Wednesday, September 26, 2018

Is It The Power Of Love?

“Men seemed to have failed completely to comprehend the power of Eros, for if they did comprehend it, they would have built to him the greatest altars and temples and offered the greatest sacrifices, whereas he is given none of these honors, although he should have them most of all…”


From Aristophanes’ Speech in the Symposium

Please use any of the myths we read about love to critique or support this quotation? In your response, react, evaluate, challenge, or contemplate. (Please complete this blog response by 3:40p.m. on Tues., Oct. 2nd, 2018.)

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Eros, or Cupid, would have been worthy of worship such as the greatest altars and temples and offered the greatest sacrifices, but I don't think he deserved them most of all. There were much stronger gods that had an instant effect on everyones lives, like Zeus, Poseidon, or even Hades. At the same time of him not being the most important, he still has an affect on everyones life, by playing with humans feelings about who they love and who they are loved by.

Anonymous said...

What the quote is saying is that man if foolish to try and comprehend the power of love. In the poem Cupid and My Campaspe, the narrator is realizing love is powerless and blind, and has no real power at all. In reality love is one of the most powerful forces that can drive people to do crazy things. So Cupid/Eros is deserving of the temples and altars, but doesn't need them to do the things they do.

Anonymous said...

Cupid would be worthy of praise of love.He is known as the God of love. If he did not understand love, he would not be the god of it. He is an important character in greek mythology and his legacy has lasted long into today's society and he is used a lot during valentine's day as a symbol of love.

Anonymous said...

Orpheus And Eurydice. Orpheus went to the underworld to save his love of his life. He could've stayed, live in grief, but he ventured to the underworld. He risked his life for his love. He risked his life for her, and he almost got her back. When he finally got her back, he lost her again because he looked at her before they reached the land. He wanted to know if she was behind him, and with him. He risked everything for her.

Anonymous said...

This quote is saying that men don't understand how powerful love is and if they do they don't take advantage of it by making sacrifices to it. I do not agree with this quote because I believe men in Greek mythology don't always present love with all that they have but they do give it all of them in order to find it.

Anonymous said...

What the quote is saying that man can not Comprehend love and it is foolish to even try love. In Cupid and My Campaspe, the narrater shoes that love is powerless and blind and has no power at all. But in reality, love is force that drives people to edge. So Cupid and Eros are deserving of a temple and alter, but do not need them.

Anonymous said...

I would agree with this quote. Eros, or Cupid, affects everyone's lives, yet received very little worship. The other Gods are all very harsh and ruthless, yet in the Cupid and Psyche story, Cupid gives Psyche another chance and even helps her along the way. For him to receive nothing seems odd and should be different.

Anonymous said...

This quote is saying that man fail to realize the importance of love and to realize how love affects them. That love is so powerful it drives people to do crazy things. For example, in the poem of Pyramus And Thisbe, his love for Thisbe drove himself to end his life then he thought Pyramus was killed. Because he couldn't live without her.
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Anonymous said...

“Men seemed to have failed completely to comprehend the power of Eros, for if they did comprehend it, they would have built to him the greatest altars and temples and offered the greatest sacrifices, whereas he is given none of these honors, although he should have them most of all…”


From Aristophanes’ Speech in the Symposium

I think that that Cupid would be a good representation of this quote because he is the God of Love. He is one of the most important characters that plays a role in greek mythology. Cupid has furthered his myth to todayś society which is Valentines Day¨ symbolizing love. In one of the poems that Cupid was in the writers was stating that love is blind and powerless, but after all is said and done I think that Cupid perfectly represents this quote.

Anonymous said...


The main reason why Eros(cupid) wasn’t worshiped as much as the other gods was because in greek culture, he only dictated attraction, not the love or the life of anyone. In the myths that I had read, Trust and faith in each other is the most important aspect of love. Attraction is just a small part of love to the greeks. The greeks also give some somewhat opposing ideas about love in other myths, such as that love can blind and make one oblivious to the world around them(Endymion), or that trusting one another too much in a relationship can lead to dire consequences(Pyramus and Thisbe)

Anonymous said...

I agree with this quote. Cupid is the God of Love and plays a vital role in many lives yet receives very little worship. Just because it seemed like he should have received more worship doesn't necessarily mean he deserved it. There were other gods that were more worthy of worship, however I think he received too little. He still has a legend behind his name, he is known by most people, and has a holiday after him. He didn't deserve a lot of worship, but definitely more than he received.

Anonymous said...

I agree that the god of love whether his name is Cupid or Eros is worthy of worship. However there are many more aspects of life that hold more importance than love such as growing crops or fighting disease. Love is also usually a private matter, for example in the myth "Cupid and Psyche", Cupid does not tell his mother that he is in love with Psyche. The god of love is better suited to be worshiped privately.

Anonymous said...

I would say that Cupid is worthy of being worshipped, because in a way he is teaching many people (mainly Psyche) a valuable lesson in the art of trust. Cupid loses a bit of trust in Psyche when she goes behind his back and sees what he looks like. But that trust is regained when he sees all the things Psyche would do, to show how much she loves him. Cupid also lied to Venus about Psyche, basically telling her that she doesn't love her, when he really does. So, all in all, it would seem that Cupid should be worshipped, but not publicly.

Anonymous said...

Relating "Aristophanes' Speech in the Symposium," about Eros and to Cupid, the God of love can be seen within the lacking amount of respect or glory given to our found within each character's time or story. The workers didn't know how powerful Eros was until they disobeyed him. I didn't know that Cupid was even a God until this year even though he was the reason people started to fall for each other in that time. This also reminds me that what one believes the worship and glory they receive is different then what others may have in mind based upon said persons actions and reactions in certain situations. Eros didn't care much about his people and had no problem with it but the Greeks show that in their text at least someone cares for another person deeply meaning the Greeks thought that a relationship in some form was crucial to life.

Anonymous said...

Cupid or Eros seems to be the god nobody looks for at the party but he's there. If men had fully realized who Cupid was there would be more shrines created for him. When looking at some of the myths like Psyche and Cupid, love was everything and if shrines were created especially for Cupid I think he would be more a main god. If love was everything then men and women would do so much to be on Cupids good side and try everything to please him.

Anonymous said...

The quote suggests that love is not comprehendable. I think that this is partly true since in most of the stories we have read about love have instances of no trust and foolishness, like how Psyche betrayed Eros by looking at him when he trusted that she wouldn't, as she had promised.