How did the heart become associated with love?
Michael Faherty, Edinburgh Scotland
- The quick and dirty answer is that the heart was once thought to be the center of all thought process, not the brain. Therefore, ALL emotions were associated with the heart. I suspect (but have no proof) that as these associations faded, the love association stayed in place due to the tendency for the heart to race in response to adrenaline caused by meeting an interesting person of the opposite sex.
Brandon Thornburg, Portland, OR(formerly Poynton, Cheshire) USA
- From the very earliest experiments in anatomy in Egypt in the second century BC. As nerves were followed around the body, the vast majority seemed to lead to the solar plexus in the chest. This gave rise to the theory that the heart was the seat of emotion and reason. This seems to make sense: ever notice how your heart starts to pound when you get exicited?
Allan, Wimbledon
- Followers of the Greek physician Galen did claim that the liver was the seat of the soul and emotions. That would have been bad news for drunks everywhere!
Edmund, Malvern, UK
- I remember reading that, visually, the heart symbol is supposed to have its origins in an image of the aroused sexual organs of the human female.
Carmen Lichi, London, UK
