Symposium - AIC

Boasting and self-promotion in Plato’s Symposium
Gabriel Danzig
Speakers at a Greek symposium regularly engage in competition, seeking to outdo each other in
making clever and impressive speeches, criticizing, capping and outmaneuvering their rivals. 1 In
addition to this, the speeches generally exhibit a reflexive, self-promoting or boastful character. Not
merely competing in producing good speeches or in trying to show themselves good as speakers or
thinkers, the speakers also compete in praising themselves for their personal qualities and possessions
and in showing that the lives they lead are worthwhile and enviable. Plato puts this feature of the
symposium to a specifically Platonic purpose, transforming the sympotic contest into a kind of
Platonic dialogue. The contest is not merely to describe eros in the most compelling terms, but by
praising eros in terms that are implicitly self-flattering to show who is the better man or woman. This
is also an important characteristic of the early dialogues. Although they are often seen as devoted
primarily to investigations of philosophical questions, they are no less devoted to the same kind of
personal rivalry.
Xenophon’s Symposium
The reflexive character of the sympotic speech is most clearly evident in Xenophon’s Symposium,
where, instead of speaking in praise of a god or devoting themselves to any other single topic, the
speakers take turns openly praising their own good qualities. 2 Considerable leeway is allowed in
defining the aim of the speeches: one may display the best knowledge one has (3.3) or more generally
describe the thing of which one is most proud (3.4). In practice, the guests boast about diverse
subjects: the ability to make others better, knowledge of the Homeric poems, beauty, wealth, poverty,
knowledge of procuring, the ability to make other laugh, a son who has won athletic contests, one’s
father, the goodness and power of one’s friends. After these claims are made, explanations, which are
never straightforward, are offered in a second round. Callias, who boasts about his ability to make
others better, really wishes to remind the guests of his great wealth, claiming that his wealth enables
him to make others just. 3 Niceratos demonstrates the value of his knowledge of Homer by outlining
the racing strategies and condiment recipes he has acquired from his knowledge of Homer. Critobulus
boasts about the practical advantages that beauty confers on him, especially that fact that everyone
else in the room will serve his needs gladly. Charmides describes the advantages of poverty by
contrasting the burdens placed on the wealthy in democratic Athens. 4 Antisthenes boasts of his ability
to enjoy very little as proof of his great wealth. Hermogenes, who was lined up to speak last, takes
Socrates’ place in the order, and takes his inspiration from Socrates’ well-known communication with
the daimon. Apparently having no friends to boast of, he explains that the gods are his friends. Phillip,
who was supposed to speak after Socrates, speaks next, boasting that his ability to make others laugh
means that he is invited only to happy, opulent events, and not to the reverse. The Syracusan
entertainment provider, who was not scheduled to speak at all, is asked if he is most proud of the
beautiful young male entertainer he has brought. But he complains that he is worried about pederasts
taking advantage of him, and says that in fact he is most proud of the stupid people who pay to see his
performances. Tactfully enough, no one asks Lykon to explain his pride in his son, nor Autolykos to
explain his pride in his father: given the humorous and paradoxical character of the explanations, they
would have had to explain themselves by insulting one another.
Socrates, who is left for last, explains his boast about his ability as a procurer by arguing that
a procurer teaches the art of self-presentation. His presentation is remarkable in several ways. The
previous speakers made impressive boasts, and then explained them in ludicrous and unimpressive
ways. The explanations are let-downs from the high boasts that were originally made. Callias’ ability
to make others better is nothing other than his ability to pay their debts and thereby make them “just.”
Nicaratos’ great mastery of Homer culminates in the suggestion that the company eat onions. And so
1 This aspect of the symposium has been studied in detail recently by Fiona Hobden (The Symposion in Ancient Greek
Thought, Cambridge, 2013, see esp. 201-213.
2 See also Wasps (1186-1207).
3 Compare Cephalus’ words in Republic (330d-331b).
4 The speech of Charmides was supposed to have been given after that of Antisthenes, but the order is reversed. This may
indicate that the two speeches, in praise of poverty and in praise of wealth, are interchangeable. Indeed, no one will really
praise wealth directly although all prefer it.