Diotima of Mantinea, the Priestess Who Taught Socrates the Philosophy of Love

In his dialogues, Plato mentions an enigmatic figure who stands out both for her wisdom and her gender: a woman named Diotima of Mantinea. She was a priestess who instructed none other than Socrates in the philosophy of love, but did she really exist, or was she a literary device used by Plato to convey his ideas?

In Plato’s Symposium, a group of Athenians — including Socrates, Aristophanes, and Alcibiades — gather to discuss Eros, the god of love. However, the most authoritative voice is not any of theirs, but that of an absent woman: Diotima.

Socrates recounts how, years earlier, she taught him the true nature of love. According to his description, Diotima was a priestess and prophetess from Mantinea (Arcadia), so wise that she even managed to delay the plague of Athens (430 BCE) through a sacrifice performed a decade before it began.

diotima philosopher socrates plato love — Bust of Diotima. Credit: Pauldavidbourke / Wikimedia Commons

Her name, “Diotima,” means “honored by Zeus” or “she who honors Zeus,” and although it was rare for women, its male counterpart (Diotimos) was more common. But here arises the enigma: Did she really exist?

Scholars debate whether she was a historical figure or a Platonic construct. Some suggest her origin in Mantinea might be a play on words with “mantis” (seer). Others see her as a counterpart to Aspasia, the influential companion of Pericles, who also appears in other dialogues.

What is certain is that by putting these teachings in the mouth of a woman — something unusual in his work — Plato grants her an aura of transcendent, almost divine wisdom.

Diotima’s Theory of Love: Beyond the Physical

Diotima’s central teaching is revolutionary: love is not a god, but a “daimon,” a being intermediate between the divine and the human. In her mythical account, Eros is the child of Penia (Poverty) and Poros (Abundance), inheriting traits from both: always desirous, but also clever in his pursuit.

But the most fascinating aspect is her ladder of love, a philosophical path that ascends from the physical to the eternal:

Love for a beautiful body → Physical attraction.
Love for beauty in general → Recognizing beauty in many forms.
Love for beautiful souls → Valuing virtue over physicality.
Love for knowledge → The beauty of ideas.
Love for Absolute Beauty → The eternal and unchanging essence.

This process, later known as “Platonic love,” does not deny desire, but sublimates it: true eroticism is an impulse toward immortality, whether through children (physical) or through works (intellectual).

Although in Antiquity her influence was limited, Diotima resurfaced in the Renaissance thanks to the translation of Plato’s work by Marsilio Ficino. Since then, she has become a symbol, and today her name lives on in asteroids like (423) Diotima, as well as in philosophical awards and journals.

This article was first published on our Spanish Edition on April 29, 2025: Diotima de Mantinea, la sacerdotisa que enseñó a Sócrates la filosofía del amor