batch.motif.greek-plato-symposium-jowett-gutenberg-l2763-l2834
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-plato-symposium-jowett-gutenberg-l2763-l2834
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/symposium-jowett.md
passage_locator:
label: Symposium / SYMPOSIUM / INTRODUCTION. / SYMPOSIUM; lines 2763-2834
start: '2763'
end: '2834'
translation: Symposium
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: Alcibiades recounts a nighttime attempt to offer himself and his possessions
to Socrates in exchange for help in becoming virtuous. Socrates replies ironically
by contrasting apparent bodily beauty with true beauty. Alcibiades lies beside
Socrates under his cloak, but Socrates remains self-controlled. Alcibiades then
describes Socrates' temperance, endurance in war, capacity to withstand hunger,
drink, and cold, and his bare-footed marching on ice during the Potidaea expedition.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: After the lamp is put out and servants leave, Alcibiades initiates a private
conversation with Socrates.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Alcibiades tells Socrates that he is worthy of him and offers all that he
and his friends have in hope of assistance in virtue.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: Socrates replies by contrasting a beauty in himself, if it exists, with the
beauty he sees in Alcibiades, describing the proposed exchange as true beauty
for appearance.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Alcibiades interprets his own words as arrows that may have wounded Socrates.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: Alcibiades throws his coat around Socrates, lies under Socrates' threadbare
cloak during winter, and holds him through the night.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: Alcibiades says nothing more happened and that he awoke as from the couch
of a father or elder brother.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: Alcibiades describes Socrates as temperate, self-restrained, manly, wise,
and enduring.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: During the expedition to Potidaea, Alcibiades and Socrates mess together,
and Alcibiades observes Socrates sustaining fatigue and going without food better
than others.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: At a festival, Socrates can outdrink others if compelled, yet Alcibiades says
no one has seen Socrates drunk.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:10
text: In severe winter frost, Socrates marches on ice with bare feet and ordinary
dress while other soldiers wear heavy clothing and foot coverings.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Alcibiades
description: Narrator of the episode, speaker addressing Socrates and the judges
of Socrates' virtue.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Socrates
description: Recipient of Alcibiades' offer; described as self-restrained, wise,
enduring, and physically resilient.
role_refs:
- role:3
- role:4
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: servants
description: Servants who have gone away before the private exchange begins.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: other soldiers
description: Soldiers at Potidaea who wear heavy winter clothing and look angrily
at Socrates as he marches barefoot on ice.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
roles:
- id: role:1
label: first-person narrator
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The passage is Alcibiades' first-person account of his actions, feelings,
and observations.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- id: role:2
label: would-be beloved and petitioner for virtue
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Alcibiades offers himself and his possessions to Socrates for help in virtue.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:3
label: teacher or helper in virtue
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Alcibiades says Socrates can help him in the way of virtue better than anyone
else.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:4
label: self-controlled beloved
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Socrates rejects Alcibiades' solicitation and nothing further happens during
the night together.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:5
label: enduring soldier
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Socrates is described enduring fatigue, hunger, drink, and severe cold during
military circumstances.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: role:6
label: absent attendants
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The servants leave before the private exchange.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:7
label: contrasting soldiers
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Other soldiers are contrasted with Socrates' barefoot marching in frost.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: extinguished lamp
literal_form: lamp put out before the private conversation
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: exchange of beauty
literal_form: beauty for beauty; true beauty in return for appearance; gold in exchange
for brass
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:3
label: cloak in winter
literal_form: threadbare cloak under which Alcibiades lies with Socrates during
winter
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:4
label: arrows of speech
literal_form: words described as arrows that may have wounded Socrates
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:5
label: unwounded by steel
literal_form: comparison to Ajax not being wounded by steel, extended to Socrates
being less woundable by money
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:6
label: bare feet on ice
literal_form: Socrates' bare feet on ice during severe frost
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: private nighttime offer
summary: After the lamp is put out and servants depart, Alcibiades tells Socrates
he is willing to grant favors and possessions in exchange for help in virtue.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: night under the cloak
summary: Alcibiades embraces Socrates under a cloak through the winter night, but
Socrates does not yield to the solicitation.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: reflection on rejection and Socrates' self-command
summary: Alcibiades reflects on dishonor, failed attraction, and Socrates' temperance,
self-restraint, wisdom, and endurance.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:4
label: Potidaea endurance
summary: At Potidaea, Alcibiades observes Socrates enduring fatigue, hunger, drink,
and cold better than others, including barefoot marching on ice.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: wisdom superior to bodily beauty
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: Socrates redirects Alcibiades' proposal from physical desirability toward
true beauty and improvement in virtue.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: The passage frames this through dialogue and irony rather than an explicit
mythic teaching episode.
- id: motif:2
label: sacred or unequal exchange
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_exchange
basis: The proposed transaction is described as an exchange of beauty for beauty,
with Socrates warning that Alcibiades would gain true beauty for mere appearance,
like gold for brass.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: medium
cautions: The exchange is philosophical and erotic rather than explicitly ritual
or sacred in the passage.
- id: motif:3
label: temptation resisted by self-restraint
taxonomy_refs:
- initiation
basis: Alcibiades attempts to captivate Socrates, but Socrates remains superior
to the solicitation, and Alcibiades awakens as from the couch of a father or elder
brother.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The available taxonomy does not include a direct temptation or chastity
motif; initiation is only approximate because the passage concerns moral testing
and self-mastery.
- id: motif:4
label: ascetic endurance of the wise man
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: Socrates is described as surpassing others in endurance of hunger, drink,
cold, and military hardship.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: This is an encomiastic character portrait within a philosophical dialogue,
not a full narrative of ascetic initiation.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage explicitly compares the proposed exchange between Alcibiades
and Socrates to Diomede receiving gold in exchange for brass.
claim_level: same_function
target: Diomede gold-for-brass exchange allusion
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The passage gives only the allusive comparison and does not narrate
the Diomede episode.
- id: claim:2
claim: The passage explicitly compares Socrates' resistance to money with Ajax not
being wounded by steel.
claim_level: same_function
target: Ajax unwounded by steel allusion
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The comparison is a brief analogy in Alcibiades' speech, not a developed
shared motif narrative.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 2763-2778
quote_or_summary: After the lamp is put out and servants leave, Alcibiades wakes
Socrates and says he is willing to offer favors, himself, and his friends' possessions
so Socrates may help him become virtuous.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/symposium-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: 2779-2791
quote_or_summary: Socrates replies ironically that if Alcibiades sees in him a higher
beauty, the proposed sharing would let Alcibiades gain true beauty for appearance,
like Diomede receiving gold for brass, and warns him to look again.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/symposium-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: 2792-2805
quote_or_summary: Alcibiades thinks his words have wounded Socrates like arrows,
wraps his coat around him, lies under Socrates' threadbare cloak in winter, and
says nothing more happened before he awoke as from the couch of a father or elder
brother.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/symposium-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: 2806-2816
quote_or_summary: Alcibiades reflects on rejection and says he wondered at Socrates'
temperance, self-restraint, manliness, wisdom, and endurance; he compares Socrates'
resistance to money to Ajax being unwounded by steel.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/symposium-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: 2817-2824
quote_or_summary: Before and during the Potidaea expedition, Alcibiades and Socrates
mess together; Alcibiades observes Socrates' extraordinary ability to sustain
fatigue and go without food when supplies are cut off.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/symposium-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: 2824-2828
quote_or_summary: At a festival Socrates has great powers of enjoyment and can outdrink
everyone if compelled, but Alcibiades says no human being has seen Socrates drunk.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/symposium-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: 2828-2834
quote_or_summary: In severe winter frost, while others wear heavy clothes and foot
coverings, Socrates marches on ice with bare feet and ordinary dress better than
shod soldiers.
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 uses only the supplied passage. Motif candidates are strongest
where the passage explicitly emphasizes wisdom, exchange, self-restraint, and
endurance; taxonomy matches are approximate for some items.
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 available taxonomy symbol exactly matches the passage's lamp, cloak, arrows, steel, or ice imagery, so symbol taxonomy references are left empty.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-plato-symposium-jowett-gutenberg__l2763-l2834
passage_sha256=7adf85b65b58008419fdac3f70876b4ea0f57346c07ca1d659903ec63443b274