Life is full of dualities and opposing figures: love and hatred, light and darkness, man and woman, life and death. Aristophanes addresses a duality in the context of love in Plato's Symposium. The Symposium raises the question of what love really is and means. Aristophanes brings the idea of ​​soulmates to the party. Aristophanes explains this through the use of a myth. This myth explains how people came to love those they love. Aristophanes brings up the idea of ​​soulmates or partners for life. The myth helps to reveal the origins of this idea. This idea is also taken up by other characters in the dialogue, concluding that even if one is looking for a soul mate, one must also recognize that he is an independent being. Whether you are in a relationship or not, you remain an independent being who makes choices and must face the consequences, good or bad. It is necessary to address the idea of ​​love because of its important role in Greek society and culture. While there are multiple enjoyable aspects of loving someone, the ultimate desire is to feel whole, and once someone finds their soulmate, they become a better person. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Aristophanes' speech shares this theme of love, bringing gifts of kindness to those who praise him. He chooses to explain to the group why humans want each other so badly. He uses a myth as the backbone of his speech. Myth is used to explain the meaning of eros and its origins. Aristophanes explains that there were originally three genders, masculine, feminine and androgynous. These people had four arms, four legs, two heads, two genitals, these beings were double what humans are today. Males descended from the sun, females from the earth, and androgynes came from the moon, as Aristophanes describes, “…because the moon is a combination of the sun and the earth” (Plato 190b, p. 23). These beings were very powerful and threatened to attack the gods. Zeus, in order to humiliate these beings, decided to cut each person in two to stop these attacks (190d, p. 23). These beings longed to return to their original state and they began searching for their missing half. When their other half was found, they would run to each other, embrace and desire nothing else, "since their original nature had been split in two, each yearned for their own half and stayed with it." (191a, p. 24). This caused people to die from hunger and lack of movement, so Zeus took pity and moved their genitals so they could have sex. This gave beings something to do and also the ability to procreate, "the purpose was that if a man met a woman and embraced her, they would reproduce and the human race would continue" (191c, p. 24 ). Aristophanes explains that this is the origin of the desire for another human. “It brings together the two halves of our original nature and attempts to…heal the wound of human nature” (191d, p. 24). Aristophanes saying this shows the true nature of love, to make things better. When someone finds their other half, they are overwhelmed with feelings for that person. These may be feelings of love, affection, anger, worry, or even sadness or jealousy. The love that one feels for the other leads them to act in a certain way around their lover. The love between two people can make them better people and make them feel whole, just like their original state was. “The reason is that it is our state..