Lucian's anti-symposium: parodic motifs in the Symposium or the Lapiths

Abstract

As frequently observed, Plato’s Symposium is a major influence on Lucian’s Symposium or the Lapiths, which can be interpreted as a comical reversal of Plato’s work. Lucian revisits Plato’s seminal dialogue by integrating themes and motifs from the comic and satirical tradition into the structural framework of the philosophers’ banquet. The resulting hybridization aligns with Lucian’s frequent assertions of originality in merging two originally disparate genres: comedy, particularly in its satire of philosophy, and the ostensibly austere Socratic dialogue. The first part of this essay will examine several comedic themes of Lucian's Symposium. It will specifically explore three aspects: breaches of sympotic etiquette concerning moderation in eating and drinking; depictions of erotic excess; various forms of sympotic entertainment. The goal is to show that, alongside characters and themes directly derived from comedy, Lucian’s dialogue is influenced by a broader tradition, possibly including the enigmatic figure known as gryllos. Lucian arguably appropriates this character as part of the parodic reversal that pervades the entire work.