Symposium - AIC

Gabriel Danzig
way. While there may be certain acts that are prohibited to those who are incapable of performing
them in a fine way, to the better kind of lover, like himself, everything is permitted.
Because of his virtue the good lover receives numerous leniencies. Since the only good
motive for forming a relationship with an older lover is educational improvement, he is freed from the
obligation to provide material benefits – and is even forbidden to do so (184a5-b7). Such virtuous
couples are, by Athenian custom as interpreted by Pausanias, freed from any ordinary moral
conventions and are free to act as slavishly as they wish one to the other. 23 There is even a convenient
escape hatch involved: if anyone gives sexual favors to a Pausanias, and then finds that he lacks any
educational value, he has nothing to be ashamed of, as long as he was careful to accept no gifts
(185a5-b5).
Given his desire to trade virtue for sex, the best possible theory for him to espouse would
be one that holds that wisdom and virtue may be transmitted sexually via the semen. 24 Although
Pausanias does not mention this theory explicitly, there is some evidence to suggest that he and
other men said things like that to their eromenoi. His beloved Agathon seems to believe this
theory, since he asks Socrates sit next to him, so that “touching you I may benefit from the
wisdom that came to you in the porch” (175c-d). 25 In light of Socrates’ response, this appears to
be a playful offer to play a passive sexual role for Socrates. Socrates understands this as a
reference to the transmission of wisdom through the seminal fluid, but he rejects the offer
commenting that wisdom is not a liquid (and hence a fortiori not a bodily fluid) that can be
transferred from one person to another (175d) thus demonstrating his disinterest in sexual
relations by publicly foreclosing the possibility of using this claim in the future.
To whom does Pausanias address his advertisement? Because he is the long-term lover of
Agathon, who is now thirty years old, many commentators have assumed that he cannot be making a
play for a new paidika, however suitable for that his speech may seem. Rutherford assumes that his
aim is to impress Agathon. 26 But Agathon has had enough time to get to know Pausanias already, and
hearing about it again would not make much difference. But is it right to assume that Pausanias is
faithful to Agathon? Although Pausanias has spoken at length about long-term devotion, it is
interesting to note that, in contrast to Aristophanes, he said nothing to imply exclusivity in his
description of the better lover. Just as Agathon seems free to make advances to Socrates on this
occasion (222d-223b), Pausanias must also be free to make a play for other young men, either those in
the room, or those who may hear about his views at second hand. Given Agathon’s success in the
recent tragic competition, Pausanias may even be using the occasion to toot his own horn by showing
how successfully his paidika turned out.
Even if he has no practical aims, it seems obvious that, like Phaedrus before him, Pausanias has
concocted a speech designed to make himself look good in the eyes of others. Such speeches are
useful both for assuring one’s position in society and for providing a kind of psychological
reassurance. The very fact that they aim at self-promotion, however, means that their refutations will
have serious personal consequences.
The Value of Boasting
A similar phenomenon can be found in virtually all of Plato’s dramatic dialogues. Plato is a
dramatic artist precisely because he always bears in mind the connection between the persons who are
speaking and the philosophical arguments they support. One of the clearest examples is the
conversation between Socrates and Cephalus in book one of Republic. While often seen as a
preliminary effort to define justice, this conversation can also be described as an effort by Cephalus to
defend himself and his status as a wealthy householder. His own personal interest compels him to
consider justice satisfied when one has conducted one’s business honestly, and he is not concerned
23
184b7-c7; see 182e-183c; compare Xenophon’s Socrates who, like Pausanias, praises friendship for enabling otherwise
shameful behavior (Mem. 2.7-9).
24
Erich Bethe, “Die dorische Knabenliebe, ihre Ethik und ihre Idee,” Rheinisches Museum für Philologie 62 (1907) 438-75.
See also Harald Patzer, Die griechische Knabenliebe (Wiesbaden, 1982).
25
L. Brisson (1998, 11-12). C. J. Rowe misreads the Greek, in which haptomenos must be construed with sou (as Bury
recognized), and translates: So that I can also have benefit from contact with that bit of wisdom of yours.” (21) Alcibiades
also seems to think he has something to gain by sexual relations with a virtuous man such as Socrates, although he does not
suggest that the semen will convey wisdom or virtue (217a).
26
“The map he draws of Athenian practice is well-observed, but the deductions he draws seem self-interested, for he is
himself the pursuer of Agathon.” (186) “He is trying to advance his relationship with Agathon” (190) “Pausanias argues that
it is acceptable to yield to a lover ‘in order to improve one’s moral state’ (184ab, 185b); this suits his own interest, as he
himself is a lover of Agathon.” (201) Hunter shares this view (45).
360