Results: 8 Greek words for love. ❤

1. Eros: Sexual passion The first kind of love the Greek's defined was eros, named after the Greek god of carnal love and fertility. It represents sexual passion and desire and is the root of the word erotic.

2. Philia: Deep friendship The second kind of love was philia, an affectionate love or deep friendship. In ancient Greek society, this was valued far greater than eros as it was considered love of equal terms—and one without the trappings of sexual attraction.

3. Ludus: Playful love While the thought of eros sent the ancient Greeks into a frenzied hysteria, ludus was rooted in fun and came entirely without a sense of obligation.

4. Agape: Love for everyone As an empathetic love that is extended to everyone—family, friends and strangers alike—agape is a selfless love that, today, is seldom offered as frequently as it should.

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7. Storge: Familial love Storge is the primal, protective love we all feel for members of our family and for those friends for whom we also feel philia love.

8. Mania: Obsessive love As its name suggests, feelings of mania evoke madness. This version of Greek love usually stems from uncontrollable eros and a lack of healthy philautia.

5. Pragma: Long-standing love Although there is little evidence to suggest that the ancient Greeks frequently used pragma to define love, it came into popularity in the 20th century to describe healthy, long-term relationships.

6. Philautia: Love of the self Aristotle wrote, "All friendly feelings for others are an extension of a man's feelings for himself." He was not alone in those sentiments. The ancient Greeks classed philautia as one of the most important kinds of love because they recognized that you cannot share what you do not have. Without love for yourself, you cannot begin to extend feelings of love, in any form, to anyone else.

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