Crossword clues for symposium
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Symposium \Sym*po"si*um\, n.; pl. Symposia. [L., fr. Gr. sympo`sion a drinking party, feast; sy`n with + po`sis a drinking. See Syn-, and cf. Potable.]
A drinking together; a merry feast.
--T. Warton.A collection of short essays by different authors on a common topic; -- so called from the appellation given to the philosophical dialogue by the Greeks.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
1580s, "account of a gathering or party," from Latin symposium "drinking party, symposium," from Greek symposion "drinking party, convivial gathering of the educated" (related to sympotes "drinking companion"), from assimilated form of syn- "together" (see syn-) + posis "a drinking," from a stem of Aeolic ponen "to drink," cognate with Latin potare "to drink" (see potion).\n\nThe symposium usually followed a dinner, for the Greeks did not drink at meals. Its enjoyment was heightened by intellectual or agreeable conversation, by the introduction of music or dancers, and by other amusements.
[Century Dictionary]
The sense of "a meeting on some subject" is from 1784. Reflecting the Greek fondness for mixing wine and intellectual discussion, the modern sense is especially from the word being used as a title for one of Plato's dialogues. Greek plural is symposia, and the leader of one is a symposiarch (c.1600 in English). Related: Symposiac (adj.); symposial.Wiktionary
n. 1 A conference or other meeting for discussion of a topic, especially one in which the participants make presentations. 2 (''in ancient Greece'') A drinking party, especially one with intellectual discussion.
WordNet
n. a meeting or conference for the public discussion of some topic especially one in which the participants form an audience and make presentations
[also: symposia (pl)]
Wikipedia
The Symposium is a philosophical text by Plato dated c. 385–370 BC. It concerns itself at one level with the genesis, purpose and nature of love, and (in latter-day interpretations) is the origin of the concept of Platonic love.
Love is examined in a sequence of speeches by men attending a symposium, or drinking party. Each man must deliver an encomium, a speech in praise of Love ( Eros). The party takes place at the house of the tragedian Agathon in Athens. Socrates in his speech asserts that the highest purpose of love is to become a philosopher or, literally, a lover of wisdom. Commonly regarded as one of Plato's major works, the dialogue has been used as a source by social historians seeking to throw light on life in ancient Athens – in particular, upon human sexuality and the symposium as an institution.
In ancient Greece, the symposium ( symposion, from συμπίνειν sympinein, "to drink together") was a drinking party. Literary works that describe or take place at a symposium include two Socratic dialogues, Plato's Symposium and Xenophon's Symposium, as well as a number of Greek poems such as the elegies of Theognis of Megara. Symposia are depicted in Greek and Etruscan art that shows similar scenes.
The equivalent in Roman society is the Latin convivium. In modern usage it has come to mean an academic conference or meeting such as a scientific conference.
Symposium were a punk pop band from England. They were active from 1994 to 2000 and were known for their live shows. The name 'Symposium' originally referred to a drinking party (the Greek verb sympotein means "to drink together"), and was taken from the philosophical dialogue by Plato.
Symposium may refer to:
Symposium is a novel by Scottish author Muriel Spark, published in 1990. It was regarded by John Mortimer writing in The Sunday Times as one of the best novels of that year.
The Symposium is a Socratic dialogue written by Xenophon in the late 360's B.C. In it, Socrates and a few of his companions attend a symposium (a lighthearted dinner party at which Greek aristocrats could have discussions and enjoy entertainment) hosted by Kallias for the young man Autolykos. Xenophon claims that he was present at the symposium, although this is disputed because he would have been too young to attend. The dramatic date for the Symposium is 422 B.C.
Entertainment at the dinner is provided by the Syracusan and his three performers. Their feats of skill thrill the attendants and serve as points of conversation throughout the dialogue. Much of the discussion centers on what each guest is most proud of. All their answers are playful or paradoxical: Socrates, for one, prides himself on his knowledge of the art of match-making.
Major themes of the work include beauty and desire, wisdom, virtue, and laughter which is evoked by Philippos the jester and the jocular discourse of the dinner guests. Xenophon demonstrates clever use of playfulness (paidia παιδία) and seriousness (spoude σπουδή) to manipulate the discussion of the above-mentioned themes in a manner appropriate to a symposium.
Usage examples of "symposium".
The paper was first presented at an anthropological conference in 1975 and was to appear in a symposium volume.
In Australia, as reported in the Proceedings of the 5th Symposium on Wound Ballistics, the researchers took aim at rabbits.
In Houston, Phyllis Randolph Frye and others are presenting the International Conference on Transgender Law and Employment Policy, an annual symposium on the law as it relates to cross-dressers, transgenderists, and transsexuals.
For some reason, he explained, rumors of unethical research in China began to circulate after the 12th East Asia Joint Symposium on Biomedical Research at Shaoxing City, in Zhejiang Province.
Her mother sounded exactly like she used to when telling about upcoming plans for a symposium on a weekend Andi had softball games.
Symposium, of the Ancient Philosophers, to represent truth by certain symbols and hidden images.
Fearing for the future of civilization, I read the notices on the bulletin board, gleaming tidbits about symposiums on A-V equipment, potluck dinners, and opportunities to study abroad for a zillion dollars.
Embodied in a group of poems called the Cent Ballades, the symposium originated among four ardent young knights, including Boucicaut and Comte d’Eu, a cousin of the King, who had been thrown together while on a recent venture in the Holy Land.
Gibbon was there to chair a symposium on Terra, and he had brought Benn as a live exhibit.
Merrick, the English biophysicist, presented a paper to the Tenth Biological Symposium at Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island.
In 1967 a symposium was held at the Wistar Institute in Philadelphia to debate them, with a dazzling array of fifty-two attendees from the ranks of the leading evolutionary biologists and skeptical mathematicians.
This is what Geoffrey Wrightwood meant when he said at the Seventh International Symposium on Human Paleontology in Geneva in 1972: All I need is one skull, or a fragment of a skull, or a bit of jaw.
Registering as Alex Huntley of East European Investment, I fitted in smoothly with the mixture of foreign businessmen, diplomats and civil servants who paid œ1,500 to attend the three-day symposium.
But, as a quid pro quo, Josh's boss had demanded that he prepare a paper for a symposium, any symposium, involved with industrial archaeology.
SOONG was delighted by Charlie Chan's offer to bring the last scroll from Hawaii to The Temple Of The Golden Horde, and, when Chan had finished his last day at the International Penology Symposium, the detective flew back to Honolulu.