Love and relationships have always been an integral part of any society. The highs and lows of love which we experience in the modern world were similarly wrestled with in the ancient one. The Greeks and Romans produced vast amounts of literature, philosophy and art exploring this universal and difficult concept.
This topic will allow you to develop your knowledge and understanding of how the Greeks and Romans contemplated love and their day-to-day relationships. Through the study of historical context, philosophy and poetry, you will discover that these ancient civilisations also struggled to define such a deeply personal subject.
Corrections to print edition
p.18 - final paragraph should read "The first speaker is Phaedrus. To Phaedrus, love is the path to virtue. He considers Love to be the oldest of the gods. Phaedrus is speaking of love in homoerotic relationships – between an erastes and an eromenos. Each is driven to do well for the state in front of the other due to the love between them."
p.21 - final para: "As the eromenos in his relationship" should be omitted
p.24 - third para up: the "lasting bond between Pausanias and Phaedrus" should read "lasting bond between Pausanias and Agathon"
