"The Ladder of Love" - Soundtrack from Divine Messengers - Epoch TV

This piece of music is part of the soundtrack for the documentary drama ”Divine Messengers”, from the episode ”Socrates’ Secrets”. We approached the classical singer Aphrodite Patoulidou, asking her to sing two pieces, one of which was "The Ladder of Love," explained by priestess Diotima in Plato's Symposium. It's a metaphorical ascent of love - from physical attraction to the contemplation of divine beauty. The journey begins with an appreciation of a single beautiful body, progresses to the love of all physical beauty, then to the beauty of minds and souls, followed by the beauty of laws and institutions, and ultimately culminates in the love of the Form of Beauty itself. This highest form of love inspires and instills perfect virtue in those who contemplate it.


The lyrics are based on the original text in Greek, set to music. Soprano Patoulidou's voice added an authentic Greek style. Imagining music from Socrates' lifetime, around 469-399 BCE, is difficult since none of it has been preserved. The best reference I had was the piece "Seikilos Epitaph", a beautiful song said to be the earliest preserved complete Greek tune, dating to around 200 BCE.
While striving to maintain the essence and soul of Greek culture, we tweaked the composition of "The Ladder of Love" to fit a modern TV production. After the episode aired, we were contacted by enthusiastic Greeks requesting the soundtrack, one of them wishing to play it on his wedding. The video segment includes English subtitles. You can also watch the whole episode of the series on Epoch TV.

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