What Eros truly signifies The word love has several meanings in the English language; one can use it to describe their love for food, family, places, their partner in crime and etc. Unlike English, Ancient Greeks have four ways to describe the meaning of love. Eros which describes the sensual love between a husband and wife, Storge which describes ones love for family, Philia which describes ones love for a friend, and at last Agape the highest form of love an example would be Jesus Christ dying on the cross for all of mankind. All four Loves work together adepend on one another to reach the highest form of love, which is Agape. Eros was usually used to describe or express the sexual love between two people. But Eros is in fact the true love for ones husband or wife, Venus is the sexual side of the relationship. Eros must come before Venus because there is more than just the pleasure in a relationship. Having a sexual relationship is a husbands and wives way to show each other the love they have for one another and the result of that is reproduction. The love of two humans can make another human being that is the significance of Eros. Eros is more than just pleasure it is what both the husband and wife feel for one another and how it can result in such a beautiful thing Eros is very important in a …show more content…
Through Eros, one can build a family as God desired, which is marriage, family and with that unbreakable bond the couple can experience a more profound love which can be Fulfilled through another love and it can be Phileo, Storge, and / or Agape. With a strong marriage, the couple will guide each other closer to God. God gave us the four loves so that we can experience a little bit of the love that is waiting for us in eternity. When we experience Eros or the rest of the loves is when we are closest to
Robert Bridges and Anne Stevenson both have different versions of Eros, the god of love. While Bridges depicts Eros as an inspirational icon, Stevenson shows Eros as someone who has been bruised and abused, the opposite of a typical depiction of a reverential figure. They talk about love itself through the god Eros using their diction, imagery, and rhyme.
In the poems, “EΡΩΣ” by Robert Bridges and “Eros” by Anne Stevenson both have similar yet distinct concepts of the God of love. “EΡΩΣ” describes the concept of love as being conflicted between humans view of Eros as the god of love and lust; where as Stevenson’s poem describes Eros as being bruised and beat up as a result of this constant misunderstanding by humanity. Thus, both poems are similar with their description of Eros’ constant struggles with human nature. “EΡΩΣ” by Robert Bridges has a contradictory concept of what humans view as love, thus the negative and positive comparisons are between Eros different angles in love and lust. For instance, Eros is described as both having “exuberant flesh so fair” yet
It is often—in books, poems, paintings, and sculptures—that one hears of and sees the goddess of love. But when is it that one hears of the god? In Greek mythology, Eros is the god of love, and a god who is many times overlooked. In Robert Bridges’ “EPÙÓ” and Anne Stevenson’s “Eros”, the idea that Eros is overlooked is portrayed, but in two separate ways. Techniques such as diction, imagery, and tone are used to help convey the idea.
When Eros comes to mind, one imagines a couple falling in love and growing old together; one could even imagine a man looking at a woman with lust. While Eros is a love between a man and a woman, it involves much more than lust and the event of falling "in love". Gatsby, a character in "The Great Gatsby", forms a love that is equal to Eros. He does this through desiring only one woman and by unfortunately making Eros a god in his life.
In the Symposium, a most interesting view on love and soul mates are provided by one of the characters, Aristophanes. In the speech of Aristophanes, he says that there is basically a type of love that connects people. Aristophanes begins his description of love by telling the tale of how love began. He presents the tale of three sexes: male, female, and a combination of both. These three distinct sexes represented one’s soul. These souls split in half, creating a mirror image of each one of them. Aristophanes describes love as the search for the other half of your soul in this quote: “When a man’s natural form was split in two, each half went round looking for its other half. They put their arms around one another, and embraced each other, in their desire to grow together again. Aristophanes theme is the power of Eros and how not to abuse it.
Ultimately, the god aids humans in our quest towards completion; Eros attempts to transform the despondency sewn into people by Zeus into happiness and contentment. Individuals have born into them, an affliction stemming from an overwhelming feeling of longing, and man must try to overcome this affliction by any means necessary. However, it is Eros that is able to truly bring two slices back to a unified whole. By following Eros, not only are we able to be healed from our yearning, but we are also capable of being pious beings while being truly
The William Shakespeare tragedy Othello features various types of love, but none compare to the love we find between the protagonist and his wife. In this essay let us examine “love” as found in the play.
Love, in classical Greek literature, is commonly considered a prominent theme. Love, in present days, always appears in the categories of books, movies, music, etc. Interpreted differently by different people, Love turns into a multi-faceted being. In Plato’s work Symposium, Phaedrus, Pausania, Eryximachus, Aristophane and Agathon, each of them presents a speech to either praise or definite Love. Phaedrus first points out that Love is the primordial god; Pausanias brings the theme of “virtue” into the discussion and categorizes Love into “good” one or “bad” one; Eryximachus introduces the thought of “moderation’ and thinks that Love governs such fields as medicine and music; Aristophanes draws attention to the origin and purposes of Love; Agathon enunciates that the correct way to present an eulogy is first to praise its nature and gifts.
I have always thought that there was only one type of love, which was that feeling of overwhelming liking to someone else. I am aware that Lust does exist and that it is separate from Love, being that the desire for someone's body rather their mind. In Plato's Symposium, Plato speaks of many different types of love, loves that can be taken as lust as well. He writes about seven different points of view on love coming from the speakers that attend the symposium in honor of Agathon. Although all these men bring up excellent points on their definitions on love, it is a woman that makes the best definition be known. I will concentrate on the difference between the theory of Common and Heavenly love brought up by Pausanias and the important role that Diotima plays in the symposium.
In the Aeneid, love is depicted as an uncontrollable emotion. Venus and Juno promote the romance between Dido and Aeneas. Dido, the queen of Carthage, begins to fall in love with Aeneas, even though she has vowed to her late husband that she would set her “face against marriage” (Virgil 975). Aeneas falls in love with Dido and remains with her in Carthage, even though he knows that he must continue his travel to Rome. Love is a passion which consumes the soul in spite of its will. It is an “inward fire” (Virgil 976). Juno arranges it so that Dido and Aeneas consummate their love in a cave during a storm. Again, mortals have little or no control over their loves. The gods are the ones who cause people to fall in love.
Eros is a life instinct that assists people in survival by directing activities that sustain life. Some examples of these activities would be breathing, eating and sexuality. These life instincts are known to give people energy that is called libido. Thanatos is the opposite of Eros. It is a death instinct.
with some very different views of love as brought to us by Agathon, Phaedrus and
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word “love” first appeared in the year 825. Love was first written and pronounced as “lufu” in Old English. It had many different types of meanings, but the first definition that was put down was ‘That disposition or stated feeling with regard to a person which(arising from recognition of attractive qualities, from instincts of natural relationship, or from sympathy) manifests itself in solicitude for the welfare of the object, and usually also in delight in his or her presence and desire for his or her approval; warm affection, attachment,’ (“Love,” 2017, p. 52). According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, it means ‘to feel love for, cherish, show love to; delight in, approve’ (Harper, n.d.). Another great definition for the word “love” is ‘an intense feeling of deep affection,’ (“Love,” 2017, p. 56). Though these definitions talk of affection towards an object or person, in history the word “love” has been used in very different ways. In the 1950s, the term “make love” was a euphemism for “have sex”(Harper, n.d.). This term was most utilized by teenagers, using love, instead of lust, as a reason to have sex. On the other hand, the word “love” is used as a term in tennis. At the beginning of every game, the words “love all” are said to signify that both opponents start out with the score of zero. Though it is unclear as to when this began, the most
Love by definition is an emotion explored in philosophy, religion, and literature, often as either romantic love, the fraternal love of others, or the love of God based on the definition found in The Encarta Encyclopedia. As I explored the definition by means of the Internet, books, and articles I noticed the definitions changed quite a bit, but yet had the same basic understanding. The definition I found in The Encarta Encyclopedia was probably the most simple and most basic. It refers to love in the whole aspect, which is Godly, fraternal, and romantic. All in which can only be defined by one word and that it love.
Lovers treat love very seriously, intent on permanence and passion; as such, the circumstances which bring lovers together strengthen the bond. In the Aeneid, the will of the gods brought Dido and Aeneas together in Carthage. Juno said, “Your prince of Troy and Dido both will come to a cave. I’ll be there, too. With your consent, I’ll join them in marriage and name her ‘lawful wife.’ Their wedding this shall be.” To this, Venus nodded in agreement. “Such tactics made her smile” (Virgil 610). The love of Dido and Aeneas was handmade by the gods. On a scale of less grandeur, but still of great importance, was the beginning of the love in the first tale on the fourth day in the Decameron. The Prince of Salerno loved his daughter very much, “this girl was as much beloved by her father as any daughter ever was,” yet, his “tender love” kept him from marrying off his daughter (Boccaccio 1282). When a marriage took place at last, it was short lived, due to the new husband’s death. The prince took very good care ...