The history of the symbol of Psychology (Ψ)

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

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

Psi, a letter from the Greek alphabet

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

In the capital of the Roman Empire, several words contained the letter psi: for example psalmus or psyche (psalm and psyche). The meaning of the word Psyche It is explained by the association between the letter Psi and the word of Greek origin "Psyche". The latter, although previously it had been used to designate the butterflies, evolved over time and came 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 Psychology, etymologically "science of the soul" or "science of the mind", is composed of the prefix Psico- (psyche, mind) and the suffix -logía (science, study). By extension, the symbol "Ψ" also became popular as a way of designating the science of mind.

Interestingly, the Greeks had the ancient belief that when a person died and exhaled his last breath of air, his soul would fly out of the body, like a butterfly. Back then, the butterfly was considered a symbol of life and hope. In fact, in Greek mythology the goddess Psyche with 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 soul.

Eros, Psyche and a forbidden love

The myth of Eros and Psyche that recounts the writings of Apuleius in his work Metamorphosis, 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 she sent her son Eros (Cupid) to make Psyche fall madly in love with the ugliest, nastiest, and meanest man in the kingdom.

Although the mission was clear, Eros could not resist Psyche's charms and fell madly in love with her, and he threw the arrow into the sea. The moment she saw Psyche fall asleep, Eros hugged her and took her flying to her castle.

Once he had arrived at the palace, and in order to prevent his mother from discovering that Psyche lived in the palace, he kept the beautiful young woman in a chamber. Night after night, Eros would go to Psyche's room and, in the dark, they would make love. This assured Eros to remain a mystery, since Psyche never saw her facial features or any other detail of her physiognomy. Eros never revealed her true identity to the young woman, but the romance was total. However, in one of her nightly encounters, Psyche explained to her crush that she missed her sisters and that she wanted to return to her kingdom so she could see them. Eros acceded to Psyche's claim, but warned her that her sisters would want to separate her from him. During the following day, Psyche was reunited with her sisters, who, dying of envy, asked her who was hers in love with her.

Psyche, who had never been able to see Eros, he was unable to tell her sisters what her crush was like. After much hesitation and some excuses, she finally broke down and told them the truth: that she did not know her face or the identity of her husband. At that moment, the sisters were shocked and convinced Psyche to light a chandelier to be able to 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 her later encounters, Psyche took advantage of a moment when Eros was asleep next to her to light a lamp so that she could contemplate his face.. A drop of incandescent oil from the lamp, unfortunately, fell on the body of Eros, who woke up and, very disappointed with Psyche, left the bedroom where they were both.

When Psyche realized the situation, he left the room in search of Aphrodite, to beg her to be able to return Eros's love for her. However, the vengeful goddess, she ordered him to carry out four tasks of extreme difficulty if she wanted to make Eros fall in love again. Psyche, among other tasks, had to go in search of Hades and claim Persephone, the queen of the underworld, a part of her beauty, which Psyche would deposit in a box that the goddess had given her Aphrodite.

Psyche decided to climb to the highest part of a tower, since she was convinced that the shortest route to the underworld would be death.. Just as she was about to launch herself into the void, a nervous voice stopped him. Psyche heard the words of the person she had come to her aid. As per her directions, there was an easier way to enter the underworld and return alive. She showed him on a map a precise route to achieve it; a route not without dangers and difficulties, such as the presence of the dog Cerberus or Charon, the ferryman of Hades.

Psyche knew how to appease Cerberus when she had him in front of him, giving him a delicious cake. Later, having to deal with Charon, she managed to gain her trust, based on a good financial tip for the ferryman to transfer her to Hades. Once she was able to reach the underworld, Persephone had no impediment to help Aphrodite, and she 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 him. Eros, who had already forgiven her, flew to her, and implored Zeus and Aphrodite for her consent to be able to marry Psyche. The gods finally approved the union, and Zeus turned Psyche into an immortal being..

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