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The Curse of Zeus....A Soulmate?
Posted by fearless21 • 2/03/09 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Topics: love, soulmate, valentines day., zeus
Since Valentine's Day is approaching, on Chickswhochat.blogspot.com we have had some discussion about exactly what a soulmate is. Some of us went out last Saturday night and the topic was discussed.
"One theory of soulmates, presented by Aristophanes in Plato's Symposium, is that humans originally consisted of four arms, four legs, and a single head made of two faces, but Zeus feared their power and split them all in half, condemning them to spend their lives searching for the other half to complete them." Wikipedia
If this theory holds true, Zeus' condemnation is for humans to search the earth forever and ever to find "THE ONE". I for one find this a fascinating theory given all the longing that we humans have for finding our soulmate!
How do you define a Soulmate? Does the ancient Greek explanation make any sense?
User Comments
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I had "You Are The One" engraved on my hubby's wedding band. We've been a couple since 1977 and our 25th anniversary is this June.
I think a "soul mate" is someone with whom you are very comfortable and relaxed around, and you happen to like each other physically, too! -
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That made me cry!
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I am sorry
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A good cry. Thank you for sharing it
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you are welcome
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Thanks - that poem has meant a lot to a lot of people over the years. It was a labor of love writing it. -
My pleasure... Was a great piece - and - I think - unless you live the soulmate thing - it is harder to understand - but once you do - simply smiles!
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And living it is the best part of it all. Not just smiles, but the fulfillment of making her life easier, happier.
Here is one I bet you will like, too:
rbpoetry.com/r2Woman.html
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That's a real interesting theory!
I think a soulmate is someone who fills you. I hear others always say stuff like "I realised I was incomplete until I met you" - or is that another cheesy pick-up line?!
Or it be a person who fits who are and who you are not and like Busylizzy says, very comfortable and relaxed around each other. -
Think blurred lines
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I wrote this on another thread...
Soul Love...
is the haze you feel when you are with her(him - hey it is the 21st C)
is the removal of separation and the blurring of lines
is then end of "where she ends and he starts" as it is a One-thing
(Love is a many splendid thing - just had to go there)
is that which makes us... US -
Do you ever wonder though if "The One" is really it? This is why the Greek theory fascinates me, I think that humans have a tendency to wonder if there is something more than what they have; even if they are fully satisfied with the love in their life.
Any thoughts?-
My thought is that if you truly find your soul mate, there will be no doubt in your mind whatsoever.
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Think of all the people who get married, declare their love for the person who they think is their soulmate only to be divorced several years later because they fell out of love.
Can you fall out of love with a soulmate or was the choice wrong to begin with? If the choice was wrong to begin with and we must keep searching, does that lend credibility to the Greek theory?-
You need to be IN Love - just just love...
You need to be best friends... Not just friends
and you NEED to be together - not just want... -
Maybe that's the cause of marriage without satisfaction. I'm speaking in terms of the person they have decided to spend the rest of their life with and not ever feeling like there IS better out there. Maybe they settled for the best "so far"?
I agree with what you said about humans tendency to wonder. I has caused many to be so fussy. And also for many to die alone in putting hope in such a thing. -
but... Imagine what it is like when you "have it"
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@DangerMouse,
I agree, that is why I found the theory intriguing because humans tend to thing that there is always something more than what they have. I do think that this is the cause of some failed relationships. -
Yeah it's us feeding our curiosities I think. The thing is such philosopers, mythologies and these "great" people put these thoughts out there. Then again it's them speaking out loud what everyone wonders about and try to find answers to. It's a question of whether there is a definite answer - one I don't think we'll ever find
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We may never find the answer, but I think by exploring such theories, it helps us understand human behavior, our own behavior, better than we did if we chose not to dig deeper into our underlying, sometimes subliminal motivations.
OR maybe I am going to just drive myself crazy:)
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The ancient Greeks had a very different outlook on the world. For example in ancient Greek society they did not use sexual orientation as a social identifier so they would not limit their pursuit of a soul mate or lover to members of the opposite sex.
Does your soul mate have to be your lover also? Polybore is not so sure and thinks it is possible to have a lover and someone else as a soul mate. Like an artist who may have one person as a lover and another as a muse.-
@polybore,
Good points. I am also not sure if the ancient Greeks intended for a soulmate to be someone who you are sexually oriented to. That soulmate may be a best of the best friend. Someone who knows you better than anyone else and loves you for exactly who you are...not who they want you to be. If you read the full Greek explanation, the soulmate is the other half of your being, not necessarily your lover. -
The Greeks were also smart enough to come up with multiple words for the English word love - to describe the different kinds and nuances within. In English we have one word for love...love
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Good point. They had multi-dimensions for love.
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Even in the context of the ancient Greeks, the idea of a soulmate wasn't just a sexual partner. In fact such might not even partner for sex in a given incarnation.
And love was colored by the relationship. There were many. One may be an eromenos or oromena and be either a marriage partner, a hetairos(a) (courtesan), a pornos(e) (street prostitute), a hierodulos(e), a warrior partner (as in a martophilic relationship), or any number of things. The relationship may be physical or astralsexual or both.
Neither did the existence of a soulmate preclude relationships with multiple partners in any one incarnation. Odysseus may have known Circe, but his heart was still with Penelope. -
That is way more that I knew about the greeks!
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I tell you, fearless, The Iliad was racier than we think!
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Some people use this definition: the romantic belief that every person soul has a single counterpart and true happiness and fulfillment can only be found by meeting and joining with that one and only one soul mate ... www.is-this-it.com/pages/GlossaryS.htm
Well, to accept that definition one has to believe they are incomplete and need to find that one and only one person to complete them. Hogwash!
Others use this one: Soul mate is a term sometimes used to designate someone with whom one has a feeling of deep and natural affinity, friendship, love, intimacy, sexuality, spirituality and/or compatibility. ... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soul-mate
I don't believe that I or anyone else has one and only one possible soul mate as proposed by the first definition. I believe each of us can have many soul mates who meet the criteria in the second definition I have posted above. I have experienced the fact there are other possible soul mates (refer to the second definition I posted above) that I could have successfully partnered with in this life, aside from the man that I married.
I do not believe there is one and only one romantic, sweep you off your feet soul-mate out there for each of us. I believe holding onto that “one and only one soul-mate” belief means that we overlook the other possible partners we could form mutually supportive, and loving long term relationships with.
FWIW I blogged about this yesterday here:
Love the one you're with
thistimethisspace.com/2009/02/10/love-the-one-youre-with/-
Yup...that's true. A lot of people play with this soulmate idea and get some pretty unreasonable expectations in another.
I've had people tell me that I must be their soulmate and that we were both "at the feet of Jesus listening to his sermons." I get freaked out by these kinds of appeals like one gets freaked out over the midnight slasher. And I don't remember any of my past lives going back before the last 3 centuries either. I avoid these kinds like the plague. -
@Timethief,
I read your post, I totally agree with your perspective. When you experience that euphoric, swept away romance, it often doesn't last.
Thanks for sharing.
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i am looking for my soulmate.
rathikumara.blogspot.com
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