In Plato's Symposium, Alcibiades is the last person to give a speech. Ancient speakers have praised and interpreted love. However, Alcibiades arrives drunk and prefers to talk about Socrates. In the past, Alcibiades wanted Socrates to be his lover and Socrates refused him. In many ways, Alcibiades' speech about Socrates unknowingly puts into perspective the speeches of his peers praising love.Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Alcibiades opens by comparing Socrates to a statue of Silenus and the satyr Marsyas. Both Socrates and the satyr use their mouths to deceive people, but the satyr uses a flute and Socrates does it with his words alone. Satyrs are spirits described as being half-man and half-horse. In Diotima's speech, love is a spirit that lies between two extremes. Love is neither immortal nor mortal, neither wise nor ignorant, rich nor poor. By comparing Socrates to a satyr, Alcibiades makes his first association of Socrates with Love. The statue of Silenus depicts a satyr god who appears normal on the outside but is full of statues of other gods on the inside. Alcibiades believes that Socrates is hiding his true nature. Outwardly, he appears to be in love with handsome boys and claims to be "ignorant and knows nothing." Alcibiades reveals that Socrates does not care about physical qualities and that Socrates' ideas and arguments are "of the greatest importance to anyone who wants to become a truly good man." Socrates is the only man capable of putting Alcibiades to shame because he only follows Socrates' advice when he is around. Socrates wanted Alcibiades to abandon politics, but he kept returning to his desire to please the crowd. Considering that Alcibiades recognizes Socrates' advice as "truly worthy of a god", the failure to adhere to it shames him. This goes directly against Phaedrus's assertion that love bestows a "sense of shame in acting shamefully." Alcibiades wanted to be loved by Socrates and even said that life would be more miserable without him than with him. He feels shame every time he sees Socrates. Even though he continues to feel this shame, all he tries to do is “escape from it and get away.” He is unable to use this shame as motivation to do what Socrates advises and goes against Phaedrus' assertion. Although they are unattractive, satyrs and Socrates have the ability to attract people. Alcibiades recounts his multiple unsuccessful attempts to try to make Socrates his lover. It seems that Alcibiades plays the role of the lover and is the one who pursues him. Alcibiades does not attack Socrates for his appearance, but rather for his wisdom. He compares it to the bite of a snake, “whose grip on young and eager souls is far more vicious than that of a viper and makes them do the most astonishing things.” This attracts Alcibiades more than any physical quality. This shows how philosophy or the search for wisdom is the most desirable type of love. At first, Alcibiades invited Socrates to the gymnasium where they wrestled alone. After dinner and conversation, Alcibiades lay down next to Socrates and held him in his arms. He declared that "his night with Socrates was no further than if I had spent it with my own father or my older brother!" Socrates is clearly not interested in any of Alcibiades' physical and sexual advances. These results run counter to Pausanias' assertion that "the young man... is justified in rendering any service to a lover who can make him wise and virtuous." The sexual exchange for.