Platonicus amor

This analysis of the historical understanding of Marsilio Ficino s commentary on Plato s Symposium sets it in relationship to the philosophical interpretation of Eros in Plato and Plotinus, while at the same time providing a multi-faceted description of the place of Ficino s philosophy in the intellectual and spiritual development of the Italian Renaissance. The particular role of Ficino s commentary on Plato s Symposium, De amore, within the context of the discourse of love as discussed in vernacular languages in 15th-century Florence is considered, and well as opening up Ficino to further interpretation.