Making Sense Of Love By Learning Ancient Greek
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by: ZigfredDiaz
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Word Count: 409
Today, as the world celebrates Valentines Day the air is filled with love. It is only proper that we talk about this word love in the next few days. Hence let us explore the meaning and the depth of the word itself. In order to fully understand it we have to turn to the source of love, God himself as expressed in the Bible.
The writing in the New Testament was written in the ancient Greek. If we only have one word for love in English, the ancient greeks have 5 different words for love. In the English language, to properly distinguish the meaning of a single word, the context of the sentence is considered in order to fully appreciate the meaining of the word. In contrast when using New Testament Greek or "koine Greek" the context is given minimal consideration since the word itself conveys the full meaning. As an illustration, in English when we say we love our dog, we love our country, we love our parents and we love our wife, we are obviously not referring to the same kind of love. However in Koine greek different words for the word love is used for different kinds of purposes.
Undoubtedly, English is the "lingua franca" of the world. However I believe the ancient Greeks did a much more better job of expressing the word love than the way we do it in English.
1.) Agape -Refers to a "pure" and "ideal" type of love. Often use for "the love of God" or "such love that is willing to sacrifice one's life for another person." Its derivative, "Agapo" is used to say "I love you".
2.) Eros - Refers to passionate love, or sensual desire and longing. This is the kind of love being commonly referred to by most lovers.
3.) Philia - Widely known as "brotherly love". Aristotle was the one who developed this concept of "virtuous love". This word is used to describe the kind of "love" felt for family, friends and the community.
4.) Storge - Is being used to describe natural affection. Children are said to feel this kind of love for their parents.
5.) Xenia - Is used to refer to a "hospitable kind of love." This is best described as that bond of friendship formed between a host and a visitor.
Now don't you suppose that the Greeks did a better job of expressing what "Love" means than we do in the English ?
About the Author
Zigfred Diaz may not always blog about love meanings everyday but he regularly write about several interesting topics including how to invest in the Philippine stock market, financial management, investments, as well as other informative topics Visit his blog today
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