Diotima was designed by Gudrun Zapf von Hesse in 1948, the italic even earlier, in 1939. Its roots had been a calligraphic sheet made by Gudrun Zapf von Hesse with the texts of "Hyperion to Diotima" by Friedrich Hölderlin. Diotima is the name of a Greek priestess in Plato's dialogue about love and in the philosopher's imagination she should be slim and beautiful.The hotmetal version of Diotima was released by D. Stempel AG in 1951-53. It is a festive font particularly well-suited to invitations, programs and poems. The delicate italic draws attention to text which should be emphasized. Zapf von Hesse's Ariadne Initials and Smaragd are perfect complements to Diotima.