DREAMS OF DIONYSUS: WINE, PHILOSOPHY AND EROS

ABSTRACT. This paper discusses the idea of the philosophy of wine, reflecting upon the nature of the symposium which literally meant ‘to drink together’ by reference to texts by Plato, Xenophon and Euripides. The essay investigates the origins and classical texts that describe the historical and social relations between wine, philosophy and eros. It focuses on Dionysus (Bacchus), the god of wine, and traces the philosophical archeology of wine as a religio-moral space that constitutes a discourse of wine, intoxication, and sex.