The Big Split, Plato's Version

     In my last post I alluded to how Twin Souls decide to split after spending a certain amount of time as a unified soul.  While researching about Twin Souls, I came across references to Plato as having written on the subject.  Wow, Plato! I thought -- this goes quite a bit further back than Wuthering Heights.  So, I looked it up.

     Twin Souls are mentioned in the book Symposium.  Plato writes of how originally all humans were doubled, that is, they were formed in the shape of a sphere, with four hands, four feet, two faces, two sets of sexual organs, etc.  (Conjure that up in your imagination for a second).  Because these original humans were becoming so powerful, the gods decided to cut their power a bit.  So, they split them in half.  The new humans grew sorrowful because they missed their other half. 

     So, these new half-souls spent their lives seeking their missing half.  The souls that were originally male-female pairs (androgynous in its original meaning) sought the other half in the opposite sex.  The ones who were originally female-female pairs become lesbians and ignore the male gender.  And the ones that were originally male-male pairs go after boys (these are the ones who also tend to go into politics, Plato notes). 

     Once the original pairs meet again, they never want to be separate again, not even for a moment.  And "'Love' is the name of our pursuit of wholeness, for our desire to be complete."

     I never knew Plato could be swoon-worthy, did you?