Somatic symptoms and psychological distress in the Iliad of Homer

A systematic search was made in Homer's Iliad for somatic expressions of emotional distress and abstract psychological words for the emotions. A few somatic sensations were found, many somatic metaphors, and an extensive psychological vocabulary of emotions. Homer regarded the heart as the seat of the emotions, intellect and will. It is argued that the increasing sophistication of his ‘heart’ language reveals a deepening psychological understanding of the emotions in ancient Greece.