How the Greeks Defined Love
Greeks not only represented and defined love with countless tales of unpredictable journeys to the underworld and inconceivable myths of beautiful maidens, but they actually depict love as a sort of human being who portrays very lifelike qualities. They gave love a name as though it were real and then made stories or myths to account for and support their new beings life and abilities to affect our lives and those of others.
In this essay, the five stories that will be used to help explain how the Greeks understood love are “Cupid and Psyche”, “Pyramus and Thisbe”, “Orpheus and Eurydice”, “Ceyx and Alcyone” and “Pygmalion and Galatea”.
In the story of “Cupid and Psych”, the word “love” is represented by a beautiful winged youth named Cupid. This story brings up the fact that, “Love cannot live where there is no trust.” (Mythology pg. 96). Cupid and the young and beautiful Psyche go through numerous amounts of trials in their struggle for love before actually ending up together which is best represented in the quote, “Love and the Soul had sought and, after sore trials, found each other; and that union could never be broken.” (Mythology pg. 100).
Myths of love on how certain objects ever came into existence or why things are the way they are can be seen in the three stories of “Pyramus and Thisbe”, Opheus and Eurydice”, and “Ceyx and Alcyone”. “The deep red fruit of the mulberry is the everlasting memorial of these true lovers, and one urn holds the ashes of the two whom not even death could part.” (Mythology pg. 103). This quote is from the story of “Pyramus and Thisbe”. The berries of the mulberry in this story were originally white until Pyramus understood a tattered bloody coat to indicate that his beloved Thisbe had found her death resulting in him stabbing himself. In reality Thisbe had dropped that coat while escaping a lioness covered in blood. When she returned to look for Pyramus again, she found him lying over the mulberry bushes who’s then white berries were now stained red with blood. She then killed herself because she could not live without the only one she truly loved.
The Greeks’ reason for nightingales singing more sweetly in front of Mount Olympus than anywhere else is supported in the story of “Opheus and Eurydice”. Opheus has the gift of music...