February 12, 2025
The Ancient Greeks recognized eight different types of love, from self-love to manic obsession. In honor of Valentine’s Day, we’re highlighting a different work of ancient art and architecture for each form of love:
Storge: familial love is seen through many lenses, but the Phrasikleia Kore shows that a parent’s love for a child can be everlasting. An inscription on the pedestal tells us that Phrasikleia was young at the time of her death and that her family lamented that she never got to grow up.
Photo Credit: National Archaeological Museum of Athens, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Agape: selfless love for others, particularly a community, can be seen in the story of Laocoön and his sons. Laocoön was a priest at Troy and tried to warn the Trojans not to accept the Trojan Horse from the Greeks; in trying to protect his city, he angered the gods, and they sent snakes to kill him and his sons.
Photo credit: Athanadoros, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Philautia: self-love, or self-care, can be seen in the architecture of Hadrian’s Villa in Tivoli. Hadrian had a small area, often called the Maritime Theater, built just off the receiving room. Here, he could take time to himself in between helping others.
Photo credit: Marie-Lan Nguyen, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Pragma: long-standing love is a blessing often reserved for spouses, such as the pair depicted on the Etruscan Sarcophagus of Spouses, who recline in a dining scene overtop their tomb.
Photo credit: Sailko, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Ludus: playful, casual love can be seen in the relationship between Maenads and Satyrs, who come together in revelries worshiping Dionysus. On this kylix, a type of drinking cup, drinkers would slowly reveal the image of a Maenad and Satyr as they finished their drink.
Photo credit: © 1993 GrandPalaisRmn (musée du Louvre) / Hervé Lewandowski
Philia: love between friends is prominent in the ancient world, particularly between warriors, such as Achilles and Ajax, seen here playing dice with Athena watching on in a moment between battles during the Trojan War.
Photo credit: © 1991 GrandPalaisRmn (musée du Louvre) / Gérard Blot
Eros: romantic love, or lust, is embodied best by Aphrodite. The Aphrodite of Knidos is one of the most famous statues of the ancient world. Made by the sculptor Praxiltes.
Photo credit: Museo nazionale romano di palazzo Altemps, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Mania: obsessive love often appears in myth, and none suffer from it more frequently than Apollo. In this mosaic, Apollo chases after Daphne after being cursed with mania by Eros.
Photo credit: Image courtesy of the Princeton University Art Museum.
Love takes countless forms, and the ancient Greeks captured this complexity with their multiple names for love. Each term offers a unique perspective, reflecting the diverse experiences and emotions that love entails. Happy Valentine’s Day!
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