Historia Amoris: A History of Love, Ancient and Modern

A sweeping panorama begins in the dim pre‑history of myth, where love is treated as an alien force amid fear, sacrifice and the raw struggle for survival. The author traces how early societies turned hostility into ritual, weaving gods, queens and legendary cities such as Babylon into the first contours of desire. By pairing vivid narrative with cultural analysis, the opening chapters show how the ancient imagination first gave love a language, setting the stage for centuries of longing and conquest.

From these primordial rites the work rolls onward, moving through classical poets, courtly intrigues and the upheavals of the Renaissance, always returning to the way love reshapes institutions and individual lives. The tone is scholarly yet lyrical, inviting listeners to hear the echo of ancient passions in the modern heart. Within the first act, the reader discovers that love, though often hidden behind power and myth, has been a persistent thread stitching humanity’s story together.