According to Wikipedia, there are 6 words for love in the Greek language. Each of them deserves to be looked at as we, that being western authors, often find our perceptions of love colored by the different categories outlined by these six words.

Part 4: Storge

This kind of love, Storge, while rarely used in the ancient texts we have a pretty good understanding of what it means. This is a love or affection for someone usually the love shared between parents and their children. It can be used in other ways, ironically by referring to a “loving” tyrant, or even to describe the affection someone has for their favorite sports team.

This kind of love is an interesting one and we see it a lot in coming of age stories. The way it is showcased, however, is not always positive. In Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, the first book The Lightning Thief has a scene where Percy’s mother is killed by the Minotaur after she distracts it for enough time for Percy and his friend to escape to the safety of the mystical Camp Half-Blood. This is, in some ways, representative of Agape love, sure, but it is also Stoge, this is the love a mother has for her son, which is different than the sacrificial love of a friend.

God has this kind of love toward us, His creation too. We are the children of God and in many ways God has to act as our loving Father. This love is not always positive, puppies, and rainbows, however much we might want it to be. Sometimes it is sending us away when we reject Him. What is more loving? A: You lock your son in his room where he has a veritable paradise but hates you and doesn’t want to live with you? Or B: You know your son is going to fail but you choose to let them choose to walk away from you. Most of us would say B, right? That is the love of a parent.

Who loves your hero as a parent might love their child? Does your hero have adopted parents perhaps, like Superman? Or does he maybe have parents that are misguided but love him in their misguided way, like in my fantasy world? Let me know in the comments below, or by mentioning me in a post on X @ABTimothyAuthor