Agape* (ἀγάπη, agápē) is pure love or the highest form of love. It entwines a universal, unconditional love that transcends all barriers and when we think it can't, it still does. The goes as far back as Homer, translated literally as affection, as in "greet with affection" and "show affection for the dead." (Soble, 30.) Eros* (ἔρως, érōs) is simply "erota me ta panta" (the path of being love with everything.) It is a passionate love, often misinterpreted as only sexual or erotic desire. Plato refined his own definition in The Symposium: Although Eros is initially felt for a person, with contemplation and the acquiring of knowledge, it becomes an appreciation of the beauty within souls or entities, or it even becomes appreciation of beauty …show more content…
It is a virtuous love, it is also pure like agape. Developed by Aristotle, it does not only apply to people, it applies to philosophy (philosophia meaning the love for wisdom.) Nicomachean Ethics, one of his most famous works, philia requires loyalty to friends and specifically to brotherly love, family, and community. It is a love of virtue, equality, and familiarity. Brotherly love like James and Cam is an example which relfects Woolf's relationship with her brother Thoby. Family love and values in The Years and the the commentary on community in Between the Acts are just some examples. Furthermore, in the same text, philos is also between lovers, indicating the desire for enjoying the company of others. Woolf takes it a bit further, showing us that simply loving and enjoying someone's presence is also love much like Rachel and Hewet's relationship. We know that any relationship cannot work without honesty, trust and friendship. Interesting fact: ego can certainly have a significant impact on love but translated directly from Greek it means "I" in the sense that I will do what is good for others, to make their lives better, this is philia. Language is amazing because they mean the completely opposite of each other in English and Greek, lika mira in Spanish means look or see but in Greek it means
“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 “Ere from his chaste marmoreal,” thus stating he has both a sexual, savage appearance, yet a pure and smooth one also. The speaker also states, “Surely thy body is thy mind, for thy face is nought to find…” where Eros is being described as a pretty boy who beyond his looks has no brain. Both these descriptions, of a sexual appearance and having no brains, depict that ...
middle of paper ... ... The Agape love style shows unselfish concern along with physical sacrifice and nurturing for others. Nowhere in either of these two relationships could it be said that there was an Agape love style shown. In truth, it appears that no relationships that occurred in Random Family, whether it be with a significant other or within a family unit itself, had the aspects of an Agape style love in them.
Webster's Dictionary says, "Love is an affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interest." The Scarlet Pimpernel, written by Baroness Orczy, emphasizes three different basic kinds of love. Chauvelin and his troops reveal the devotion of one's true love of their county vastly. Moreover, the moving bond between a brother and sister is one of a kind. Those particular times when you and your sibling feel affection for each other remain very erratic, even in this century. Even so, the most distinguished love today remains as the admiration of human beings toward each other. These three types of love are shown in everyday life. This novel consists of an individual’s unfathomable affection for his country, a charming adoration between two siblings, and the hidden love between a man and his wife.
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.
The very word erotic comes from the Greek word eros, the personification of love in all
Love is defined as a feeling of strong or constant affection for a person. Faithfulness is often defined as true to one's word, promises, vows, or being loyal. In Homer’s famous story, The Odyssey, Odysseus and Penelope show their true love for one another, and how a good marriage can stay together. In “Bound by Love and Disability, and Keeping a Vow Until the End” you can take away that Edwin and Noemi love each other dearly. Marriages do not always turn out the way you want, but true love can make good things happen.
The story of Ethos was that he was a Greek god of love. In Latin, Ethos means the god of desire, affection, and erotic love. He was self-born at the beginning of time to spur procreation (theoi.com). His mother is Aphrodite and his father is Ares. He has three brothers named Deimos, Phobos, and Harmonia. Resources say that Eros is the guy who carries around a bow and arrow and he has the power to make any human fall in love with anyone they see at first sight. Another name they have for Ethos is Cupid, because of his power he has to make anyone fall in love (greekgodandgoddess.net).
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.
Sappho, who is very well the speaker and author of the poem, clearly recognizes the substantial impact that love creates in relation to the amount of happiness people experience. Those who are successful in the game love, whether it be by giving it or receiving it, are far happier than those who confront despair and rejection. Finding love means finding the acceptance, companionship, and most of all, happiness that everyone strives to receive in their lifetime. As a result, love becomes a weapon for power, superiority, and control.
The Symposium, The Aeneid, and Confessions help demonstrate how the nature of love can be found in several places, whether it is in the mind, the body or the soul. These texts also provide with eye-opening views of love as they adjust our understanding of what love really is. By giving us reformed spectrum of love, one is able to engage in introspective thinking and determine if the things we love are truly worthy of our sentiment.
Nearly everyone experiences the feeling of love. Whether it’s for another person or for food, almost everyone feels love during their lifetime. In the play Antigone, the writer, Sophocles, illustrates a very important fact regarding love: love is our most important and most dangerous motivation for doing anything, and without moderation, love can be deadly.
Psychologist Robert Sternberg developed the "Triangular Theory of Love" which defines the three components of love needed for a "perfect" relationship as commitment, passion, and intimacy (companionship) (Wikipedia). "The amount of love one experiences depends on the absolute strength of these three components, and the type of love one experiences depends on their strengths relative to each other" (Wikipedia). In Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, she introduces five couples which enter into marriages in all different types of love. Mr. and Mrs. Bennet have an infatuated love that fades to no love at all, Charlotte and Mr. Collins enter into an empty love, Lydia and Mr. Wickham fall into a fatuous love, Jane and Mr. Bingley focus on a companionate love, and finally, Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy find an all consummate love for each other. Throughout the novel, Austen uses these five variations of love to employ characters and define their futures.
It is rather difficult to speak of love in an original sense today. If someone were to ask an individual to define love, a common response would be, “love cannot be explained, it cannot be defined”. This answer would be acceptable if love was equally felt for and between all people. But anyone would have to agree to the fact that there are different degrees and levels of love. Someone would not love his or her family members the same way they would his or her spouse. Love varies between different levels of action and feeling, and a definition of each level must be discovered in order to understand its varying power. Martin Luther King Jr. felt the need to address this particular issue when discussing the principles behind the non-violent student movement for civil rights. King felt that a working idea of love was the keystone to the philosophy of a non-violent protest. Turning to the Greek language and idea of love, King was able to define three particular levels, eros, philia, and agape. His goal was to take one of these three levels and use it as the definitive quality of the non-violent movement.
Pure and Foolish Love in Othello Othello, the central character of William Shakespeare's play, is an excellent leader but a poor reasoner and foolish lover. The tragedy of Othello' is largely due to Othello's personality and life experience. Othello believes himself to be loved and respected by everyone around him as most people refer to him as the "noble General Othello". Othello, after realizing his tragic mistake of murdering his innocent wife, Desdemona, claims he "loved not wisely, but too well". This is an honest reflection of himself as his love was true and pure but also foolish.
Love is affection, devotion, passion, desire, warmth, respect or loyalty. You choose. It doesn't really matter which one because they are all forms of love. Some are powerful and demand attention while others are more subtle and just below the surface. In recent years, love has drifted from these subtle levels to the more noticeable ones, namely passion. In my opinion, our society downplays the real necessity for genuine affection. By this I mean that we, as a society, spend so much time focusing on only one level of love (passion) that we tend to neglect and not recognize the need for closeness and trust (friendship). Love is an all-encompassing emotion that can be powerful and demanding, but also rewarding and pleasurable.