Was romantic love a familiar concept to our ancient ancestors ?

Question

I heard somewhere that romantic love, as a concept, is only 800 years old.

Answer 1

Nonsense. Falling in love is a biological state. If you have experienced it yourself, you will know what I mean. It is a state that comes over you, and it is hard to recover from it. It is real!

Answer 2

Not all ancient ancestors were acquainted with the Romans, from whom 'romanticism' came from. Only a few. Sissies, mostly.

Answer 3

Baloney.  What about Anthony and Cleopatra?  A famous love story well over 2 thousand years old.

I have no doubts romance appeared right along with human intellect.  Probably several million years old.

Answer 4

"Romantic" love originated in Europe. It was founded on the ideals of chivalry. The service and flirtation were directed to the woman but the actual physical consumation was disallowed. The object of a man's service could be to a married or unmarried woman. It was not courtship.

Today it manifests itself in all the game playing between a man and a woman which leads people to "love being in love" but it is not a practical foundation for marriage.

A professor of Marriage and Family Relations entitled a lecture "Romantic Love is Neurotic"!