Is that really accurate? A number of the stories in Ovid’s Amores and Metamorphoses which sound pretty close to what we’d call “romantic love” and that’s from around 20 BCE and there’s no indication that anything there is shocking or surprising to roman notions of love.
I would guess that in the past “romantic love” was a luxury that only wealthy people could afford (e.g. citizens of the Ancient Rome) and often happened outside of marriage; most people married for economical reasons.
In other words “you can love someone” is old, but “you should marry the person you love” is new.
Is that really accurate? A number of the stories in Ovid’s Amores and Metamorphoses which sound pretty close to what we’d call “romantic love” and that’s from around 20 BCE and there’s no indication that anything there is shocking or surprising to roman notions of love.
I would guess that in the past “romantic love” was a luxury that only wealthy people could afford (e.g. citizens of the Ancient Rome) and often happened outside of marriage; most people married for economical reasons.
In other words “you can love someone” is old, but “you should marry the person you love” is new.