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Soul

⚠️ WORK IN PROGRESS: needs some section to provide context around the rites and ancient priesthood's use of "ψυχή".

Introduction

The ancient Greek word for soul is psuche (ψυχή). This word can refer to the animating life force, the essence of a person's being, or the personality and inner life, and it is the root of modern terms like "psychology".

Understanding psuche:

  • Life Force: In its earliest uses, psuche referred to the life-giving breath or the breath of life that animates a body, similar to the concept of a "free-soul" that leaves the body during swoons or death.
  • Inner Being: It can also describe the intellectual, emotional, and spiritual aspects of a person, encompassing their thoughts, feelings, and desires.
  • Essence of a Person: Psuche is often translated as "soul," "life," or "self," signifying the essential part or an animating principle that makes a person who they are.

Other related terms:

  • Soma (σῶμα): The word for the physical body.
  • Pneuma (πνεῦμα): Often translated as "spirit," it can also refer to breath or wind and is sometimes used to differentiate from psuche.

Lexicon entry

ψυ_χ-ή , ἡ,
A.life, “λύθη ψ. τε μένος τε” Il.5.296, etc.; “ψ. τεκαὶ αἰών” 16.453, cf. Od.9.523; “θυμοῦ καὶ ψ.” Il.11.334, Od.21.154; “λαυκανίην, ἵνα τε ψυχῆς ὤκιστος ὄλεθρος” Il.22.325; ψυχὰς παρθέμενοι at hazard of their lives, Od.3.74,9.255; “αἰεὶ ἐμὴν ψ. παραβαλλόμενος” Il.9.322; λίσσου᾽ ὑπὲρ ψ. καὶ γούνων by your life, 22.338; so “ἀντὶ ψ.” S.OC1326: but περὶ ψ. to save their life, Od.9.423; “περί τε ψυχέων ἐμάχοντο” 22.245; “περὶ ψ. θέον Ἕκτορος” Il.22.161; “τρέχων περὶ τῆς ψ.” Hdt.9.37; “τῆς ἐμῆς περὶ ψ.” A.Eu.115, cf. E.Hel.946, Heracl.984; “περὶ ψ. κινδυνεύων” Antipho 2.1.4, cf. Th. 8.50; “ἁγὼν . . σῆς ψ. πέρι” S.El.1492, cf. E.Ph.1330, Or.847, X.Cyr.3.3.44; “τὸν περὶ ψ. δρόμον δραμεῖν” Ar.V.375 (lyr.); “ἀγωνίζεσθαι περὶ τῆς ψ.” X.Eq.Mag.1.19; ὃ ἂν θέλῃ, ψυχῆς ὠνεῖται [θυμός] in exchange for life, Heraclit.85; “τῆς ψ. πρίασθαί τι” X.Cyr.3.1.36; “τί γὰρ δοῖ ἄνθρωπος ἀντάλλαγμα τῆς ψ. αὐτοῦ;” Ev.Marc.8.37. In early poets: “ψυχὰν ἀποπνεῖν” Simon.52; “ψυχὰς ἔχοντες κυμάτων ἐν ἀγκάλαις” Archil.23; “ψυχέων φειδόμενοι” Tyrt.10.14; “θειδωλὴν ψ. θέμενος” Sol.13.46; “ψυχῆς εἵνεκα καὶ βιότου” Thgn.730; “ψυχὰν Ἀΐδᾳ τελέων” Pi.I.1.68; “ψυχὰς βαλον” Id.O.8.39; “χαλκῷ ἀπὸ ψυχὴν ἀρύσας” Emp.138; “τοὐμὸν ἐκπίνουσ᾽ ἀεὶ ψυχῆς ἄκρατον αἷμα” S.El.786; τῆς ἐμῆς ψ. γεγώς ib.775; “τὴν ψ. ἐκπίνουσιν” Ar.Nu.712 (anap.); “ψ. ἀφήσω” E.Or.1171; “ψ. σέθεν ἔκτεινε” Id.Tr.1214; “ψ. παραιτέεσθαι” Hdt.1.24; ποινὴν τῆς Αἰσώπου ψ. satisfaction for the life of A., Id.2.134; “ψυχῆς ἀποστερῆσαί τινα” Antipho 4.1.6, cf. Th.1.136, etc.; “τὴν ψ. ἢ τὴν οὐσίαν ἢ τὴν ἐπιτιμίαν τινὸς ἀφελόμενος” Aeschin.2.88; “τὸ τῆς ψ. ἀπαιτηθεὶς χρέος” LXX Wi.15. 8, cf. Ev.Luc.12.20; “ζητοῦσι τὴν ψ. μου” LXX 3 Ki.19.10, cf. Ev.Matt. 2.20; “τὴν ψ. αὐτοῦ τίθησιν ὑπὲρ τῶν προβάτων” Ev.Jo.10.11, etc.; δεῖρον ἄχρις ἡ ψ . . . ἐπὶ χειλέων λειφθῇ within an inch of his life, Herod.3.3:—the phrase ἐν τῇ χειρὶ τὴν ψ. ἔχοντα taking his life in his hands, is prob. f.l. in Xenarch.4.20; “ἡ ψ. μου ἐν ταῖς χερσί [σου] διὰ πάντος” LXX Ps.118(119).109, cf. 1 Ki.19.5, 28.21, al.; of life in animals, Od.14.426, Hes.Sc.173, Pi.N.1.47, etc.; “τὰ ἄλλα ζῷα, ὅσα ψ. ἔχει” Anaxag.4, cf. 12; “πάντων τῶν ζῴων ἡ ψ. τὸ αὐτό, ἀήρ” Diog. Apoll.5 (cf. infr. IV. 1); ἡ φύσις τοιαύτη πάντων ὅσσα ψ. ἔχει Democrit.278; ἐπῴζει καὶ ποιεῖ ψ. ἔχειν (of incubation) Epich.172; [“ἑρπετὸν] ὃ ἔχει ἐν ἑαυτῷ ψ. ζωῆς” LXX Ge.1.30; ἡ ψ. πάσης σαρκὸς αἷμα αὐτοῦ ἐστιν ib.Le.17.11, cf. De.12.23.
2. metaph. of things dear as life, “χρήματα γὰρ ψ . . . βροτοῖσι” Hes.Op.686; “πᾶσι δ᾽ ἀνθρώποις ἄρ᾽ ἦν ψ. τέκν᾽” E.Andr.419; “τἀργύριόν ἐστιν αἷμα καὶ ψ. βροτοῖς” Timocl.35; so as an endearing name, Hld.1.8, al.; “ζωὴ καὶ ψ.” Juv.6.195; “ψ. μου” Mart.10.68.
II. in Hom., departed spirit, ghost (“ὑποτίθεται [Ὅμηρος] τὰς ψ. τοῖς εἰδώλοις τοῖς ἐν τοῖς κατόπτροις φαινομένοις ὁμοίας . . ἃ καθάπαξ ἡμῖν ἐξείκασται καὶ τὰς κινήσεις μιμεῖται, στερεμνιώδη δὲ ὑπόστασιν οὐδεμίαν ἔχει εἰς ἀντίληψιν καὶ ἁφήν” Apollod. Hist.Fr.102(a)J.); “ψ. Πατροκλῆος . . πάντ᾽ αὐτῷ . . ἐϊκυῖα” Il.23.65: freq. in Od.11, ψ. Ἀγαμέμνονος, Ἀχιλῆος, etc., 387, 467, al.; “ψ. καὶ εἴδωλον” Il.23.104, cf. 72, Od.24.14; “ψ. κατὰ χθονὸς ᾤχετο τετριγυῖα” Il.23.100; ψυχὰς ἡρώων, opp. αὐτούς, 1.3, cf. Hes.Sc.151; “ψυχαὶ δ᾽ Ἄϊδόσδε κατῆλθον” Il.7.330; “ψ. δὲ κατ᾽ οὐταμένην ὠτειλὴν ἔσσυτ᾽ ἐπειγομένη” 14.518; sts. hardly dist. from signf. 1, “ἅμα ψ. τε καὶ ἔγχεος ἐξέρυσ᾽ αἰχμήν” 16.505; in swoons it leaves the body, “τὸν δὲ λίπε ψ.” 5.696; so in later writers (seldom in Trag.), “σὺν Ἀγαμεμνονίᾳ ψυχᾷ” Pi.P.11.21; ἑὰν ψυχὰν κομίξαι ib.4.159, cf. N.8.44; “αἱ ψ. ὀσμῶνται καθ᾽ Ἅιδην” Heraclit.98; “πέμψατ᾽ ἔνερθεν ψυχὴν ἐς φῶς” A.Pers.630 (anap.); “ποτωμένην ψ. ὑπὲρ σοῦ” E.Or.676, cf. Fr. 912.9 (anap.); “τὰς τῶν κεκμηκότων ψ., αἷς ἐστιν ἐν τῇ φύσει τῶν αὑτῶν ἐκγόνων κήδεσθαι” Pl.Lg.927b; ψ. σοφαί, perh. 'wise ghosts', Ar.Nu. 94; “δὶς ἀποθανουμένη ψ.” Anon. ap. Plu.2.236d.
III. the immaterial and immortal soul, first in Pindar, “ἐς τὸν ὕπερθεν ἅλιον κείνων . . ἀνδιδοῖ [Φερσεφόνα] ψυχὰς πάλιν” Fr.133, cf. Pl.Men.81b; “εἰπόντες ὡς ἀνθρώπου ψ. ἀθάνατός ἐστι” Hdt.2.123; “ἀγένητόν τε καὶ ἀθάνατον ψ.” Pl.Phdr.246a, cf. Phd.70c, al.; “ἀθάνατος ἡμῶν ἡ ψ. καὶ οὐδέποτε ἀπόλλυται” Id.R.608d; “ἁψ. τῷ σώματι συνέζευκται καὶ καθάπερ ἐν σάματι τέθαπται” Philol.14, cf. Pl.Cra.400c: hence freq. opp. “σῶμα, ψ. καὶ σῶμα” X.Mem.1.3.5, cf. An.3.2.20; “ψ. ἢ σῶμα ἢ συναμφότερον, τὸ ὅλον τοῦτο” Pl.Alc.1.130a; “εἰς θηρίου βίον ἀνθρωπίνη ψ. ἀφικνεῖται καὶ ἐκ θηρίου . . πάλιν εἰς ἄνθρωπον” Id.Phdr.249b; “κατὰ τοὺς Πυθαγορικοὺς μύθους τὴν τυχοῦσαν ψ. εἰς τὸ τυχὸν ἐνδύεσθαι σῶμα” Arist.de An. 407b22; “οὐδὲ τοῦτο ἐπείσθην, ὡς ἡ ψ., ἕως μὲν ἂν ἐν θνητῷ σώματι ᾖ, ζῇ, ὅταν δὲ τούτου ἀπαλλαγῇ, τέθνηκεν” X.Cyr.8.7.19; “ἀνθρώπου γε ψ., ἣ τοῦ θείου μετέχει, . . ὁρᾶται δ᾽ οὐδ᾽ αὐτή” Id.Mem.4.3.14, cf. Cyr. 8.7.17; αἰθὴρ μὲμ ψυχὰς ὑπεδέξατο, σώ[ματα δὲ χθών] IG12.945 (v B. C.); “ὁπόταμ ψ. προλίπῃ φάος ἀελίοιο” Orph.Fr.32f.1; “ἡμεῖς ἐσμεν ψ., ζῷον ἀθάνατον ἐν θνητῷ καθειργμένον φρουρίῳ” Pl.Ax. 365e.
IV. the conscious self or personality as centre of emotions, desires, and affections, “χερσὶ καὶ ψυχᾷ δυνατοί” Pi.N.9.39; “μορφὰν βραχύς, ψυχὰν δ᾽ ἄκαμπτος” Id.I.4(3).53(71); “ἐνίους τῶν καλῶν τὰς μορφὰς μοχθηροὺς ὄντας τὰς ψ.” X.Oec.6.16; “θνητοῦ σώματος ἔτυχες, πειρῶ τῆς ψ. ἀθάνατον μνήμην καταλιπεῖν” Isoc.2.37; opp. material blessings, “κτεάνων ψ. ἔχοντες κρέσσονας” Pi.N.9.32; “μήτε σωμάτων ἐπιμελεῖσθαι μήτε χρημάτων . . οὕτω σφόδρα ὡς τῆς ψ. ὅπως ὡς ἀρίστη ἔσται” Pl.Ap. 30b, cf. 29e: hence regarded in abstraction, “τὸ παρεχόμενον ἡμῶν ἕκαστον τοῦτ᾽ εἶναι μηδὲν ἀλλ᾽ ἢ τὴν ψ., τὸ δὲ σῶμα ἰνδαλλόμενον ἡμῶν ἑκάστοις ἕπεσθαι” Pl.Lg.959a; “ἡ ψ. ἐστιν ἄνθρωπος” Id.Alc.1.130c; “οὐδὲ νῦν τήν γ̓ ἐμὴν ψ. ἑωρᾶτε” X.Cyr.8.7.17, cf. supr.111: sts., therefore, distd. from oneself, “ψ. γὰρ ηὔδα πολλά μοι μυθουμένη” S.Ant.227; “ἡ ψ. μου πεπότηται” Ar.Nu.319 (anap.); “τί ποτ᾽ ἔστι μαθεῖν ἔραται ψ.” E.Hipp.173 (anap.); “ἄλλο τι βουλομένη ἑκατέρου ἡ ψ. δήλη ἐστίν” Pl.Smp.192c; οἴμοι ψυχή woe is me! LXX Mi.7.1; καὶ ἐρῶ τῇ ψ. μου, "ψυχή, ἔχεις πολλὰ ἀγαθά" Ev.Luc.12.19; in periphrases, ψ. Ὀρέστου, = Ὀρέστης, S.El.1127, al.: but τὴν Φιλοκτήτου ψ. ἐκκλέψεις his wits, Id.Ph.55; “ἡ δ᾽ ἐμὴ ψ. τέθνηκεν” Id.Ant.559, cf. OC999; so ψυχαί abs., = ἄνθρωποι, ψ. ὀλέσασα A.Ag.1457 (lyr.); ψ. πολλαὶ ἔθανον many souls perished, Ar.Th.864; “πᾶσαι αἱ ψ., υἱοὶ καὶ αἱ θυγατέρες λ́ γ́” LXX Ge.46.15, cf. Ex.12.4, al.; [“κιβωτὸς] εἰς ἣν ὀλίγοι, τοῦτ᾽ ἔστιν ὀκτὼ ψ., διεσώθησαν” 1 Ep.Pet.3.20. In apostrophe, “μή, φίλα ψ.” Pi.P.3.61; “ὦ μελέα ψ.” S.Ph.712 (lyr.); “ὦ ἀγαθὴ καὶ πιστὴ ψ.” X.Cyr.7.3.8; in referring to persons, “ὅταν μεγάλη ψ. φυῇ” Pl.R. 496b (cf. μεγαλόψυχος）; καλεῖται γοῦν ἡ ψ. Κρινοκοράκα the creature, Thphr.Char.28.2; “πάσῃ ψ. τετελευτηκυίᾳ” LXX Nu.6.6,11; “πᾶσα ψ. ὑποτασσέσθω” Ep.Rom.13.1, etc.: generally, being, ψυχὴ ζῶσα living creature, LXX Ge.1.24, cf. 20(pl.).
2. of various aspects of the self, ἐν πολέμοιο μάχαις τλάμονι ψ. παρέμειν) enduring heart, Pi.P.1.48; “διεπειρᾶτο αὐτοῦ τῆς ψ.” Hdt.3.14, ἦν ηὰρ . . ψυχὴν οὐκ ἄκρος poor-spirited, Id.5.124; “ψυχὴν ἄριστε πάντων” Ar.Eq.457; “καρτερὰν ψ. λαβεῖν” Id.Ach.393; “κράτιστοι ἂν τὴν ψ. κριθεῖεν” Th.2.40; “τοῖς σώμασι δύνανται τὰς δὲ ψ. οὐκ ἔχουσιν” Lys.10.29; “ὁ γὰρ᾽ λόγχην ἀκονῶν καὶ τὴν ψ. τι παρακονᾷ” X.Cyr.6.2.33, cf. Oec.21.3.
3. of the emotional self, “ὑπείργασμαι μὲν εὖ ψυχὴν ἔρωτι” E.Hipp.505, cf. 527 (lyr.); “πάνυ μου ἡ ψ. ἐπεθύμει” X.Oec.6.14; “τίνα ποτὲ ψ. ἔχων;” Lys.32.12; τίν᾽ οἴεσθ᾽ αὐτὴν ψ. ἕξειν, ὅταν ἐμὲ ῒδῃ; how will she feel? D.28.21; μία ψ., prov. of friends, Arist.EN1168b7; ψ. μία ἤστην prob. in Phryn. PSp.128B.; of appetite, “ψυχῇ διδόντες ἡδονήν” A.Pers.841 (s. v.l.), cf. Epich.297, Theocr.16.24; “λίχνῳ δὲ ὄντι τὴν ψ.” Pl.R.579b; “τῷ δὲ ἡ ψ. σῖτον μὲν οὐ προσίετο, διψῆν δ᾽ ἐδόκει” X.Cyr.8.7.4.
4. of the moral and intellectual self, “ἀπὸ πάμπαν ἀδίκων ἔχειν ψ.” Pi.O. 2.70; “ψ. τε καὶ φρόνημα καὶ γνώμην” S.Ant.176; “ἀρκεῖν . . κἀντὶ μυρίων μίαν ψ. τάδ᾽ ἐκτίνουσαν, ἢν εὔνους παρῇ” Id.OC499; “ψ. γὰρ εὔνους καὶ φρονοῦσα τοὔνδικον” Id.Fr.101; “ἡ κακὴ σὴ ψ.” Id.Ph.1014; “ψυχῆς κατήγορος κακῆς” X.Oec.20.15, cf. Pl.R.353e; “ἡ βουλεύσασα ψ.” Antipho 4.1.7, cf. Pl.Lg.873a; τὸ σῶμα ἀπειρηκὸς ἡ ψ. συνεξέσωσεν . . διὰ τὸ μὴ ξυνειδέναι ἑαυτῇ the mind conscious of innocence, Antipho 5.93; “τὸ ἐπιμελεῖσθαι καὶ ἄρχειν καὶ βουλεύεσθαι . . ἐσθ᾽ ὅτῳ ἄλλῳ ἢ ψυχῇ δικαίως ἂν ἀποδοῖμεν;” Pl.R.353d; “τὴν τῆς ψ. ἐπιμέλειαν” X.Mem. 1.2.4, Isoc.15.304; τὰ ἐν τῇ ψ. διὰ τὴν παιδείαν ἐγγιγνόμενα ib.290; “τῆς ψ. ἐξελθούσης, ἐν ᾗ μόνῃ γίγνεται φρόνησις” X.Mem.1.2.53; “νοῦς τε καὶ ψ.” Pl.Cra.400a, cf. Phdr.247c, al.; “ἐμπαίει τί μοι ψυχῇ σύνηθες ὄμμα” S.El.903; “ἰδὼν μὲν γνούς τε σῇ ψ., τέκνον” E.Tr.1171. Phrases:— “ἐκ τῆς ψ. φίλος” X.An.7.7.43; ἀπὸ τῆς ψ. φιλεῖν with all the heart, Thphr. Char.17.3; “βόσκοιτ᾽ ἐκ ψυχᾶς τὰς ἀμνάδας” Theoc.8.35; “ὅλῃ τῇ ψ. κεχαρίσθαι τινί” X.Mem.3.11.10; οὐκ ἐᾷ ἡμᾶς οὐδὲ ψυχῆς λαχεῖν he won't let us call our soul our own, Phryn.PSp.128B.
5. of animals, ψ. μεγαλόφρων, of a horse, X.Eq.11.1; “θηρίων ψ. ἡμεροῦμεν” Isoc.2.12; ψ. χηνός, ὀρτυγίου, Eub.101, Antiph.5.
6. of inanimate things, “πᾶσα πολιτεία ψ. πόλεώς ἐστιν” Isoc.12.138, cf. 7.14; “ἡ τῶνδε τῶν ἀνδρῶν ἀρετὴ τῆς Ἑλλάδος ἦν ψ.” D.60.23; “οἷον ψ. ὁ μῦθος τῆς τραγῳδίας” Arist.Po.1450a38; also of the spirit of an author, D.H.Lys.11.
V. Philosophical uses:
1. In the early physicists, of the primary substance, the source of life and consciousness, ὁρίζονται πάντες (sc. οἱ πρότεροι）“ τὴν ψ. τρισίν, κινήσει, αἰσθήσει, τῷ ἀσωμάτῳ” Arist.de An. 405b11; τὸν λίθον ἔφη [Θαλῆς] ψ. ἔχειν ὅτι τὸν σίδηρον κινεῖ, of the magnet, ib.405a20; ψυχῇσιν θάνατος ὕδωρ γενέσθαι, ὕδατι δὲ θάνατος γῆν γενέσθαι, ἐκ γῆς δὲ ὕδωρ γίνεται, ἐξ ὕδατος δὲ ψ. (sc. πῦρ) Heraclit. 36; “ἡ ψ. πνεῦμα” Xenoph. ap. D.L.9.19; καρδία ψυχῆς καὶ αἰσθήσιος [ἀρχά] Philol.13; “τοῦτο [ἀὴρ] αὐτοῖς καὶ ψ. ἐστι καὶ νόησις” Diog. Apoll.4; “τὴν τῶν ἄλλων ἁπάντων φύσιν οὐ πιστεύεις Ἀναξαγόρᾳ νοῦν καὶ ψ. εἶναι τὴν διακοσμοῦσαν;” Pl.Cra.400a, cf. Arist.de An.404a25; Δημόκριτος πῦρ τι καὶ θερμόν θησιν αὐτὴν (sc. ψυχὴν） εἶναι ib.404a1, cf. Resp.472a4.
2. the spirit of the universe, “ψ. εἰς τὸ μέσον [τοῦ κόσμου] θείς” Pl.Ti.34b, cf. 30b; “τὴν τοῦ παντὸς δῆλον ὅτι τοιαύτην εἶναι βούλεται [ὁ Τίμαιος] οἷόν ποτ᾽ ἐστὶν ὁ καλούμενος νοῦς” Arist.de An.407a3; ἐν τῷ ὅλῳ τινὲς [τὴν ψ.] μεμεῖχθαί φασιν, ὅθεν ἴσως καὶ Θαλῆς ᾠήθη πάντα πλήρη θεῶν εἶναι ib.411a8; “ὁ κόσμος ψ. ἐστὶν ἑαυτοῦ καὶ ἡγεμονικόν” Chrysipp.Stoic.2.186; ψ. [κόσμου] Plu.2.1013e, cf. M.Ant.4.40; “ψ. ἐλθοῦσα εἰς σῶμα οὐρανοῦ” Plot.5.1.2; “τόδε τὸ πᾶν ψ. μίαν ἔχον εἰς πάντα αὐτοῦ μέρη” Id.4.4.32; περὶ ψυχᾶς κόσμου καὶ φύσιος, title of work by Ti.Locr.
3. In Pl. the immaterial principle of movement and life, “ὅταν παρῇ [ψυχὴ] τῷ σώματι, αἴτιόν ἐστι τοῦ ζῆν αὐτῷ” Pl.Cra.399d, cf. Def.411c; [“ψυχῆς λόγον ἔχομεν] τὴν δυναμένην αὐτὴν αὑτὴν κινεῖν κίνησιν” Id.Lg.896a; μεταβολῆς τε καὶ κινήσεως ἁπάσης αἰτία [ἡ ψ.] ἅπασιν ib. b, cf. 892c; its presence is requisite for thought, “σοφία καὶ νοῦς ἄνευ ψ. οὐκ ἂν γενοίσθην” Id.Phlb.30c, cf. Ti. 30b, Sph.249a; defined by Arist. as “οὐσία ὡς εἶδος σώματος φυσικοῦ δυνάμει ζωὴν ἔχοντος” de An.412a20; ἐντελέχεια ἡ πρώτη σώματος φυσικοῦ ὀργανικοῦ ib.412b5; the tripartite division of “ψ., οἱ δὲ περὶ Πλάτωνα καὶ Ἀρχύτας καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ Πυθαγόρειοι τὴν ψ. τριμερῆ ἀποφαίνονται, διαιροῦντες εἰς λογισμὸν καὶ θυμὸν καὶ ἐπιθυμίαν” Iamb. ap. Stob.1.49.34, cf. Pl.R.439e sqq.; in Arist. “ἡ ψ. τούτοις ὥρισται, θρεπτικῷ, αἰσθητικῷ, διανοητικῷ, κινήσει: πότερον δὲ τοὔτων ἕκαστόν ἐστι ψ. ἢ ψυχῆς μόριον;” de An.413b11, cf. PA641b4; “ἡ θρεπτικὴ ψ.” Id.de An.434a22, al.; in the Stoics and Epicureans, σῶμα ἡ ψ. Zeno and Chrysipp.Stoic.1.38; of the scala naturae, “τὰ μὲν ἕξει διοικεῖται, τὰ δὲ φύσει, τὰ δ᾽ ἀλόγῳ ψ., τὰ δὲ καὶ λόγον ἐχούσῃ καὶ διάνοιαν” Stoic.2.150, cf. M.Ant.6.14; “ἡ ψ. σῶμά ἐστι λεπτομερές . . προσεμφερέστατον πνεύματι θερμοῦ τινα κρᾶσιν ἔχοντι” Epicur.Ep.1p.19U.; “τέλος . . τὸ μήτε ἀλγεῖν κατὰ σῶμα μήτε ταράττεσθαι κατὰ ψ.” Id.Ep.3p.64U.; in the Neo-Platonists characterized by discursive thinking, “τοὺς λογισμοὺς ψυχῆς εἶναι ἐνεργήματα” Plot.1.1.7; related to νοῦς as image to archetype, εἰκών τίς ἐστι νοῦ [ψ.] Id.5.1.3; present in entirety in every part, “πάρεστι πᾶσα πανταχοῦ ψ.” Id.5.1.2, cf. 4.7.5; “φύσις ψ. οὖσα, γέννημα ψυχῆς προτέρας” Id.3.8.4; animal and vegetable bodies possess “οἷον σκιὰν ψυχῆς” Id.4.4.18; “πᾶν σῶμα . . ψυχῆς μετουσίᾳ κινεῖται ἐξ ἑαυτοῦ καὶ ζῇ διὰ ψ.” Procl.Inst.20.
VI. butterfly or moth, Arist.HA551a14, Thphr.HP2.4.4, Plu.2.636c.
2. τριπόλιον, Ps.-Dsc.4.132.
VII. Psyche, in the allegory of Psyche and Eros, Apul.Metam. bks. 4-6, Aristophontes ap. Fulg.Myth.3.6. (See ancient speculations on the derivation, Pl.Cra.399d-400a, Arist.de An.405b29, Chrysipp.Stoic.2.222; Hom. usage gives little support to the derivation from ψύχω 'blow, breathe'; “τὸν δὲ λίπε ψ.” Il.5.696 means 'his spirit left his body', and so λειποψυχέω means 'swoon', not 'become breathless'; “ἀπὸ δὲ ψ. ἐκάπυσσε” Il.22.467 means 'she gasped out her spirit', viz. 'swooned'; the resemblance of ἄμπνυτο 'recovered consciousness' to ἀμπνέω 'recover breath' is deceptive, v. ἄμπνυτο, ἔμπνυτο: when concrete the Homeric ψ. is rather warm blood than breath, cf. Il.14.518, 16.505, where the ψ. escapes through a wound; cf. ψυχοπότης, ψυχορροφέω, and S.El.786, Ar.Nu.712 (v. supr.1).)

Etymology and Early Usage

ψυχή (psuchē) comes from the verb ψύχω, to breathe, to blow, to cool.
So originally, psuchē meant “breath,” “the thing that breathes,” or the animating principle — literally what keeps you alive.

It is parallel to πνεῦμα (pneuma), which also means “breath” or “wind.”
So already we are not in the supernatural realm. We’re talking about life as breath — the vital process.

Shift in Meaning: From Breath to Mind

By the time of Homer, ψυχή is the life that departs at death — but not a ghost in heaven. It is the breath that leaves the body when you stop breathing. The Homeric dead don’t think or feel; their ψυχαί are shadows in Hades. So not “immortal souls” — just the residual trace of life.

Then with Heraclitus, Anaxagoras, and later Plato, ψυχή becomes the animating intelligence, the self-moving principle, and eventually the seat of thought, perception, and desire.
That is: your mind.

Aristotle in De Anima (“On the Soul”) explicitly treats ψυχή as the form (μορφή) of a living body — its organizing principle. For him, every living thing has a ψυχή:

  • plants have a nutritive ψυχή,
  • animals have a perceptive ψυχή,
  • humans have a rational ψυχή.

In modern terms, this is roughly equivalent to biological, sensory, and cognitive processes.

So — ψυχή = psyche = the functional, conscious, life-directing system.

When “Soul” Entered the Picture

The English “soul” comes from Germanic saiwōlaz, a word for the vital essence or ghostly self — a totally different lineage.
When Christian translators rendered ψυχή as “soul,” they imported their own theology into it.

But in Greek, ψυχή never meant a separable, immortal essence in the early sense. That was a Platonic innovation that later got baptized by Christian theology.
“soul” is a back-translation loaded with supernaturalism.

In classical and Hellenic thought, ψυχή is the mental and perceptual cosmos within you — your inner universe.

Framing

“The soul is your mental kosmos.”

This thought is very Stoic and Orphic — they both describe the human ψυχή as a microcosm (μικρὸς κόσμος) reflecting the divine order of the universe (λόγος).

Your upper states (unity, euphoria, vision) correspond to θεία ψυχή — the purified or illuminated psyche.
Your lower states (fear, rage, ignorance) correspond to the κατωτάτη ψυχή — the lower, irrational psyche.
Hence “hell below, heaven above” as the map of consciousness.

ψυχή and Information Flow

Here's a beautiful analogy. The ancients lacked the concept of information theory, but if you replace “lifeforce” or “breath” with “information flow,” it’s remarkably parallel.

In Stoic physics:

  • πνεῦμα is the active, organizing tensional force that binds matter.
  • ψυχή is the individual’s structured pneuma, maintaining coherence and perception.That’s basically the same as a biological or computational control system — information flow through physical medium.

So you can read ψυχή as the informational architecture of consciousness, not a ghost in a jar.

psychology - ψυχολογία

ψυχολογία is literally “discourse/study of the psyche.”
The ancients — especially Plato, Aristotle, and the Stoics — were doing psychology in the truest sense: the systematic analysis of human consciousness and behavior.

The Delphic γνῶθι σαυτόν — “know thyself” — is precisely psychological education, not moralizing mysticism.

Terms

Greek TermLiteral MeaningModern ParallelChristian Reframe
ψυχή (psuchē)Breath, life, consciousnessMind, self-awareness, information systemImmortal “soul”
πνεῦμα (pneuma)Breath, wind, animating energyVital force, nervous/electrical energyHoly Spirit
λογία / λόγοςDiscourse, reasonStudy, logic, symbolic languageDivine Word

Commentary

When I read the ancient greek word psuche (ψυχή) i can't help but wonder if it really means (english) psyche instead of soul

spoiler, it does, if you google it... but many sources translate it to soul, as google also mentions.

From Google:

The ancient Greek word for soul is psuche (ψυχή). This word can refer to the animating life force, the essence of a person's being, or the personality and inner life, and it is the root of modern terms like "psychology"

but of course. what is the actual difference, really? if you take a science point of view, that nothing is real that you cannot observe or test, this removes the superstition / supernatural. (that back-alley thing the theologians do where they stick their finger up your asshole while telling you tall tales and lies for control and profit.)

so, ψυχη λογια (psuche logia) would be psychology. and the ancients were studying psychology. the study of educating the psyche (or soul). The soul is your mental kosmos.

we also know that much of the pantheon of gods and mystery rites have to do with psychology.

  • hell is below the line (there's a spectrum from mild anger/fear/victim to outright terrifying psychosis)
  • heaven or divine mind is above the line, or unity mind (same thing, there's a spectrum from mundane to extatic here)

and much of the mystery is "knowing yourself", meaning to understand your own conciousness, or psyche.
adam's "soul" was educated in the garden of eden. but we know it wasn't a supernatural soul. it was his mind that was educated using pharmakon (drugs) and aidolon (imagery).

Conclusion:

psuche/ψυχή really doesn't mean soul. Or rather. I suspect that "soul" is a backalley (insert angelic sound whaaaaaaaa!!! here) reframing imposed by monists. It really means psyche, your mind, your software, your consciousness.

Life Force is still your mind. Inner Being, is still your mind. Essence of a Person, still your mind.
and in a way, that psuche IS special. It IS effemeral and inneffable, because it can't be held. The ancients were describing an abstract concept that can't be seen except by it's effects on the behavior... It was hidden, for sure.

Does that put it into a supernatural or spirit realm? Doesn't matter. No need for that. We can't prove that if we wanted to. Why even go there?
computation analogue (ana-logia)
What we know today about information technology with computers, we know that electronic, and possibly quantum, forces inside a cpu (or quantum cpu) or even a brain (in neuronal path signaling) creates information flow, which connects to sensors (human or robot senses) and motors (or human muscles)... It's what we see is happening in our body with our mind!