Grayling) commonly use the Latin word ludus to describe this form of love, which concerns the playful affection between children or casual lovers. We’ve all had a taste of it in the flirting and teasing in the early stages of a relationship. Following the Roman poet Ovid, scholars (such as the philosopher A. While philia could be a matter of great seriousness, there was a third type of love valued by the ancient Greeks, which was playful love. Subscribe or donate today to keep YES! going strong. Like what you’re reading? We’re nonprofit and ad-free-we depend on readers like you. It’s an important question in an age when we attempt to amass “friends” on Facebook or “followers” on Twitter-achievements that would have hardly impressed the Greeks. We can all ask ourselves how much of this comradely philia we have in our lives. (Another kind of philia, sometimes called storge, embodied the love between parents and their children.) It was about showing loyalty to your friends, sacrificing for them, as well as sharing your emotions with them. Philia concerned the deep comradely friendship that developed between brothers in arms who had fought side by side on the battlefield. The second variety of love was philia or friendship, which the Greeks valued far more than the base sexuality of eros. Don’t we all hope to fall “madly” in love? 2. Which is odd, because losing control is precisely what many people now seek in a relationship. Lewis.Įros involved a loss of control that frightened the Greeks. In fact, eros was viewed as a dangerous, fiery, and irrational form of love that could take hold of you and possess you-an attitude shared by many later spiritual thinkers, such as the Christian writer C. But the Greeks didn’t always think of it as something positive, as we tend to do today. The first kind of love was eros, named after the Greek god of fertility, and it represented the idea of sexual passion and desire. So what were the six loves known to the Greeks? And how can they inspire us to move beyond our current addiction to romantic love, which has 94 percent of young people hoping-but often failing-to find a unique soul mate who can satisfy all their emotional needs? 1. They would have been shocked by our crudeness in using a single word both to whisper “I love you” over a candlelit meal and to casually sign an email “lots of love.” The ancient Greeks were just as sophisticated in the way they talked about love, recognizing six different varieties. Do you want a cappuccino, an espresso, a skinny latte, or maybe an iced caramel macchiato?Įros involved a loss of control that frightened the Greeks. Today’s coffee culture has an incredibly sophisticated vocabulary.
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