Love and Death timeline

By Bigmu
  • Period: 420 BCE to

    Time

  • Plato's Symposium
    385 BCE

    Plato's Symposium

    Discipline: Philosophy This ancient Greek philosophical dialogue explores the nature of eros (romantic love) through a series of speeches at a banquet.
  • The Death of Antony and Cleopatra
    30 BCE

    The Death of Antony and Cleopatra

    A famous historical love story is the tragic end of Egyptian Queen Cleopatra VII and Roman general Mark Antony. After their defeat by Octavian, the lovers chose death over separation or capture. According to historical accounts, Antony fell on his sword and died in Cleopatra’s arms; she, “losing her mind” with grief, followed by committing suicide (legendarily by snake bite) soon after
    Discipline: History
  • Greek Tale: Orpheus and Eurydice
    8

    Greek Tale: Orpheus and Eurydice

    Orpheus, a gifted musician, loves his wife Eurydice so deeply that when she dies, he daringly travels to the Underworld to bring her back. Hades permits Eurydice to follow Orpheus to life on one condition: he must not look back at her until they reach the surface.
  • Sandro Botticelli's: La Primavera (spring, first spring or early spring)
    May 1, 1482

    Sandro Botticelli's: La Primavera (spring, first spring or early spring)

    Discipline:Art History
  • William Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet

    William Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet

    The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, often shortened to Romeo and Juliet, is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families.
    Discipline: Theater/Literature
  • The Taj Mahal

    The Taj Mahal

    The Taj Mahal in Agra, India is an architectural embodiment of love born from grief.
    Discipline: Architecture/History
  • Edgar Allan Poe: Annabel Lee

    Edgar Allan Poe: Annabel Lee

    This was his last complete poem. Discipline:Literature (Poetry)
  • George Frederic Watts: Love and Death

    George Frederic Watts: Love and Death

    Love and Death is an allegorical oil painting by the English Victorian artist George Frederic Watts. In this Symbolist work, Watts personifies the two themes: on a small porch stands a tiny winged boy (Love) trying with all his might to block the entry of a towering draped figure (Death) who looms above him.
  • Gustav Klimt: The Kiss

    Gustav Klimt: The Kiss

    Discilpline: Art history
    A golden embrace between lovers on the edge of a cliff — symbolic of beauty, passion, and the proximity to death and surrender.
  • Sigmund Freud's Theory of Eros and Thanatos

    Sigmund Freud's Theory of Eros and Thanatos

    Discipline: Philosophy/Psychology /// Sigmund Freud offered a theoretical framework directly linking love and death. In his 1920 essay Beyond the Pleasure Principle, Freud proposed that human behavior is driven by two opposing fundamental instincts: Eros, the life instinct (associated with love, sex, creativity, and the will to live), and Thanatos, the death instinct (associated with aggression, destruction, and the urge toward death)
  • Le Corbusier: Villa Savoye

    Le Corbusier: Villa Savoye

    A sleek, modernist house emphasizing functional love for the machine and rationality.
    Discipline: Architecture
  • Robert Capa: Death of a Loyalist Soilder

    Robert Capa: Death of a Loyalist Soilder

    A Spanish Civil War photo showing a soldier at the exact moment of death—capturing the vulnerability and conviction of dying for belief.
    Discipline: Photography
  • Michael Curtiz: Casablanca

    Michael Curtiz: Casablanca

    Hollywood’s classic wartime film Casablanca (dir. Michael Curtiz) remains one of the greatest cinematic explorations of love’s sacrifice in the shadow of death.
  • Maya Lin: The Vietnam Veterans Memorial

    Maya Lin: The Vietnam Veterans Memorial

    A piece of public architecture that marries love, memory, and the reality of death.
  • Tupac Shakur: Me Against the World

    Tupac Shakur: Me Against the World

    Discipline:Music Deeply introspective album where Tupac reflects on death, betrayal, fame, and the pain of love in a violent world.
  • Nicholas Sparks: The Notebook

    Nicholas Sparks: The Notebook

    A contemporary American love story where an elderly couple dies in each other’s arms. It’s the modern Romeo and Juliet—a popular example of eternal love joined in death.