From the Androgyne to the Deified Human: Plato’s Erotic Anthropology and its Patristic Transformations

This paper traces the conceptual lineage from Plato’s erotic anthropology to the Christian doctrine of theosis, arguing that the Platonic quest for divine likeness (homoíōsis theōi) reconfigures sexual difference and human nature within a metaphysical framework of unity and desire. Against the backdrop of 4th-century Athenian patriarchy, Plato’s myths and metaphors – notably the androgyne (Symp. 189c-193d) and the figure of Diotima – present sexual differentiation (φύλον) as a sign of metaphysical division, while erotic desire drives the soul toward ontological unity with the divine. This framework is later radicalized by the Church Fathers (Origen, Gregory of Nyssa), who universalize godlikeness into theosis: the transfiguration of the whole person, including gendered embodiment. By moving from contemplation to participatory deification, the Platonic-patristic synthesis offers a transformative anthropology that challenges both ancient gender norms and modern essentialist–constructivist binaries.