"Love," said Phaedrus, "is the oldest of Gods, and one of the most powerful. Give me an Army made up of lovers and I can conquer the world." The Phaedrus ( / ˈ f iː d r ə s / ; Greek : Φαῖδρος ), written by Plato , is a dialogue between Plato's main protagonist , Socrates , and Phaedrus , an interlocutor in several dialogues . The Phaedrus was presumably composed around 370 BC, around the same time as Plato's Republic and Symposium . Although ostensibly about the topic of love , the discussion in the dialogue revolves around the art of rhetoric and how it should be practiced, and dwells on subjects as diverse as metempsychosis (the Greek tradition of reincarnation ) and erotic love .