FAIRYTALES AND MAKE-BELIEVE, OR SPINNING STORIES ABOUT POROS AND PENIA IN PLATO'S SYMPOSIUM: A LITERARY AND COMPUTATIONAL ANALYSIS

Diotima's story of Poros and Penia (Symp. 203b1–204a6), one of a few examples of a feminine voice in Plato, has confounded generic classification. While possessing some qualities of myth, it appears to be closer to μῦθος γραός (“old wives' tale”), what we may define as “fairytale.”