Eros
Related (as a psychoanalytic term): libido - life - instinct
Related (etymological): erotica - eroticism - erotism
Non-fiction with eros in title: Tears of Eros (1961) - Eros Denied (1964) - Eros in Hell (1988)
Contrast: Thanatos
Definition
In Greek mythology, Eros was a god who was in charge of passionate and physical love, as well as a fertility god. His name is the base of words such as erotic. His Roman equivalent was Amor ("love") or Cupid ("desire"). As Cupid, he was often accompanied by the Amoretti. Eros was associated with Aphrodite. He was sometimes called Protogonus as one of the firstborn, primordial deities.Eros is also the name of the primal force of love which sprang forth from the primordial Chaos along with Gaea (Earth) and Tartarus (the Greek concept of Hell as punishment). Alternatively, he was the son of Erebus and Nyx. Eros was later the name given to the child of Aphrodite and either Ares or Hephaestus, or the son of Porus and Penia, or sometimes a son of Iris and Zephyrus. He was the god created to harness the power of the primordial "Eros" and direct it into mortals with such force that it consumes them. Hence he is the god of desire or lust. This would be apt for the issue of a union between "Love" and either "War" or "Fire." In some myths, he is portrayed as mindful of the power he wields and even refusing the entreaties of his mother and other gods to interfere in the course of some mortals' lives. He is identified with Cupid of Roman Mythology. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eros_(god) [2004]
Eros (Freud)
In Freudian psychology, Eros is the life instinct innate in all humans. It is the desire to create life and favours productivity and construction.
Eros battles against the destructive death instinct of Thanatos.
Also referred to in terms of Libido or Libidinal energy. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eros_(Freud), Apr 2004
Eros and Civilization : A Philosophical Inquiry into Freud (1955) - Herbert Marcuse
Eros and Civilization : A Philosophical Inquiry into Freud (1955) - Herbert Marcuse [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]
Herbert Marcuse's critiques of capitalist society (especially his 1955 synthesis of Marx and Freud, Eros and Civilization, and his 1964 book One-Dimensional Man) resonated with the concerns of the leftist student movement in the 1960s. Because of his willingness to speak at student protests, Marcuse soon became known as "the father of the New Left" (a term he disliked and rejected). His work heavily influenced intellectual discourse on popular culture and scholarly popular culture studies. He had many speaking engagements in the US and Europe in the late 1960s and in the 1970s. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_Marcuse [Apr 2005]
see also: civilization - Sigmund Freud - Herbert Marcuse