Concept in Definition ABC

Certain words have a long and curious history. This is the case of agape, a word originally used by the Greeks of the ancient world to refer to love and, with the passage of time, it acquired other meanings.

Love for greeks

Greek philosophers understood love in various senses. Plato in the IV century BC. C reflected on this concept in one of his best-known dialogues, The Banquet. Throughout it, the characters who participate in a banquet contribute their vision of what love means and its different modalities. In this way, for Plato there are four ways of conceiving it:

1) if you experience an intense desire for another person accompanied by a attraction sexual, it is an erotic love and it is lived with passion and carnal pleasure,

2) if there is a feeling of deep loyalty Y affected by someone, but without any connotation erotic, love is known by the term storgé,

3) if the loving feeling is oriented towards brotherhood between people, philia is experienced and

4) if love is disinterested, unconditional and seeks the good of the other, this feeling is called agape.

Plato reminds us that love is a force interior that manifests itself in different blueprints and senses. Agape can be understood as love for nature, for humanity, for supreme values ​​or for truth. It is a noble and sincere feeling that goes beyond personal interest and, consequently, has nothing to do with erotic love or filial love.

Among the early Christians

During the first centuries of Christianity, the faithful had the custom of gathering for a joint meal known as agape. It was a fraternal act that served to consolidate emotional ties and was held in commemoration of the celebration of the Last Supper of Jesus. From a historical point of view, the agape can be understood as a precedent for the Eucharist.

On the other hand, in many biblical passages there is talk of a totally unconditional and pure love that resembles agape Platonic love. It should be borne in mind that in the Greek translation of the Bible there are three kinds of loves: the erotic, the filial and the agape.

The current meaning of the term

In our day, the word agape has no relation to the idea of ​​love or to any religious aspect. An agape is simply a meal with a festive character with which some event Social.

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