These are 7 Ways Ancient Greece Taught Us To Express Love Better. You’re Welcome
Did You Know That There are a total of seven different words the Greeks have developed to express love?
This is important to understand, because in Western society, we’re groomed to devote our lives towards practicing only ONE!
In ancient Greece, many philosophers, such as Playto, debated various types of love that were showcased in their society. And were therefore very thoughtful about defining it.
This was a way of displaying passion in plutonic ways, and getting the point across that finding a special someone isn’t the only way to fulfill yourself.
They believed it was important to understand different types of relationships, for our overall sense of wellbeing.
Learn about the seven types of love, what they mean, and how they might show up in your day-to-day life.
I discuss them in detail below. However, the video I provide it also fun and visually inspiring approach to learning this lesson in love and growth.
What are the SEVEN Greek words for love?
- Eros
- Phillia
- Erotoropia/Ludus
- Storge
- Philautia
- Pragma
- Agape
- Eros: Passionate Love
Eros is the most common depiction of love in Greek. It refers to passionate, romantic, sexual love between two individuals.
The term comes from Greek mythology, named after Eros, the son of Aphrodite, a.k.a., the goddess of attraction, love, and sexual desire.
This type of love might show up in your life today as the initial excitement and spark occurring at the beginning of a relationship when you’re just starting to get to know a new potential partner. - Philia: Friendship Love
You won’t love all the people in your life in the same way—and that’s where philia comes in. While you might feel eros for your partner, you might feel philia for friends.
This type of love is about companionship, so it might show up in your life mostly through friendships. - Erotoropia or Ludus: Flirty, Playful Love
This form of love is straight-up flirty. You might experience it in early phases of dating or while you’re expressing interest for another person.
You can spark this form of love by just having fun. Seek out silly things that you both find joy in whether that’s a flirty date or laughing together. - Storge: Familial Love
Storge is the love you have for your family, including your parents and siblings.
This word is rarer than some of the others, used mostly as a generic term for love.
This type of love shows up in your life when you focus on familial relationships—although they don’t necessarily need to be your family of origin.
It can also be a family of creation, such as close friends that become family. - Philautia: Self-Love
Philautia is when you cultivate your person and take care of yourself in mental and physical ways. This is more of a philosophical term.
It might show up in your life as you gain more self-awareness about who you are and what your needs are. Also as you find ways to make sure those needs are met.
This may be you setting certain boundaries with friends during a rough patch at work.
Or staying in on the weekend and reading instead of going out.
Working on philautia is crucial. Especially before seeking eros.
great relationships don’t begin until you first figure yourself out. - Pragma: Committal Love
Pragma literally means “thing” in Greek. While it’s not a term that specifically refers to love—it’s way more general and actually has to do with business or a state of affairs.
The way pragma shows up through love is by gaining a deeper understanding of your partner, possibly through commitment.
To foster pragma in your own life, have some kind of “consciousness agreement” with your partner with tenets that you both agree to.
What am I saying when I love you? What am I saying in this commitment to you? What are our values? - Agápe: Spiritual Love
The love term Agápe has to do with spirituality, and originates in the seventh or eighth century B.C.E.
It was mostly used by Christian authors to describe the love among brothers of the faith.
For those who are not religious or spiritual, Agape can be cultivated by finding a community, whether that be a faith-based community or simply people with similar views on the world.
It’s a way to spread the love you feel back out into the world through service.
This is the biggest form of love. As it showcases we are all one and how we recognize that truth in one another.
My Final Thoughts
It’s sad that we’ve forgotten such important wisdom. So many of us come and go regretting not having a monumental marriage. Totally forgetting that the friendships we’ve forged and the communities we built are just as essential to the human experience.
Love isn’t only between two wedded people. If you don’t have a blissful married situation right now, don’t fret. Just remember that you make life more worthwhile for someone, you build your community, and you know how to stick by others through hard times.
Childhood friends, pets, businesses, and children are all things we can pour our being into to make a gigantic mark upon the world.
Don’t let a directional view block all the wonderful gifts you have surrounding you.
Need More Insight On Love?
Visit my YouTube Channel, where the community and I deep dive into the harsh realities of love to help it blossom into the most beautiful part of our lives.
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Can you be more specific about the content of your article? After reading it, I still have some doubts. Hope you can help me.
I don’t think the title of your article matches the content lol. Just kidding, mainly because I had some doubts after reading the article.