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Introduction

Platonic Love

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 August 2022

By
Carl Séan O’Brien  and
John Dillon
Edited by
Carl Séan O'Brien  and
John Dillon
Carl Séan O'Brien
Affiliation:
Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg, Germany
John Dillon
Affiliation:
Trinity College Dublin
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Summary

A presentation of the defining characteristics of Platonic love, bringing in to focus those features which were most influential in subsequent ages. Of particular interest is the distinction between higher (‘ouranic’) and lower (‘pandemic’) love, as well as the notion of love as a mechanism for striving after the divine. The overarching narrative in which the development of Platonic love unfolds from the theological speculations of the Middle Ages to guides for the etiquette of conducting heteroerotic relationships during the Renaissance is presented.

Keywords

ouranic lovepandemic loveKugelmenschen
Type
Chapter
Information
Platonic Love from Antiquity to the Renaissance , pp. 1 - 12
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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