The History of the Symbol of Psychology (Ψ)

Ancient Greece left us an impressive legacy. Today we know the history of the Psi (Ψ) symbol.

You have probably noticed at some point that many psychologists and institutions related to the world of Psychology use the same symbol: "Ψ".

What exactly does this rare symbol mean and what is its relation to mental health? Who decided that this should be the emblem of behavioral science?

Psi, a letter of the Greek alphabet

Psi (Ψ ψ) is a letter of the Greek alphabet. Specifically, we are talking about the twenty-third (23rd ) letterand not only Greek but also Latin words were constructed from this phoneme.

In the capital of the Roman Empire, several words contained the letter psias for example psalmus o psyche (psalmus and psyche). The meaning of the word psyche is explained by the association between the letter Psi and the Greek word "Psyche". The latter, although it had previously been used to designate butterflies, has been butterfliesThe latter, although previously used to designate butterflies, evolved over time to mean "breath", "spirit", "breath of wind" and, later, "soul" and "mind".

Psychology: a term formed by two roots

Thus, the origin of the term "psychology" seems clear. The Psychologyetymologically "science of the soul" or "science of the mind", is composed of the prefix Psycho- (psyche, mind) and the suffix -logia (science, study).. By extension, the symbol "Ψ" also became popular as a way of designating the science of the mind.

Interestingly, the Greeks had the ancient belief that when a person died and breathed his last breath of air, his soul flew out of the body, like a butterfly. At that time, the butterfly was considered a symbol of life and hope. In fact, in Greek mythology the goddess Psyche is often depicted in the figure and appearance of a young girl with butterfly wings, and she is the youngest daughter of the king of Anatolia. Mythological writings often refer to Psyche as a goddess of great beauty, representing human kindness and the human soul.

Eros, Psyche and a forbidden love

The myth of Eros and Psyche recounted in the writings of Apuleius in his work Metamorphoses, Psyche was the youngest daughter of the king of Anatolia, as well as the most beautiful and envied young woman in the kingdom.. In a fit of jealousy due to Psyche's beauty, the goddess Aphrodite sent her son Eros (Cupid) to make Psyche fall madly in love with the ugliest, nastiest and meanest man in the kingdom.

The mission was clear, though, Eros could not resist Psyche's charms and fell madly in love with her, and threw the arrow into the sea.and threw the arrow into the sea. The moment he saw Psyche falling asleep, Eros embraced her and flew her to his castle.

Once he had arrived at the palace, and in order to prevent his mother from discovering that Psyche was living in the palace, he kept the beautiful young woman in a chamber. Night after night, Eros came to Psyche's room and, in the dark, they made love..... This ensured that Eros remained a mystery, since Psyche never saw his facial features or any other details of his physiognomy. Eros never revealed his true identity to the young woman, but the idyll was total. However, in one of their nightly encounters, Psyche explained to her lover that she missed her sisters and wanted to return to her kingdom so she could see them. Eros agreed to Psyche's request, but warned her that her sisters would want to separate her from him. During the next day, Psyche was reunited with her sisters, who were envious and asked her who her lover was.

Psyche, who had never been able to see Eros, was unable to tell her sisters what her lover was like, was unable to tell her sisters what her lover was like..... After many hesitations and some excuses, she finally broke down and told them the truth: that she did not know her husband's face or identity. At that moment, the sisters were surprised and convinced Psyche to light a candelabra during one of the meetings with the boy, so that they could glimpse the face of the mysterious man, arguing that only an ogre or a monster would hide his true physical appearance.

Said and done: back at the palace, in one of their subsequent encounters, Psyche took advantage of a moment when Eros was asleep beside her to light a lamp and thus behold his face.. A drop of incandescent oil from the lamp, by misfortune, fell on the body of Eros, who woke up and, very disappointed with Psyche, left the room where they were both.

When Psyche realized the situation, she left the room in search of Aphrodite, to beg her to restore Eros' love for her. However, the vengeful goddess ordered her to carry out four extremely difficult tasks if she wanted to make Eros fall in love again. Psyche, among other tasks, had to go in search of Hades and claim from Persephone, the queen of the underworld, a part of her beauty, which Psyche would place in a box given to her by the goddess Aphrodite.

Psyche decided to climb to the top of a tower, since she was convinced that the shortest way to the underworld was death.. Just as she was about to launch herself into the void, a nervous voice stopped her. Psyche listened to the words of the person who had come to her aid. According to her indications, there was an easier way to enter the underworld and return alive. He pointed out to her on a map a precise route to achieve this; a route not without dangers and difficulties, such as the presence of the dog Cerberus or Charon, the ferryman of Hades.

Psyche was able to appease Cerberus when she had him in front of her, giving him a rich cake. Later, having to deal with Charon, she managed to gain his trust by giving him a good economic tip so that the ferryman would take her to Hades. Once she was able to reach the underworld, Persephone had no impediment to help Aphrodite, and gave up part of her beauty, depositing it in the box that Psyche brought with her.

Psyche left the underworld and decided to open the box and take some of the beauty for herself, thinking that if she increased her beauty, Eros would surely love her. Eros, who had already forgiven her, flew to her, and implored Zeus and Aphrodite for their consent so that he could marry Psyche. The gods finally approved of the union, and Zeus made Psyche immortal..

Aphrodite forgot her envy and celebrated the marriage of the young people. The daughter of Psyche and Eros was called Pleasure or, in Roman mythology, Voluptas. Thus ends this interesting mythological story that tells us about the origins of the symbol of Psychology.