The sixth speech of Ficino’s commentary on Plato’s Symposium brings a surprise: in a speech in the speech the prophetess Diotima reappears in Careggi, addressing Socrates anew. In Plato’s Symposium Diotima had teased Socrates for his incomprehension of love before giving him insight into her mysteries, but in Ficino’s De amore Diotima directs ‘the wisest among Greeks’ as if he were a schoolboy and there is a slight change of the directions given. While in the Symposium Diotima had led Socrates up a ladder from singular beauty to a vision of beauty, in Ficino’s reworking Diotima promises to lead Socrates to God. This paper examines Diotima’s role in Ficino’s banquet and her new directions for ascent in love.