Eurydice and Orpheus Orpheus Leading Eurydice from the Underworld, detail of an oil painting by Camille Corot, 1861; in the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. (more) What Are the Four Main Greek Concepts of Love? Written by Urnesha Bhattacherjee Associate Editor, Britannica India Urnesha Bhattacherjee Fact-checked by Britannica Editors Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Britannica Editors Last updated Feb. 20, 2026 •History Ancient Greek literature gave the world enduring love stories: the descent of Orpheus into the underworld for Eurydice, the bond between Achilles and Patroclus, and Iphigenia’s willing self-sacrifice for her family. Rather than folding these various experiences of love into a single word, Greek writers and philosophers distinguished among them. They used philia for the love typical of friendship and shared civic life, erōs for the passionate aspiration toward beauty, storgē for the instinctive affection...

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