Symposium

In ancient Greece, the symposium (Greek: συμπόσιον symposion, from συμπίνειν sympinein, "to drink together") was a drinking party. Literary works that describe or take place at a symposium include two Socratic dialogues, Plato's Symposium and Xenophon's Symposium, as well as a number of Greek poems such as the elegies of Theognis of Megara. Symposia are depicted in Greek and Etruscan art that shows similar scenes.

The equivalent in Roman society is the Latin convivium.

Setting and social occasion

The Greek symposium was a key Hellenic social institution. It was a forum for men of respected families to debate, plot, boast, or simply to revel with others. They were frequently held to celebrate the introduction of young men into aristocratic society. Symposia were also held by aristocrats to celebrate other special occasions, such as victories in athletic and poetic contests. They were a source of pride for them.

Symposia were usually held in the andrōn (ἀνδρών), the men's quarters of the household. The participants, or "symposiasts", would recline on pillowed couches arrayed against the three walls of the room away from the door. Due to space limitations the couches would number between seven and nine, limiting the total number of participants to somewhere between fourteen and twenty seven (Oswyn Murray gives a figure of between seven and fifteen couches and reckons fourteen to thirty participants a "standard size for a drinking group"). If any young men took part they did not recline but sat up. However, in Macedonian symposia the focus was not only on drinking but hunting, and young men were allowed to recline only after they had killed their first wild boar.

Symposium (band)

Symposium were a punk pop band from England. They were active from 1994 to 2000 and were known for their live shows. The name 'Symposium' originally referred to a drinking party (the Greek verb sympotein means "to drink together"), and was taken from the book by Plato.

History

The band formed whilst still at school in Shepherds Bush, London, in 1994. The line up was: Ross Cummins (vocalist), Hagop Tchaparian (guitarist), Joe Birch (drummer), William McGonagle (guitarist), and Wojtek Godzisz (bassist/vocalist/songwriter).

The band had a selection of uptempo punk pop songs, which together with their young average age of eighteen, bought them to the attention of Korda Marshall who signed them to Infectious Records in 1996.

Debut single "Drink the Sunshine" in 1996 was followed by support from NME, who placed them on the "Bratbus Tour" (an annual tour of four hotly tipped bands) which would visit universities in the UK. In March 1996, the band's concerts had been noted by Everett True, who put them on the cover of Melody Maker, proclaiming them to be the "best live band in Britain". The band released a #25 UK hit single, "Farewell to Twilight" in March 1997. They also performed the song on TFI Friday. This was followed by a headlining tour.

Symposium (Xenophon)

The Symposium (Greek: Συμπόσιον) is a Socratic dialogue written by Xenophon in the late 360's B.C. In it, Socrates and a few of his companions attend a symposium (a lighthearted dinner party at which Greek aristocrats could have discussions and enjoy entertainment) hosted by Kallias for the young man Autolykos. Xenophon claims that he was present at the symposium, although this is disputed because he would have been too young to attend. The dramatic date for the Symposium is 422 B.C.

Entertainment at the dinner is provided by the Syracusan and his three performers. Their feats of skill thrill the attendants and serve as points of conversation throughout the dialogue. Much of the discussion centers on what each guest is most proud of. All their answers are playful or paradoxical: Socrates, for one, prides himself on his knowledge of the art of match-making.

Major themes of the work include beauty and desire, wisdom, virtue, and laughter which is evoked by Philippos the jester and the jocular discourse of the dinner guests. Xenophon demonstrates clever use of playfulness (paidia παιδία) and seriousness (spoude σπουδή) to manipulate the discussion of the above-mentioned themes in a manner appropriate to a symposium.

Mens

In Roman mythology, Mens, also known as Bona Mens or Mens Bona (Latin for "Good Mind"), was the personification of thought, consciousness and the mind, and also of "right-thinking". Her festival was celebrated on June 8. A temple on the Capitoline Hill in Rome was vowed to Mens in 217 BC on advice from the Sibylline Books, and was dedicated in 215 BC.

The Latin word mens expresses the idea of "mind" and is the origin of English words like mental and dementia. The gifted-only organization Mensa International was originally to be named mens in the sense of "mind", but took instead the name Mensa (Latin: "table") to avoid ambiguity with "men's" in English and "mens" in other languages.

References

Microcurrent electrical neuromuscular stimulator

A microcurrent electrical neuromuscular stimulator or MENS (also microamperage electrical neuromuscular stimulator) is a device used to send weak electrical signals into the body. Such devices apply extremely small (less than 1 microampere) electrical currents to nerves using electrodes placed on the skin. One microampere (uA) is 1 millionth of an ampere and the uses of MENS are distinct from those of "TENS" which runs at one milliamp(mA) or one thousandth of an amp.

Uses

MENS uses include treatments for pain,Diabetic neuropathy, age-related macular degeneration, wound healing, tendon repair, Plantar fasciitis and ruptured ligament recovery. Most microcurrent treatments concentrate on pain and/or speeding healing and recovery. It is commonly used by professional and performance athletes with acute pain and/or muscle tenderness as it is drug-free and non-invasive, thus avoiding testing and recovery issues. It is also used as a cosmetic treatment.

Party for Human and Spirit

The Party for Human and Spirit (Dutch: Partij voor Mens en Spirit, MenS) is a Dutch political party, founded in March 2008. In December 2008, the party registered with the electoral council. MenS took part in the parliamentary elections in 2010 where they won 0.3% of the vote, not enough to enter the House of Representatives. The founder and president of the party is Lea Manders. She is an astrologer and has been a city councillor in Arnhem since 1998. MenS participated in the municipal elections of March 5, 2010 in the municipalities of Amsterdam and Eindhoven. Respectively, they won 0.3 and 0.5 percent and did not gain any seats.

In november 2014 MenS participated in a combined list with the Basis Income Party, the Netherlands (Dutch: Basis Inkomen Partij, BIP) in the municipality of Alkmaar and they won 1.0 percent and did not gain any seats. On March 18, 2015 MenS is participating in the elections for the provinces in two of them: Groningen and Gelderland.

The Party for Human and Spirit is based on what they call "modern spiritual foundations". Their main agenda is reorganizing the monetary system in order to enable the country, the seventh highest GDP but with increasing poverty, to thrive.