Sappho DQ

"Philosophy of Love" Excerpt

1. Eros
a. Eros is passionate, often sexual desire. The English word "erotic" comes from it.
b. Plato’s concept: Eros is a ladder—it starts with attraction to a person but ultimately seeks transcendent Beauty/Truth (the "Form of Beauty").
c. Reciprocity? No. Plato’s eros is one-way (you desire the Ideal, not necessarily the person).

2. Philia
a. Closest English equivalent: friendship (or deep fondness).
b. Applies to: Friends, family, community (polis), even disciplines/jobs.
c. Reciprocity: Essential in philia (Aristotle says best friendships require mutual virtue).
d. Kinds of philia:

  • Utility (business partners).

  • Pleasure (fun companions).

  • Virtue (true friends who admire each other’s character).
    e. English words: Philosophy ("love of wisdom"), bibliophile ("love of books").

3. Agape
a. Religious tradition: Christianity (e.g., "Love thy neighbor").
b. Definition: Selfless, universal love (like God’s love for humans). No conditions or need for reciprocity.

4. Romantic Love
a. Origins: Emerged in medieval courtly love (11th-century France). Example: Knights idolizing ladies (but no consummation!).
b. Modern definition: Mutual passion + commitment; blends eros (desire) and philia (friendship). Role varies—could be central (marriage) or fluid (dating).

"His and Hers — A Love Story?" Excerpt

1. Eros (pg. 49)
a. Difference: Greek eros was a destabilizing force (like a disease), not "beautiful" or eternal like Romantic/Christian love.
b. In tragedy: Eros destroys—e.g., Medea’s rage, Paris’s desire for Helen causing Troy’s fall.
c. Most prized virtue: Self-control (not wanting to desire).
d. Why misleading? Modern "love" implies reciprocity; eros was one-sided, often unwanted.

2. Reciprocity
a. Modern love: Requires mutual passion/respect (e.g., Jane Austen’s couples).
b. Husband/wife in Greece: Duty-bound, not passionate. Desire for wives was "disgusting" (Seneca).
c. Most attractive: As a virgin bride (post-wedding, eros shifted to mistresses/boys).
d. After marriage: Mistresses, prostitutes, boys (not wives).
e. In theater:

  • Women: Desire = monstrous (Clytemnestra murders her husband).

  • Men: Desire = absurd (comic fools led by lust).
    f. Paris & Helen myth: Paris’s eros for Helen (another man’s wife) sparked the Trojan War.
    g. Agency: Power to act autonomously. Athenian men aimed to control (desire, household) and never be desired objects.
    h. Prescriptive vs. Descriptive:

  • Prescriptive: How things should be (e.g., men controlling desire).

  • Descriptive: How things are (e.g., actual chaotic eros). Greek texts blur both.

Key Themes

  • Ancient vs. Modern: Greeks feared eros; we romanticize it.

  • Gender asymmetry: Men = desirers; women’s desire = dangerous.

  • Love is cultural: "Universal" love is a myth—emotions are shaped by society.

TL;DR: Greeks saw love as power, not partnership. Modern romance would’ve baffled them!