FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2025 - GREEK LOVE
Today is Valentine’s Day (or, more formally, St. Valentine’s Day - named after St. Valentine).
Today I am starting a new Friday series on “Love Wins”.
FIRST - Let’s visit the Greeks.
1. Eros, or sexual passion
The first kind of love was eros, named after the Greek god of fertility, and it represented the idea of sexual passion and desire. But the Greeks didn’t always think of it as something positive, as we tend to do today. 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. S. Lewis.
Eros involved a loss of control that frightened the Greeks. This is odd, because losing control is precisely what many people now seek in a relationship. Don’t we all hope to fall “madly” in love?
In Greek mythology, Eros is considered "scary" because he represents the often uncontrollable and overwhelming nature of passionate, physical desire, where love can strike unexpectedly and forcefully, causing chaos and disruption in people's lives, even among the gods, due to his mischievous nature of randomly firing love arrows at his targets; essentially, the fear comes from the potential for love to be disruptive and not always rational.
KEY POINTS ABOUT EROS THAT MAKE HIM SCARY:
Unpredictable and forceful:
Eros is depicted as a mischievous trickster who can strike anyone with his love arrows without warning, causing intense feelings that can be difficult to manage.
Blind passion:
The love brought by Eros is often portrayed as blind and consuming, potentially leading people to make rash decisions or neglect other aspects of their lives.
Power over gods:
Even the Olympian gods were not immune to Eros's power, further highlighting the potentially destructive nature of uncontrolled passion.
In American custom, “Love at first sight is a form of Eros - blind passion. Consider these lyrics from “Some Enchanted Evening” by Rodgers and Hammerstein in the musical South Pacific:
Some enchanted evening
You may see a stranger,
You may see a stranger
Across a crowded room
And somehow you know,
You know even then
That somewhere you'll see her
Again and again.
So, you are at a dance or event, and “across a crowded room,” you see somebody, and “boom,” you are in love!!
Can you really find deep and abiding love by only seeing somebody across a crowded room? Don’t you want to sit down and visit to get to know him or her better?
One source says, “Yes, love is generally considered a deep emotion. It is often described as a complex feeling that involves a strong connection, commitment, and profound affection for another person. It goes beyond just a fleeting feeling. Many experts view it as more than a simple emotion, but rather a combination of emotions and behaviors that create a deep bond.
Aside - personal observation: I know men (and know of many others), who make “loving” decisions with their penis - and not their brain or their heart. They have affairs with their coworkers, employees, and any other woman who seems interested. It also seems that such men like to look at pornography. That seems to fit the definition of EROS love.
But, I also know of marriages without Eros love. Frequently, it seems as though the man might be interested in Eros - sexual desire but the wife is not interested. I can understand that after pregnancy, labor, caring for children, that women might not be as interested in sexual/Eros love.
The Greeks had other names and concepts for love. We will look at them in upcoming Friday blog posts:
Philia, or deep friendship
Ludus, or playful love
Agape, or love for everyone (or “GOD Love)
Pragma, or longstanding love
Philautia, or love of the self
When I say “LOVE WINS”, I’m talking about Agape (God) Love!!
LOVE TRANSFORMS
Karen Anne White, February 14, 2025
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