EducationSecondary education and schools

What is Eros? Meaning and interpretation of the word

There is no unequivocal answer to the question about what is eros. Someone sees in this word a tender sensual love, others look for a vulgar subtext in it, while others look at ancient Greek mythology. And in fact all are right. Let's try together to understand the definitions of this word, in how its meaning has changed throughout history and what is considered today as eros.

The meaning of the word "eros"

As everyone knows, in Greek mythology there was a huge pantheon of various gods. Some were responsible for the war, others for fertility, others for successful hunting. In ancient Greece, there were several gods of love. One of them was Eros. We can say that this is the first definition of this word.

Later, they began to call this bodily and sensual love, as well as a love of knowledge and everything beautiful.

In general, almost always a synonym for love was Eros. The meaning and interpretation of the word changed over time, as did the attitude toward the feeling itself. Some philosophers and historians narrowed the definition, others, on the contrary, tried to expand it. To date, there are many interpretations of the word "love", and hence they are no less than the word "eros".

In mythology

Let's turn to mythology and see how God was Eros. Ancient Greece, judging by the myths, awarded her character a tough character. It was believed that this resident of Olympus did not always bring a happy love, most often he gave people a "bitter-sweet" feeling.

According to one version, it is believed that Eros is the son of Ares, the god of war, and Aphrodite, the goddess of love. On the other - he is just an eternal companion of Aphrodite. But not a god, but a demon.

Still according to one myth, Eros appeared long before Aphrodite, and even before Zeus. He was, as it were now said, a contemporary of Chaos, who created all living things, Gaeia, that is Earth, and Tartarus, the god of hell. And that it was thanks to Eros that all the other gods appeared. Love forced Chaos to associate her life with Gaia.

Judging by the descriptions, he was not originally a handsome young man from Olympus. God was two-sexed and had four heads: the lion, snake, lamb and bull. Unless the golden wings behind him gave out in him the customary god of love.

What is different from Cupid?

Later, Eros had a Roman analogue - Cupid. Both gods were given a golden bow and arrows in their hands. More often than not, Eros was portrayed as a blond, fair-faced little boy. He began to bring people love, and even happiness. However, God did not completely "kind". Rather, he turned into a spoiled, capricious little boy.

What distinguishes Cupid from Eros:

  1. Eros is able not only to give, but also to take away love.
  2. Cupid is always portrayed as a boy, a Greek god can look like a young man and as an adult man.
  3. Unlike Cupid, Eros gives not only love, but also a sexual attraction.

Interestingly, the favorite flower of Cupid was a rose. On this occasion, even there is a myth. The boy admired the rose, and did not notice the bee in the bud. The insect bit the little god. He burst into tears and flew to Venus (Aphrodite). To remove the swelling, the mother attached the stems of the rose to the wound. And the pain was gone. Adult Eros is also often portrayed with this delicate flower.

Beloved of God

For a long time, Eros himself did not know the true love. The mythology of Ancient Greece says that he met his beloved by accident. In one kingdom lived a beautiful young girl - Psyche. She was so handsome that they began to say that Aphrodite herself went down to Olympus.

The proud goddess, hearing this conversation, decided to punish the girl. She called her son Eros, ordered him to steal a beauty. Then the god of love had to find for Psyche the most terrible and disgusting husband. But the young man did not keep his mother's word, fell in love with the girl and began to come to her in the form of a monster.

Psyche knew that her lover must be someone terrible. One night she came to kill her husband, but when she saw the beautiful Eros, she changed her mind. However, she spilled a drop of hot butter on his leg from the candle. God flew into the sky in fright. And Psyche decided to kill herself.

Beloved loved severe trials. Psyche descended into the realm of the dead and almost died there. Seeing their love, Zeus gave them their consent to the marriage and made the girl immortal.

Eros in the philosophy of Plato

Many sages of the ancient world have tried to find the answer to the question of what eros is. Including Plato. The philosopher maximally expanded this definition. He believed that the concept of eros refers to the Cosmos. It is this attraction that binds:

  • Man and woman;
  • Writer and reader;
  • Doctor and patient.

Simply put, there are eros in any sphere of life. In religion, magic, exact sciences. He's like inspiration. At the same time, the feeling is born and lives in beauty. Eros by Plato - the desire for an ideal.

The theory of the philosopher was formed on the basis of the teachings of his predecessors: Homer and Hesiod. And the first is a bright concentrated love, and the second - a blind chaotic force.

By the way, even in ancient Greece, the sages singled out two kinds of love :

  1. Eros. Love is all-consuming. This longing for the beloved and obsession with another person.
  2. Agape. Love affiliate. Devotion to each other, the search for common interests and values.

It turns out, even in science, Eros is a selfish feeling, burning everything on the way to one's love.

What did Freud say?

Sigmund Freud, however, already in the 20th century, also decided to study the word "eros". The psychoanalyst did not immediately identify the phenomenon. At first he narrowed the concept to a lascivious passion, completely rejecting Plato's theory. Freud declared that all the achievements of culture and art are nothing but the sublimation of eros.

In the future work, the psychoanalyst found that eros is a sexual attraction, as well as an instinct for the preservation of human life. The scientist himself called sexual attraction a true love in its broadest sense. In this case, Eros has its own energy, which Freud called "libido".

On this search, the definitions of the word did not end. The Russian philosopher Semyon Frank eros called sexual materialism. Boris Vysheslavtsev did not agree with his colleague and argued that "eros goes beyond the bodily drive," cleans and transforms a person.

Eros and Thanatos

It would seem that we have already found enough answers to the question about what is Eros. However, you can truly understand this word through the opposite - Thanatos. Actually, we'll have to go back to Freud.

The psychoanalyst believed that since Eros is the instinct of life, there must also be the death instinct. Attraction to death, as well as aggression - this is Thanatos. And our life is just between these two concepts. Every person from time to time is attracted to one of them, then to another.

True, the prognosis of the scientist was sad: no matter how much we wanted to love, no matter how much we value life, in the end, everything that destroys Thanatos will win. At the same time, the sooner a person reaches his heights in life, the sooner his desire for death begins.

It concerns, according to Freud, this is not only a relationship to life, but all its spheres. Including the relationship between a man and a woman. And all creativity "rocks" between love and death.

Reflection in culture

In culture and art, Eros also "made its way". The meaning of this concept in creative work is difficult to overestimate.

At first, of course, people got acquainted with the image of the god from Olympus. His image could be found on the friezes in Pompeii, on the famous mosaics of Piazza Armerina in Sicily. God was sung by poets and playwrights. True, the ancient Greek poet Sappho often showed him cruel.

At the time of Euripides, Eros was given a bow and arrows. The sculpture of the deity was sculpted by Titian, Lysippos and many other artists.

In 1915, a ballet was staged in Russia for the music of Serenade for the Tchaikovsky orchestra. The choreographer was Mikhail Fokin. The ballet was staged for several years, he even survived the revolution. True, it was no longer about God, but about sensual love. At the heart of the story was the fairy tale "Angel from Fiesoli".

The philosophical film Eros and Civilization was filmed in 1955 by the German philosopher Herbert Marcuse. The tape was based on the research of Sigmund Freud.

Already in 2004, Hong Kong director Wong Kar-Wai shot his feature film: Eros. The picture, consisting of three short films, tells the viewer about sex and about love.

The meaning of the name Eros

As already mentioned above, the name of Eros was worn by the ancient Greek god. Our contemporaries at birth also sometimes get that name. As you might guess, it means love.

If we take it in alphabetical order, then we will see the following picture:

  • E means sociable.
  • P - active, selfish.
  • About - emotional.
  • C - balanced.

Numerology gave the name a number of 3. This means that Eros is a cheerful person, talented, able to learn. At the same time impatient, inclined to give up everything. It is assumed that his lucky colors are black and gray. The day of the week is Saturday. And metal is lead. A totem beast for Eros can be a camel, a tortoise, a mole, a donkey or an ant.

Of the famous people who bear this name, one can distinguish an Italian singer and composer - Eros Luciano Ramazotti.

Planet in the Solar System

What is surprising, every astronomer knows what Eros is. It turns out that this is a small planet in the solar system. Its diameter is only 20 kilometers. Discovered it in the late 19th century amateur astronomer Carl Witt.

Eros became the first open near-Earth asteroid. On this uniqueness of a small planet did not end. In 1996, the Americans sent a spacecraft to explore the celestial object. Almost a year the robot flew around the orbit, and on February 14, 2001, on the day of all lovers, landed on an asteroid. For several weeks the device studied the surface of the planet, sent data to Earth.

And now what we now know about a small planet in the solar system:

  1. There is a small gravity.
  2. Eros crosses the orbit of Mars, but does not face the giant.
  3. If for some reason the orbit of the asteroid shifts, Eros may encounter our planet. True, scientists have noticed that at the moment there is no need to panic. In their view, this will not happen in the next few hundred thousand years.

Similar articles

 

 

 

 

Trending Now

 

 

 

 

Newest

Copyright © 2018 en.atomiyme.com. Theme powered by WordPress.