Philia (Friendship-Love)
conceptThe broad Greek concept of love between friends, family, and fellow citizens — the affection that holds communities together.
The Myth
Philia encompassed a wider range of affection than the English word friendship. It included the love between parents and children, the bond between comrades in arms, the loyalty between host and guest, and the civic affection that bound citizens of the same polis. Aristotle devoted two entire books of the Nicomachean Ethics to philia, more than to any other single topic, arguing it is the essential glue of human communities. He distinguished three types: friendships of utility (business partners), friendships of pleasure (drinking companions), and perfect friendship based on mutual recognition of virtue — where each person loves the other for who they truly are. Only the third type is stable and genuine. Achilles and Patroclus exemplify philia at its most intense — Patroclus's death drives Achilles to a grief so consuming that it restructures the entire Iliad. Without philia, Aristotle claimed, no city could survive.
Fun Fact
Aristotle spent more pages on friendship than on justice — he considered philia more fundamental to civilization.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth:
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