Love is a wonderful feeling, for the sake of which great deeds are accomplished, wars begin and end, whole civilizations perish and rise from the ashes. And, of course, such a significant event in the life of every person has many sides. The ancient Greeks especially distinguished themselves in this.
If in the usual sense there is only one word and one meaning to describe love, then from the ancient Greek point of view, this feeling has at least four meanings, each of which has its own value. And agape is only one of them. And you can start your journey into the world of feelings with …
Eros
God of sensual sexual love, but not only. The original meaning is a world deity, born of Chaos itself and a bright day. It rules over all nature, the moral side of humanity, controls the hearts and will of people. In a more mundane sense, it is associated with the sexual side of life. In Thespias in ancient times, special festivities were held in honor of Eros. The festival was held every four years and included music competitions as well as gymnastics competitions.
Storge
This word can also be translated as "love", but not a man's love for a woman, but family love. Children to parents and parents to children. In ancient Greek tradition, this was a special kindred affection. And in the modern sense, sometimes this word denotes love that developed from friendship.
Filia
It can also be translated as "love" or "friendship". There are other meanings: "disposition", "friendliness", "affection". In its original meaning, this word meant just friendly love and nothing more. In the future, the term acquired other meanings, like love for a mother - a philomator, for a father - a philopator, for a brother - Philadelphia, and so on. And finally, you can move on to the main term of love in the ancient Greek sense.
Agape
If you can imagine love as a pure feeling, free from the desire for retribution, capable of sacrificial service to another person, then you will come very close to the correct understanding of this term. Agape cannot arise as a result of a purely carnal attraction to a certain person, based on his beauty or inner merits. A closer definition is love for one's neighbor. When you see in a person not an object of desire, but a kind of deity who needs to be served without asking for anything in return. There are different interpretations in the modern interpretation of the question. Some consider agape to be a special life-giving energy of nature itself. Others are closer to a concept that is more similar to ordinary love. But one way or another, namely sacrifice and lack of desire for ego satisfaction, distinguishes this feeling from any other.