Apie aristofaniškąsias interliudijas Platono Puotoje
On Aristophanic Interludes in Plato’s Symposium

Summary/Abstract: This article is partly related to the previous two articles on the meaning of Phaedo’s encomium in Plato’s Symposium. They emphasized the theme of the couple of tension and relaxation, which is essential to the work, as a theme of ontological and „cosmic“ as well as literary or poetic rhythm. This theme also determines the underlying coupled themes of the work – tragedy and comedy, which can be personified, respectively, by the host of the symposium, the tragedian Agathon, and the comedy writer Aristophanes. Although the work is characterized by ambiguity, and the speeches of its characters can be heard in both tragic and comic modes, we believe that the element of comedy is more prominent in the genre of the work, and this emphasis on comedy in the work is also expressed by Aristophanes’ character, who is both at the center of the speeches and constantly interrupts them or is implied in the background. The encomia are separated and connected by interludes, most of which feature the „father of comedy.“ The article discusses the significance of these interludes, including the famous episode of the hiccoughs, and discusses the connection between comedy and both tragedy and, in particular, philosophy.

• Details
• Contents