The Origin of Love
There
was once a time when the sexes were not two, as they appear now, but were
three in number.
There was a time when there were men, who were the children of the Sun, and women, who were the children of the Earth. But there were also the mystical children of the Moon, who were the union of the two, having a magical name of their own that has long since been forgotten.
Like their celestial parents, the ancient people were three in kind, and were round in shape, and moved round and round as a reflection of their heavenly forbears.
These
primeval beings, with their backs and sides facing outward and all around,
had four hands and four feet. They had one head with two faces that were
precisely alike, which looked in opposite directions. And they would tumble
upon the earth like a rolling ball, giving glory to the gods.
But the gods were not pleased. They were frightened by the might and strength
of people, and plotted ways to destroy them. They thought to annihilate their
race with thunderbolts, as they had done to the giants, but could not bring
themselves to put an end to the offerings and sacrifices that were brought
to them by people.
It was Zeus who devised a way to humble them, and to diminish their strength.
He would not destroy them, but divide them, and by dividing them he would
increase their number and thus increase the offerings that they brought. “They
shall walk upright upon two legs”, Zeus pronounced, “and if they
are insolent and will not be quiet, then they shall be divided again, and
be condemned to roam the earth upon a single leg.”
They were divided, the children of the Sun, Earth and Moon; rent in two with thunderbolts from the vengeful hands of Zeus. And Apollo turned their faces and their half-necks, which had faced outward toward the world, and twisted them around to face the bloody wound that remained. The tear was sealed by Apollo, who pulled together and mended the torn flesh, leaving behind a single opening in the region of the belly, as a memorial of the primeval state.
And
they were scattered, the children of the Sun, the Earth and the Moon, by
the winds of the gods. And now these wounded souls, who are the remnants
of men and women and the mysterious man-woman, wander the world seeking to
find their other halves. And when one of them meets with their other half,
they are reminded of their grief.
And it is this memory of pain, this ancient need to embrace and entwine and to grow into one, it is this exquisite ache of separation and of union, which we call Love.
Aristophanes’ Speech
from Plato’s Symposium
Adapted by Glenn Tkach
View animation from the Hedwig Production (requires Quicktime)