--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Aristophanes says we were all four-legged…" description: "\"“Aristophanes says we were all four-legged creatures to start, some the same sex, but most half man and half woman. Zeus was afraid us humans would get..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/375/scott-turow-3838_aristophanes_aristophanes-says-we-were-all-four-legge_3163759.png" --- # Aristophanes says we were all four-legged creatures to… ![“Aristophanes says we were all four-legged creatures to start, some the same sex, but most half man and half woman. Zeus was afraid us humans would get too powerful so he sliced us right down the middle, and everybody spends their life looking for the matching piece.” quote by Scott Turow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/375/scott-turow-3838_aristophanes_aristophanes-says-we-were-all-four-legge_3163759.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/375/scott-turow-3838_aristophanes_aristophanes-says-we-were-all-four-legge_3163759.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/375/scott-turow-3838_aristophanes_aristophanes-says-we-were-all-four-legge_3163759.png) > ““Aristophanes says we were all four-legged creatures to start, some the same sex, but most half man and half woman. Zeus was afraid us humans would get too powerful so he sliced us right down the middle, and everybody spends their life looking for the matching piece.”” [Scott Turow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-turow/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Humans were originally whole beings split in half; each person spends life seeking their other half. **In simple terms:** We are searching for our complementary counterpart. Key Takeaway Embrace the journey of self‑discovery. Themes identity relationships search Mood reflective thoughtful Type mythical philosophical When to use this quote - personal growth - romantic partnership - self‑acceptance Key Concepts dualism myth completion Questions to Reflect On - Do we truly need a single “other half”? - How does this narrative affect relationship expectations? A Different Perspective The myth may oversimplify complex human needs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aristophanes-10578/) [Aristophanes Says](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aristophanes-says-5729459/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Woman Zeus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/woman-zeus-5729461/) [Zeus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zeus/) [Zeus Afraid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zeus-afraid-5729460/) ## Related quotes > [The graces once made up their mind - A shrine inviolate to find: And thus they found, and that with ease, The soul of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/the-graces-once-made-up-their-mind-a-shrine-inviolate-to-find-and/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [There is a God, and his name is Aristophanes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/there-is-a-god-and-his-name-is-aristophanes/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [“I suppose I should have laughed even more uproariously at what happened next; as a newly anointed convert to the Old Comedy, I should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/i-suppose-i-should-have-laughed-even-more-uproariously-at-what/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [“Atheism or similar charges was not unusual among intellectuals, nor condemned by the masses. The prize-winning plays of Aristophanes were not merely atheist, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-jowett/atheism-or-similar-charges-was-not-unusual-among-intellectuals-nor/) [Benjamin Jowett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-jowett/) > [“She hadn’t been touched by anyone in almost two years. Now Zeus was climbing all over her like she was Mount Olympus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-evanovich/she-hadn-t-been-touched-by-anyone-in-almost-two-years-now-zeus-was/) [Stephanie Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-evanovich/) > [“Olympus is still a patriarchy. Zeus heads his royal household as jealously as Jehovah rules his harem of dull, harp-playing angels. Both are templates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cliff-james/olympus-is-still-a-patriarchy-zeus-heads-his-royal-household-as/) [Cliff James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cliff-james/) > [I once read a story from Plato, who claimed that in the ancient times, all humans had been a combination of male and female.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-once-read-a-story-from-plato-who-claimed-that-in-the-ancient-times/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If rain is God crying, I think God is drunk and his girlfriend just slept with Zeus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/if-rain-is-god-crying-i-think-god-is-drunk-and-his-girlfriend-just/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [Zeus, first cause, prime mover; for what thing without Zeus is done among mortals?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/zeus-first-cause-prime-mover-for-what-thing-without-zeus-is-done/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [Aegis-bearing Zeus has a design for each occasion, and mortals find this hard to comprehend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesiod/aegis-bearing-zeus-has-a-design-for-each-occasion-and-mortals-find/) [Hesiod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesiod/) > [“So, like, Zeus was just some great big preternatural baby-daddy?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-peeler/so-like-zeus-was-just-some-great-big-preternatural-baby-daddy/) [Nicole Peeler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-peeler/) > [We did 'The Conversation' on the Zeus network because we already are on TV and we felt like us being our own therapists could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-j/we-did-the-conversation-on-the-zeus-network-because-we-already-are-on/) [Ray J](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-j/) > [Ruin, eldest daughter of Zeus, she blinds us all, that fatal madness—she with those delicate feet of hers, never touching the earth, gliding over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/ruin-eldest-daughter-of-zeus-she-blinds-us-all-that-fatal-madness-she/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [“I have found it an amusing strategy, when asked whether I am an atheist, to point out that the questioner is also an atheist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-have-found-it-an-amusing-strategy-when-asked-whether-i-am-an/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Science can destroy religion by ignoring it as well as by disproving its tenets. No one ever demonstrated, so far as I am aware,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/science-can-destroy-religion-by-ignoring-it-as-well-as-by-disproving/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) ## More by Scott Turow > [I'm of that generation of Jews still deeply influenced by the Holocaust. 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Library business centers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-turow/libraries-function-as-crucial-technology-hubs-not-merely-for-free-web/) [Scott Turow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-turow/) > [That led me to say that when push comes to shove, I'm against capital punishment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-turow/that-led-me-to-say-that-when-push-comes-to-shove-i-m-against-capital/) [Scott Turow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-turow/) > [I hate second-guessing other lawyers because I know that I've tried and lost cases, and somebody could sit there and say, 'Should have done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-turow/i-hate-second-guessing-other-lawyers-because-i-know-that-i-ve-tried/) [Scott Turow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-turow/) > [The issue is not whether there are horrible cases where the penalty seems "right". The real question is whether we will ever design a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-turow/the-issue-is-not-whether-there-are-horrible-cases-where-the-penalty/) [Scott Turow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-turow/) > [“It was crime at its purest, in which empathy, that most fundamental aspect of human morality, evaporated and another being became only a target…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-turow/it-was-crime-at-its-purest-in-which-empathy-that-most-fundamental/) [Scott Turow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-turow/) > [“You accept that it happened. But you know that life burned this hole in your heart and it's not going to heal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-turow/you-accept-that-it-happened-but-you-know-that-life-burned-this-hole/) [Scott Turow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-turow/) > ['Presumed Innocent' was written over a six to seven year period with intervals in between where I was figuring out the end of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-turow/presumed-innocent-was-written-over-a-six-to-seven-year-period-with/) [Scott Turow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-turow/) [Explore all 118 Scott Turow quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-turow/) ## More Aristophanes quotes > [“Atheism or similar charges was not unusual among intellectuals, nor condemned by the masses. 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