Selfless, self-giving love directed at the good of another without requiring reciprocity..
Selfless, self-giving love directed at the good of another without requiring reciprocity. Classically, affection (including within family); in Christian thought, unconditional, charitable love extended to all.
Not driven by desire (unlike eros); universal and non-reciprocal (unlike philia and storge) — given as will or obligation rather than felt attraction or kinship. Aquinas glossed it as “to will the good of another.”
ἀγάπη (agápē); verb ἀγαπάω attested as far back as Homer.
Ancient Greek ἀγάπη; the verb ἀγαπάω goes back to Homer. Took on an elevated sense in the Septuagint and New Testament.
Liddell-Scott records both the classical sense (family/spousal affection) and the Christian sense (unconditional love, charity, the love of God).
One of five genuinely attested Ancient Greek love terms. See the note on the popular “8 loves” framework.