In this volume Leo Strauss presents a coherent and complete interpretation of Plato’s Symposium , proceeding by meticulous reading, from beginning to end. Strauss, operating on the idea that commentary is an useful method of expounding the truth, sheds light on the meaning of the dialogue and its place in the Platonic corpus, and also on a host of other topics, including the nature of eros and its place in the overall economy of human life, the quarrel between poetry and philosophy, and the character of Socrates and the question of his trial.