Pausanias and the Double Nature of Aphrodite
Plato’s Symposium and Love for the Sake of Education and Improvement
Aug 22, 2009
Pausanias is the second to address the philosophical crowd in Agathon’s house in Plato’s Symposium. His speech differs mainly from the preceding one by Phaedrus in the fact that the former believes that one should differentiate love and that there exist two different kinds of love.
Two Directions of Love – the Body as Material and the Soul as Heavenly Love
For Pausanias, love is inspired by two different types of Aphrodite; one is the heavenly, the other the common Aphrodite. The heavenly Aphrodite has no mother and is the daughter of Uranus and directs the soul, whereas the common Aphrodite is the daughter of Zeus and Dione and is of the body.
Pausanias claims that not every love is worth pursuing or praiseworthy. The love of the body has “foolish things” as its end and is not constant or stable. Each person becomes replaceable and is pursued only as long as the “bloom of youth flourishes;” after beauty has passed and withered, the lover discards the person like an object.
Nonetheless, the lover who loves the soul and is not only using empty words and promises for their own benefit, is devoid of wantonness and loves reason and intelligence more than the bodily appearance. This faithful lover is willing to pass their whole life in company with the loved one, without deception, without jumping from one person to the next and without taking advantage of the other person. This love is not a hasty attachment and would pass the ultimate test of time.
This kind of love is permanent, true and faithful and will not have other motives such as desires for political position, wealth and money. In fact, the ulterior motive of love would be education and improvement of either oneself or of the beloved. As such, if there is an imbalance of power among two lovers, then it would serve as a transfer of wisdom and virtue. The apprentice or less experienced lover would have many things to learn from the other. In this case, both the lover and loved one would be eager to seek their own improvement, what Pausanias terms “voluntary service.”
No Dishonor when Acting in the Pursuit and Purpose of Love
To love and be loved in Athens was considered an honorable thing. Sometimes the lover who pursues his beloved may act either foolishly or appear to become a slave to emotions. In any other case these kinds of action would be frowned upon, yet if it is done for love it becomes an honorable act.
Even the gods look favorably on people who act for the purpose of love and the latter are not censured or admonished. Should the end be of political or financial nature, then the same actions would draw dissent and censure from both gods and humans. Yet lovers are always forgiven for their transgressions and have a “grace” that ennobles them at all times.
The speech of Pausanias is more complex and is imbued with a moral character compared to the preceding one by Phaedrus. Pausanias also stresses the educational and spiritual benefits of love and that one should strive towards spiritual than merely physical attachments.
Sources:
- Platon. Dialogos. Editorial Porrua: Mexico, 1998.
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