I phrased it awkwardly. Simply put, in Ancient Greece, liver was something like heart in modern society. It was the seat of human emotions.
replySo by destroying Prometheus' liver, Zeus attempted to destroy his human emotions, including his pride and defiance against gods.
I don’t think it was phrased awkwardly, I was just curious.
replyIt was the believed area of emotion, passion and 'soul'. I think western/modern religion has morphed from the liver to the heart essentially.
replyThis is still the normal in the middle east (and likely elsewhere)! In Turkey you call somebody dear to you "my liver" as a pet name.
replyThere are a bunch of Japanese words (including a several loanwords from Chinese) that use the liver / gallbladder metaphorically for courage. Both derive from associations between the humours and personality / behavior. I have no idea, however, why both Eastern and Western naive psychology associate gall with, well, gall.
reply>I have no idea, however, why both Eastern and Western naive psychology associate gall with, well, gall.
replyPossibly because it's filled with strong acid.
In Italian, to have 'liver' (fegato) means to be courageous.
replyThe Greeks did get to India. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greco-Buddhist_art
replyHumors perhaps. Not my area, so I do not recall the correspondence ...
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