Path: shell.portal.com!shell.portal.com!not-for-mail From: nagasiva@yronwode.com (nagasiva) Newsgroups: alt.magick,alt.magick.tyagi,alt.magick.ethics,alt.pagan,talk.religion.misc,talk.religion.newage,alt.satanism,alt.consciousness,alt.sufi,talk.philosophy,alt.philosophy.debate,alt.philosophy Subject: LWing: Greek Love Followup-To: alt.magick.tyagi,alt.magick.ethics,talk.religion.newage,alt.consciousness Date: 22 Aug 1996 16:00:17 -0700 Organization: Portal Communications (shell) Lines: 56 Sender: tyagi@shell.portal.com Message-ID: <4vioq1$2kp@jobe.shell.portal.com> Reply-To: LilWing623@aol.com NNTP-Posting-Host: jobe.shell.portal.com Xref: shell.portal.com alt.magick:81752 alt.magick.tyagi:10104 alt.magick.ethics:1586 alt.pagan:170538 talk.religion.misc:236478 talk.religion.newage:56404 alt.satanism:49979 alt.consciousness:29364 alt.sufi:1227 talk.philosophy:1505 alt.philosophy.debate:8452 alt.philosophy:413 [followup targetted] [from private email: LilWing623@aol.com] [mu] #>weren't there more than two kinds of love in Greece? # Yes, most definitely, although I have no idea how many kinds... the #numbers you gave seem reasonable. There was Agape of course, and Eros, which #Plato is known for -- his "ladder of love" was comprised of different #"levels" of Eros. If I remember correctly (I don't know the Greek terms) the #lowest rung was the type of love you have for someone *just* because they #have say, long red hair (why my man loves me ). Aristotle described this #type in _Nich Ethics_ (1156 a 20 - 1156 b 5, and 1157 a 4 - 10)... it's love #that won't last because it's only there as long as that trait is there. Red #hair turns white, falls out, gets cut off, etc. Also, more Platonically #speaking, one realizes after awhile just how many people around have long red #hair, and suddenly it's not so great anymore. Next rung up is love based #upon inner beauty : intellect and virtue (whatever that is ). But since #these traits are bound to fade in one way or another (death, old age, #attitude change, etc), the love one feels because of someone's inner Beauty #still isn't "all that", to use today's term. Up an up, when one reaches the #top rung of the ladder, one reaches the gods through Eros, like in the #passage from Symposium that I quoted before. We can see the parallels between #this and Sex Magick... and then further on to cross the ...ABYSS, and partake of the highest love, Agape. # Aristotle was/is associated with the concept of Philia, which is #theoretically (but arguably) "above" Eros, but "below" Agape. He broke down #philia into 2 subgroups : "utility-love" and "pleasure-love". Philia is the #kind of love you feel for someone, when you want only "the good" for them for #*their* sake, even if you don't get anything in return [that you are aware of #]... it's his concept of Perfect Love, and is awfully close to Agape, but #for the fact that since it is human love, ego is inevitably involved #somewhere...whether we care to admit it or not . Any instance of human #love involves ego, until we reach Agape... which as far as *I* can tell, #(you're gonna love this...heh heh) is really compatible with, and comparable #to Satanism, in the modern sense of the word. After all, Agape by popular #definition is the love between God and man... NOT man's love for God...it's #totally different. And if we can be so bold as to say that we are capable of #loving Agapically then we'd better be ready to defend *why* and *how* this is #so. Because historically only God is truly capable of initiating this form of #love, and by attaining Knowledge and Conversation with one's True Will, one's #"HGA", we are the initiators, and therefore "god". As I have not attained #this level, nor do I ever realistically expect to, I can only say that this #is my humble opinion as of right now. it could change in a year's #time, I don't know... I don't care. I would love to posit this to those who #have much greater life experience than I, but unfortunately in the few times #I have tried, as you can imagine, I don't get much feedback other than, "well #I don't know about *that*...!! ". So I'm patient, and I'll learn. Like #everyone else. EOF -- CC public replies to email - see http://www.hollyfeld.org/~tyagi/nagasiva.html (emailed replies may be posted) ---- and check: http://www.paranoia.com/coe/ * * * Asphalta Cementia Metallica Polymera Coyote La Cuckaracha Humana * * *