batch.motif.greek-plato-symposium-jowett-gutenberg-l233-l318
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-plato-symposium-jowett-gutenberg-l233-l318
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/symposium-jowett.md
passage_locator:
label: Symposium / SYMPOSIUM / INTRODUCTION.; lines 233-318
start: '233'
end: '318'
translation: Symposium
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: The passage summarizes Aristophanes' account of original round humans split
by Zeus, the resulting search of each half for its counterpart, Agathon's praise
of Love as a young and beneficent god, and Socrates' questioning that leads to
Diotima's account of Love as a mediating spirit between gods and humans.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: 'Human nature is described as originally having three sexes: male, female,
and a union of the two.'
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The original humans are described as round beings with four hands, four feet,
and two faces on a round neck.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The original humans are described as strong and swift and as attempting to
scale heaven and attack the gods.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The gods debate how to suppress human pride without losing sacrifices.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: Zeus proposes cutting the humans in two so that they will have half the strength
and the gods will receive twice as many sacrifices.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: Zeus splits the humans, and Apollo rearranges their bodies, turns their faces,
removes wrinkles, and ties the skin at the navel.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: The separated halves search for one another and are ready to die of hunger
while embracing.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: Zeus invents an adjustment of the sexes that allows marriage and return to
ordinary life.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: Love is defined in the passage as the desire and pursuit of the whole.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:10
text: The passage says that if humans do not behave piously God may divide them
again.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:11
text: Agathon describes Love as the fairest, blessedest, best, and youngest of the
gods.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:12
text: Agathon says Love dwells in soft places, especially hearts and souls, and
among flowers.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:13
text: Agathon attributes justice, temperance, courage, wisdom, artistic invention,
and beneficent social effects to Love.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:14
text: Socrates argues by questioning Agathon that Love desires the beautiful and
the good because Love lacks them.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: obs:15
text: Socrates reports Diotima's teaching that Love is neither fair nor foul, neither
good nor evil, and is not a god but a great demon or intermediate power conveying
messages between gods and humans.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Original humans
description: Round primordial humans with three sex-types, four hands, four feet,
and two faces, who attempt to attack the gods and are split in two.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Zeus
description: The god who devises and carries out the division of the original humans
and later adjusts the sexes.
role_refs:
- role:3
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Apollo
description: The god instructed to rearrange the divided humans' bodies after Zeus
splits them.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Separated halves
description: The divided human halves that seek one another and embrace.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Hephaestus
description: A god imagined as offering to melt a loving pair into one being here
and hereafter.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Love
description: In Agathon's speech, Love is praised as a young and beneficent god;
in Socrates' report of Diotima, Love is an intermediate demon or power.
role_refs:
- role:8
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:10
- ev:12
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Agathon
description: Speaker who praises the god Love before Socrates' questioning.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:10
- ev:11
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Socrates
description: Speaker who questions Agathon and reports Diotima's teaching about
Love.
role_refs:
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- ev:12
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Diotima of Mantinea
description: A wise woman from whom Socrates says he learned answers about Love.
role_refs:
- role:12
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: Phaedrus
description: Speaker who reminds the disputants of their tribute to the god.
role_refs:
- role:13
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
roles:
- id: role:1
label: primordial composite beings
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: They are described as the original three-sexed form of human nature with
doubled limbs and faces.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: rebels against gods
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: They attempt to scale heaven and attack the gods.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:3
label: divine punisher
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Zeus chooses to cut the humans in two to reduce their strength.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:4
label: divine arranger of sexuality and marriage
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Zeus invents an adjustment of the sexes enabling marriage and ordinary life.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:5
label: divine bodily rearranger
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Apollo is told to twist faces, rearrange bodies, remove wrinkles, and tie
skin at the navel.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:6
label: seeking counterpart
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The halves seek one another and embrace after separation.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:7
label: imagined reunifier
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: Hephaestus is imagined offering to melt lovers into one.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:8
label: praised god
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: Agathon calls Love the fairest, blessedest, best, and youngest of the gods.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: role:9
label: intermediate messenger power
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: Diotima's teaching makes Love a demon or intermediate power conveying prayers
and commands between gods and humans.
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: role:10
label: praiser of Love
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: Agathon's speech praises Love's nature and gifts.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:10
- id: role:11
label: questioner and reporter of Diotima
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: Socrates questions Agathon and recounts Diotima's answers.
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- ev:12
- id: role:12
label: wise teacher
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: Diotima is called a wise woman and is credited with teaching Socrates about
Love.
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: role:13
label: ritual reminder
assigned_to:
- fig:10
basis: Phaedrus reminds the disputants of their tribute to the god.
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: three original sexes
literal_form: male, female, and combined male-female original human types
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs:
- duality
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: round doubled body
literal_form: round body with four hands, four feet, and two faces
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:3
label: scaling heaven
literal_form: attempt to ascend to heaven and attack the gods
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs:
- ascent
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:4
label: division into halves
literal_form: Zeus cutting original humans into two parts
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs:
- duality
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: sym:5
label: navel knot
literal_form: skin tied in a knot about the navel
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:6
label: embracing halves
literal_form: two halves holding one another and neglecting food
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs:
- annihilation_union
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:7
label: melting into one
literal_form: Hephaestus' imagined melting of two lovers into one being
associated_figures:
- fig:4
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs:
- annihilation_union
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:8
label: Love among flowers and soft places
literal_form: Love dwelling in hearts, souls, and among flowers
associated_figures:
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: sym:9
label: intermediate power
literal_form: Love as a demon conveying prayers to gods and commands to humans
associated_figures:
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_exchange
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Origin and rebellion of primordial humans
summary: The passage describes original humans as three-sexed round beings with
doubled limbs who try to scale heaven and attack the gods.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Divine council and division by Zeus
summary: The gods fear both human pride and the loss of sacrifices; Zeus resolves
the problem by splitting humans and having Apollo rearrange them.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:3
label: Search for the lost half
summary: The separated halves look for one another, embrace, and are later given
a sexual adjustment that permits marriage and life activity.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:4
label: Desire for reunion
summary: Hephaestus is imagined asking a pair whether they wish to be melted into
one, and the passage defines love as the desire and pursuit of wholeness.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: scene:5
label: Agathon's praise of Love
summary: Agathon praises Love as a young, fair, just, temperate, courageous, wise,
artistic, and socially harmonizing god.
figure_refs:
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: scene:6
label: Socrates and Diotima on Love
summary: Socrates questions Agathon and reports Diotima's teaching that Love lacks
beauty and goodness and functions as an intermediate power between gods and humans.
figure_refs:
- fig:6
- fig:8
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- ev:12
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Primordial composite humanity divided into sexes
taxonomy_refs:
- duality
basis: The passage presents human nature as originally three-sexed and round, later
cut into halves by Zeus.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: This is extracted from the introduction's summary of Aristophanes' speech,
not from a full direct dramatic passage.
- id: motif:2
label: Rebellion against heaven and divine punishment
taxonomy_refs:
- ascent
- divine_judgment
basis: Original humans attempt to scale heaven and attack the gods; Zeus responds
by halving them to reduce their strength.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The available taxonomy has ascent and divine judgment, but the passage
frames the act in comic-mythic terms.
- id: motif:3
label: Lost counterpart and longing for wholeness
taxonomy_refs:
- annihilation_union
- divine_beloved
basis: The divided halves seek one another, embrace, and would accept being melted
into one; love is defined as the pursuit of the whole.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: The phrase divine_beloved is only loosely applicable because the beloved
counterpart is human, not explicitly divine.
- id: motif:4
label: Piety averts further division
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: The passage exhorts humans to piety so that they may be reconciled to God
and avoid being divided again.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
confidence: medium
cautions: The threat is summarized briefly and may be playful within the speech.
- id: motif:5
label: Love as cosmic and social harmonizer
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_exchange
basis: Agathon attributes to Love the power to create animals, invent arts, rule
gods, and make people of one mind at a banquet.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
confidence: medium
cautions: Sacred exchange is not exact; the passage emphasizes beneficent social
ordering more than exchange.
- id: motif:6
label: Mediating spirit between gods and humans
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_exchange
basis: Diotima's teaching describes Love as an intermediate power conveying prayers
from humans to gods and commands from gods to humans.
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
confidence: high
cautions: The passage calls Love a demon or intermediate power, not a god, in this
account.
- id: motif:7
label: Wise woman teaches hidden account of Love
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: Socrates says he obtained the same answers from Diotima, a wise woman of
Mantinea, who corrected his view of Love.
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage summarizes instruction rather than narrating a full initiation
scene.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage itself notes that Diotima's account of Love as an intermediate
power may be compared with the speech of Eryximachus.
claim_level: same_function
target: Eryximachus' speech in the Symposium
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: Only the introduction's parenthetical comparison is available here;
no details of Eryximachus' speech are included in the provided passage.
- id: claim:2
claim: The passage contrasts Agathon's Love, who dwells in soft places, with Homeric
Ate walking on human skulls.
claim_level: visual_similarity
target: Homeric Ate
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The comparison is explicitly contrastive and limited to bodily or spatial
imagery.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 233-238
quote_or_summary: The passage says human nature originally had three sexes and that
the original beings were round, with four hands, four feet, and two faces.
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 238-242
quote_or_summary: The original beings are described as strong and swift, attempting
to scale heaven and attack the gods; the gods deliberate over human pride and
the fear of losing sacrifices.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/symposium-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 242-245
quote_or_summary: Zeus proposes cutting the beings in two so that their strength
is halved and sacrifices are doubled.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/symposium-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 245-249
quote_or_summary: Zeus splits them, and Apollo is told to turn their faces, rearrange
their bodies, remove wrinkles, and tie the skin at the navel.
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 249-253
quote_or_summary: The two halves search for one another, embrace to the point of
hunger, and Zeus devises a sexual adjustment allowing marriage and ordinary life.
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 258-266
quote_or_summary: A pair would accept Hephaestus' offer to melt them into one, and
the passage says love is the desire and pursuit of the whole.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/symposium-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 266-274
quote_or_summary: The passage says God has halved humans and may divide them again
if they do not behave; humans are exhorted to piety, reconciliation with God,
and finding true loves.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/symposium-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 284-288
quote_or_summary: Agathon says he will speak first of the god and then his gifts,
describing Love as the fairest, blessedest, best, and youngest of the gods.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/symposium-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: lines 288-293
quote_or_summary: Agathon says Love is young, dwells in soft places such as hearts
and souls, and has a habitation among flowers, unlike Homeric Ate on human skulls.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/symposium-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:10
type: summary
locator: lines 293-303
quote_or_summary: Agathon attributes voluntary obedience, justice, temperance, courage,
wisdom, poetic power, creation of animals, invention of arts, authority over gods,
and banquet harmony to Love.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/symposium-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:11
type: summary
locator: lines 309-315
quote_or_summary: Socrates questions Agathon and concludes that Love is of something,
desires what it lacks, and therefore wants the beautiful and the good.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/symposium-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:12
type: summary
locator: lines 315-318
quote_or_summary: Socrates reports that Diotima, a wise woman of Mantinea, taught
that Love is between fair and foul, good and evil, and is a demon or intermediate
power conveying prayers to gods and commands to humans.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/symposium-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:13
type: summary
locator: lines 277-283
quote_or_summary: Phaedrus represses the argument by reminding the disputants of
their tribute to the god before Agathon's speech follows.
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: medium
notes: Extraction is based only on the supplied English introduction summary. Motif
labels use available taxonomy cautiously where directly supported by the passage.
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: |-
No figures, symbols, or comparisons were added beyond those supported by the supplied passage and metadata.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-plato-symposium-jowett-gutenberg__l233-l318
passage_sha256=376c8e10118023481f332a3d9d8d5409565c112956cfa5f52b75f89e3daef678