# Aristophanes — Dialogues character guide

> Aristophanes in Dialogues by Plato.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Aristophanes Clouds

**First appearance:** 0031-symposium

## Snapshot

The great comic playwright who, between hiccups, delivers the Symposium's most memorable myth: humans as split halves longing for reunion.

## Who they are

Aristophanes is the comic poet among the tragedians and philosophers at Agathon's feast, a man whose professional irreverence does not prevent him from offering a deeply moving account of love. His speech, delivered after a bout of hiccups, explains erotic desire as the search for one's lost other half, a myth that has outlived every other speech in the dialogue. He embodies the dialogue's blend of humor and profundity, and his presence reminds us that Plato's Socrates is not the only voice worth hearing.

## In the story

### [On the Decline of Greek Literature](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/on-the-decline-of-greek-literature)

Referenced for his vision of the decline of Greek drama after the three great tragedians.

### [Symposium](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/symposium)

Gives a comedic speech on love as the search for one's other half.

### [Symposium](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/symposium)

Has the hiccup and exchanges turns with Eryximachus to speak later.

### [The Myths of Plato](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dialogues_se/chapters/the-myths-of-plato)

Aristophanes is the source of the myth about the division of the sexes in the Symposium.

## Links

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