Life is full of dualities and opposing figures: love and hate, light and darkness, male and female, 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 ​​soul mates to the party. Aristophanes explains this through the use of a myth. This myth is about how people came to love who they love. Aristophanes brings up the idea of ​​soul mates or life partners. The myth helps to disclose the origins of this idea. This idea is also interpreted by other characters in the dialogue, concluding that while looking for a soul mate one must also recognize that they are independent beings. Whether you are in a relationship or not, you are still an independent being who makes choices and must face consequences, good or bad. The idea of ​​love needs to be addressed because of its important role in Greek society and culture. While there are many pleasurable aspects of loving someone, the ultimate desire is to feel complete, and once someone has found their soulmate, they become a better person. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayAristophanes' speech shares this theme of love bringing gifts of goodness to people who praise it. He chooses to explain to the group why humans desire each other so strongly. He uses a myth as the backbone of his speech. The myth is used to explain the meaning of eros and its origins. Aristophanes explains that originally there were three genders, male, female and androgynous. These people had four arms, four legs, two heads, two sets of genitals, these beings were twice the size of what humans are now. Males were descendants of the sun, females were from the earth, and androgynes were from the moon, as Aristophanes describes, “…for the moon is a combination of sun and earth” (Plato 190b, p. 23). These beings were very powerful and threatened to attack the gods. Zeus, to humiliate these beings, decided to cut each person in two to stop these attacks (190d, p. 23). These beings longed for their original state and began searching for their missing half. When the other half was found they ran towards each other, hugged each other and no longer desired anything, "since their original nature had been cut in two, each desired his own half and remained with it" (191a, p . 24). This caused people to die due to starvation and lack of movement, so Zeus took pity and moved their genitals so they could have sexual intercourse. This gave the beings motor activity and also the ability to procreate, "the purpose was that if a man met a woman and intertwined with 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 being. “It brings together the two halves of our original nature and seeks to… heal the wound in human nature” (191d, p. 24). Aristophanes by saying this shows the true nature of love, that of making things better. When someone finds his significant other, he is overwhelmed with feelings for that person. They could be feelings of love, affection, anger, worry, or even sadness or jealousy. The love one feels for another makes him act in certain ways towards his lover. Love between two people can make them better people and make them feel whole, as was their original state. “The reason is that this is our original natural state and we were whole creatures: 'love' is the name of the desire and search for wholeness” (192e, p. 26). The concept of.