Socrates at Play

Although we have the complete works of two major Socratic writers, Plato and Xenophon, little work has been done to bring them into relation with each other, other than investigating them as sources for the historical Socrates. Today an emerging consensus holds that neither author aimed at historical veracity, and that the portraits of Socrates primarily express the views of their authors. This book analyzes the behavior of Socrates and other characters in the two Symposia through the lens of th