The Best Translation of The Symposium
The Symposium was written in Ancient Greek. 2 recommended editions, ranked — with Gröblé’s verdict on which to read first.
Alexander Nehamas and Paul Woodruff
Hackett Publishing · 1989 · 109 pages
Nehamas and Woodruff are the philosophy-class default Symposium. Each speaker sounds like a different person, Alcibiades' drunk entrance actually lands, and the philosophy stays sharp without going dry.
Every recommended edition, compared
Waterfield's Oxford pairs Symposium with Phaedrus, which is the right pairing since both are Plato on love. Flows more naturally than the Hackett, slightly looser on the technical terms.
Please support us by purchasing through these links, at no extra cost to you!
Reading The Symposium in translation
The Symposium was written in Ancient Greek, so unless you read Ancient Greek, the translator decides the book you actually experience — its register, its pace, how it sounds read aloud. Two editions of the same work can feel like different books.
The ranking above is Gröblé’s: one reader’s verdict on which English gets you closest, not a publisher’s blurb. Start with the top pick; reach for the others when you want a different angle on the original.