Spherical People and Fornasetti's muse
Plato called them the Spherical People.
The face of the opera singer Lina Cavalieri, Piero Fornasetti's muse.
Anselm Feuerbach, “Das Gastmahl” (2nd version, 1874). On the left, the drunk Alkibiades, standing in the centre, the host Agathon, on the right Socrates and Aristophanes. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/. Public domain
Explore the original Fornasetti plates:
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/290974825858245239/Read more about Plato’s “Spherical People” myth (Aristophanes’ speech in The Symposium):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symposium_(Plato)#Aristophanes'_speechOverview of Piero Fornasetti and his surrealist design work:
https://www.fornasetti.com/us/en/pages/about-piero-fornasetti.htmlModern queer readings of the Symposium myth:
https://www.lgbtqreligiousarchives.org/profiles/platos-symposium-and-same-sex-loveAcademic article on myth, fragmentation, and queer identity:
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/623782 (via GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies)The legacy of Aristophanes’ myth in contemporary queer theory:
https://daily.jstor.org/the-ancient-greek-origin-of-soulmates/
The image comes from one of my favorite myths—Plato’s story of the spherical beings, told by Aristophanes in The Symposium. According to the myth, humans were once whole: round creatures with four arms, four legs, and two faces. They were powerful. Zeus, afraid of their strength, split them in half. Since then, we’ve been searching for our missing part—trying to feel whole again. It’s a story that’s beautiful, strange, and a little sad.
It feels even more powerful when you look at it through a queer lens. Some of the original beings were same-sex pairings. Others didn’t fit into the male or female binary. This ancient story quietly affirms what many people still have to fight for today—that love is diverse, identity doesn’t need to fit into categories, and wholeness looks different for everyone.
When I sat with this idea, it grew beyond romance. It’s also about all the ways we try to find ourselves—in other people, in community, in art, and in the moments when we refuse to believe we are “too much” or “not enough.” Zeus tried to break people by splitting them, but the story actually shows how strong we are—how deeply we long, and how hard we love.
For me, this tattoo is about that search—the joy of recognizing ourselves in someone else. Through the surreal eye of Fornasetti and the ancient voice of myth, this became a small tattoo carrying a huge story.
Jorge
Myth Notes
Plato’s story of the Spherical People, told by Aristophanes in The Symposium, describes how humans were once whole, spherical beings with four arms, four legs, and two faces. Fearing their strength, Zeus split them in half, forcing them to search for their missing part for the rest of their lives.
The story is an early acknowledgment of diverse forms of love. Some people originally belonged to same-sex pairings. Others didn’t fit into a strict male or female definition. It’s a myth that gently disrupts the idea that love and identity must follow a fixed pattern.
It speaks to queer history and queer resilience. Much like how Zeus’ punishment was meant to weaken people, oppressive systems still try to divide and control LGBTQ+ lives. But the story also shows our strength—the way we keep seeking, keep loving, keep becoming whole on our own terms.
This tattoo project draws from that myth, filtered through Fornasetti’s surrealist design. By blending classical symbolism with his dreamlike style, it became a quiet exploration of identity, connection, and the endless human search for completeness.