gutenberg-l2102-l2198
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-plato-symposium-jowett-gutenberg-l2102-l2198
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/symposium-jowett.md
passage_locator:
label: Symposium / SYMPOSIUM / INTRODUCTION. / SYMPOSIUM; lines 2102-2198
start: '2102'
end: '2198'
translation: Symposium
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: Socrates questions Agathon and argues that love desires what it lacks,
namely beauty and the good. Socrates then introduces Diotima of Mantineia as his
instructor in the art of love and reports her argument that Love is neither fair
nor good, but in an intermediate state; because Love lacks good and fair things,
Diotima concludes that Love cannot be a god in the usual sense.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The passage states that one who desires desires what is not already possessed,
what is future or absent, and what is wanted.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Socrates asks Agathon to recall his claim that love of the beautiful set the
empire of the gods in order and that there is no love of deformed things.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: Socrates and Agathon agree that Love is of something wanted and not possessed;
Socrates concludes that Love wants beauty and the good.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: Agathon says that he cannot refute Socrates and allows Socrates' statement
to be assumed true.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: Socrates introduces Diotima of Mantineia as a woman wise in many kinds of
knowledge and as his instructress in the art of love.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: The passage says Diotima delayed the disease for ten years when the Athenians
offered sacrifice before the coming of the plague.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: Socrates reports that Diotima proved to him that Love was neither fair nor
good.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: Diotima gives right opinion as a mean between wisdom and ignorance.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: Diotima says Love is in a mean between fair and foul, and between good and
evil.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:10
text: Diotima argues that gods are happy and fair, possess good and fair things,
and that Love, lacking these things, cannot be a god.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Socrates
description: Speaker who questions Agathon and recounts Diotima's teaching about
Love.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Agathon
description: Respondent addressed by Socrates; he assents to Socrates' argument
and says he cannot refute him.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Diotima of Mantineia
description: A woman described as wise in many kinds of knowledge and as Socrates'
instructress in the art of love.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Love
description: Personified subject of the argument; described as desiring beauty and
good things that he lacks, and as not being a god.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: the gods
description: Divine beings described by Diotima as happy and fair and as possessors
of good and fair things.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:6
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: the Athenians
description: Collective group said to have offered sacrifice before the coming of
the plague.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
roles:
- id: role:1
label: questioning philosopher
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Socrates leads Agathon through questions about desire, beauty, and the good.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:2
label: recipient and transmitter of Diotima's teaching
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Socrates says Diotima was his instructress and that he will repeat what she
said to him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:3
label: respondent in refutation
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Agathon assents to Socrates' questions and says he cannot refute him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:4
label: wise female instructor in love
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Diotima is called wise in many kinds of knowledge and Socrates' instructress
in the art of love.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:5
label: personified desire lacking its object
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Love is described as desiring beauty and good things that he does not possess.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:6
- id: role:6
label: possessors of happiness, fairness, and good things
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: Diotima says gods are happy and fair and possess good and fair things.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:7
label: sacrificial community
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The Athenians are said to have offered sacrifice before the coming plague.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: personified Love
literal_form: Love treated as a male personified being who desires beauty and good
things
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: sym:2
label: intermediate mean
literal_form: 'a mean between opposed states: wisdom and ignorance; fair and foul;
good and evil'
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:3
label: sacrifice before plague
literal_form: Athenians offering sacrifice before the coming of the plague
associated_figures:
- fig:6
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Socrates argues that desire lacks its object
summary: Socrates obtains agreement that desire is for what one lacks, and applies
this to Love as wanting beauty and the good.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:2
label: Socrates introduces Diotima
summary: Socrates says he will rehearse a tale of love heard from Diotima, a wise
woman and his instructor in love, who is also credited with delaying a disease
after Athenian sacrifice.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:3
label: Diotima places Love between opposed states
summary: In Socrates' report, Diotima distinguishes intermediate states from their
extremes and says Love is neither fair nor good, nor therefore foul or evil, but
in a mean.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:4
label: Diotima denies Love's divinity
summary: Diotima argues that gods possess good and fair things, while Love lacks
them; therefore Love cannot be a god.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: desire seeks what it lacks
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The argument repeatedly defines love and desire as directed toward what is
absent, future, wanted, or not possessed.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
confidence: high
cautions: This is a philosophical pattern in the passage rather than a narrative
myth episode.
- id: motif:2
label: wise woman instructs the seeker in hidden or specialized knowledge
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: Diotima is introduced as wise in many kinds of knowledge and as Socrates'
instructress in the art of love.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage reports instruction through philosophical dialogue; it does
not narrate a full initiation sequence.
- id: motif:3
label: intermediate being between opposed states
taxonomy_refs:
- duality
basis: Diotima says right opinion stands between wisdom and ignorance and that Love
is between fair and foul, good and evil.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: The taxonomy reference is broad; the passage presents a logical classification
more than a mythic dualistic cosmology.
- id: motif:4
label: sacrifice before plague and delayed disease
taxonomy_refs:
- sacrifice
basis: The Athenians are said to have offered sacrifice before the plague, and Diotima
is credited with delaying the disease ten years.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage does not explain the ritual mechanism or explicitly say that
the sacrifice itself caused the delay.
- id: motif:5
label: questioning the divinity of a personified power
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Diotima reasons that because Love lacks good and fair things, Love cannot
be a god, despite being personified and commonly called great.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: This is framed as philosophical argument about divine status rather than
as a mythic conflict among gods.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 2102-2198, opening argument on desire
quote_or_summary: Socrates states that desire seeks what is not already possessed,
what is future or absent, and what is wanted.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/symposium-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 2102-2198, Agathon's prior claim and Socrates' recap
quote_or_summary: Socrates recalls Agathon's claim that love of the beautiful ordered
the empire of the gods, and argues that Love is of something wanted and not possessed.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/symposium-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: quote
locator: lines 2102-2198, conclusion of exchange with Agathon
quote_or_summary: 'Short phrases: “Love wants and has not beauty”; Agathon says,
“I cannot refute you, Socrates.”'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/symposium-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 2102-2198, introduction of Diotima
quote_or_summary: Socrates says he heard a tale of love from Diotima of Mantineia,
a woman wise in many kinds of knowledge, who delayed the disease ten years when
the Athenians offered sacrifice, and who instructed him in the art of love.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/symposium-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 2102-2198, Diotima on intermediate states
quote_or_summary: Diotima argues that Love is neither fair nor good, but not therefore
foul or evil; she gives right opinion as a mean between wisdom and ignorance and
places Love in a mean between opposites.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/symposium-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 2102-2198, Diotima on gods and Love
quote_or_summary: Diotima says gods are happy and fair, possess good and fair things,
and that Love, because he lacks these, cannot be a god.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/symposium-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: The passage is a philosophical dialogue with personified Love and a reported
wise instructor. Motif candidates are extracted cautiously because many elements
are argumentative rather than narrative. No external comparison claims were made
beyond the passage's own material.
reviewer_status:
status: needs_review
reviewer: ''
reviewed_at: ''
notes: Machine-generated draft from OpenAI Batch; not human-reviewed.
extracted_by: openai_batch:gpt-5.5
extracted_at: '2026-04-28'
notes: |-
Used only the provided passage and metadata. No symbols from the supplied symbol list are directly present in this passage.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-plato-symposium-jowett-gutenberg__l2102-l2198
passage_sha256=bbd30824897d29fb31a26ac39fccb39c029e82b697f00a7de3f35dffb4b6ab4f