This edited volume brings together eighteen articles which examine the role of erôs as an emotion in ancient Greek culture. Arising out of a conference held at University College London in 2009, the volume ranges from Archaic epic and lyric poetry, through tragedy and comedy, to philosophical and technical treatises and more, and includes contributions from a variety of international scholars well published in the field of ancient Greek emotions.

Taking into account all important thinking about the nature of erôs from the eighth century BCE to the third century CE, and covering a very broad range of sources and theoretical approaches, both in the chronological and the generic sense, it considers the phenomenology, psychology, and physiology of erôs; its associated language, metaphors, and imagery; the overlap of erôs with other emotions (jealousy, madness, philia, pothos); its role in political society; and the relationship between the human emotion and Eros the god. These topics build on recent advances in the understanding of ancient Greek homo- and heterosexual customs and practices, visual and textual erotica, and philosophical approaches to erôs as manageable appetite or passion. However, the principal aim of the volume is to apply to the study of erôs the theoretical insights offered by the rapidly expanding field of emotion studies, both in ancient cultures and elsewhere in the humanities and social sciences, thus maintaining throughout the focus on erôs as emotion.