Philosophical synousia and pedagogical eros: on Socrates’ reshaping of paideia

Various accounts of Socrates’ education, conflicting as they may appear as regards specific aspects, attest to an idea of paideia which does not consist properly in teaching, but first and foremost in improving others by means of an association with Socrates. This paper aims to investigate the original view on education expounded by Socrates in his various portrayals, with special regard to the modes of transmission of virtue and knowledge within the teacher-pupil relationship. To this end, the deep reshaping of paideia brought about by the Socratic way of teaching is examined through a special focus on the notion of synousia, and thus also in the light of the erotic theory that some sources – notably Aeschines and Plato – ascribe to Socrates. The study, organized into four sections, focuses on selected passages from (1) Aeschines’ Alcibiades, whose analysis is integrated with the examination of other Aeschinean dialogues; (2) Plato’s Symposium, examined in parallel to a section of the Theaetetus; (3) the Theages and the Alcibiades I; (4) Xenophon’s Memorabilia.