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Xenophon's Symposium lightly touches upon plenty of philosophical questions whilst ostensibly seeming to be merely a short play about Socrates and a few lads exchanging banter in front of Attica's Got Talent. The titular symposium comprises of a dancer/harpist and piper brought to Callias' drinking party by a Syracusan impresario. At first, conversation is centred upon those philosophical stalwarts of what true nobility, wealth, happiness and virtue really are, why one is better than the other and whatnot. Afterwards, attention turns to the players and the Syracusan, then love, soul, pride, religion, virtue, war and politics, all in the space of hardly 50 pages. Nothing is resolved in any great depth, but the questions are certainly intelligently put and thought-provoking, especially Socrates' lines. The translation I read was extremely well-written and slightly 17thC in style, but arguably better for it. An enjoyable and worthy introduction to philosophy and Ancient Greek texts for the uninitiated. 4.25/5