The exact nature of what love is has been debated since the time of the ancient Greek philosophers and is described in 'The Symposium' by Plato.

The exact nature of what love is has been debated since the time of the ancient Greek philosophers and is described in 'The Symposium' by Plato.

The exact nature of what love is has been debated since the time of the ancient Greek philosophers. The Greek's debate is described in Plato's "Symposium." Plato's "Symposium" recreates a philosophic discussion amongst ancient Greece's top philosophers. The men gathered to discuss the meaning of love. The abstract nature of Love makes it difficult to define. The Greeks believed there were two types of love, Common Love and the Love driven by virtue, Noble Love.

Pausanias discusses two kind of love. Pausanias says Phaedrus""who spoke just before Pausanias""should have differentiated between the heavenly love and the earthly love. He claims there are two loves just like there are two Aphrodites. The first love has an honorable purpose, and enjoys the intelligence of man's nature. The first love is ever faithful and shows no sign of desire for other's and lust. The second is the rougher kind of love, which is the love of the physical body, not the soul. The second kind of love is just as likely to be the love of women and boys as well as man.

Plato says their performance determines whether the Love is Common or Heavenly. This differs greatly from the materialistic society we live in today. Today people are more concerned with Common Love than Heavenly Love. They judge people and see beauty by its external appearance not its intrinsic inner beauty. They dwell in Common Love which leads to divorce, and unhappiness. They desire Heavenly Love, but fail to recognize that Pausanias was correct. There are two kinds of loves. The love that attracts the eye, and lust; and the love that moves the heart, the love that is judged not by physical beauty, but by internal beauty. This love finds physical beauty without internal, Heavenly beauty, ugly.