Psyche: The Cult of Souls & Belief in Immortality Among the Greeks [2 Volumes]

by Erwin Rohde, W.K.C. Guthrie (introduction), W.B. Hills (translator)

Psyche (1890-94) remains a standard reference work for Greek cult practices & beliefs related to the soul.

Prefaces & Notes
1. Beliefs About the Soul & Cult of Souls in the Homeric Poems
2. Islands of the Blest. Translation
3. Cave Deities. Subterranean Translation
4. Heroes
5. The Cult of Souls:
- i. Cult of Chthonic Deities
- ii. Funeral Ceremonies & Worship of the Dead
- iii. Traces of the Cult of Souls in the Blood Feud & Satisfaction for Murder
6. The Eleusinian Mysteries
7. Ideas of the Future Life
8. Origins of the Belief in Immortality-The Thracian Worship of Dionysos
9. Dionysiac Religion in Greece. Its Amalgamation w/Apolline Religion. Ecstatic Prophecy. Ritual Purification & Exorcism. Asceticism
10. The Orphics
11. The Philosophers
12. The Lay Authors: Lyric Poets/Pindar/The Tragedians

Genres: Philosophy, Religion, History, Nonfiction, Psychology, Classical Studies

642 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1894

About the author

Erwin Rohde was one of the great German classical scholars of the 19th century. He was born in Hamburg, the son of a doctor. Outside of antiquarian circles, he's known today chiefly for his friendship and correspondence with fellow-philologist Friedrich Nietzsche. The two were students together in Bonn and Leipzig, where they were studying philology taught by Friedrich Wilhelm Ritschl. In 1872, he became a professor at the University of Kiel. He was later professor in Jena (1876), Tübingen (1878) and finally Heidelberg, where he died after suffering from a gradual decline in health.

Reviews

[Erik Graff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd pretty much read all of Nietzsche by the end of college and, styling myself a bit of an expert, was interested in following up on this by reading ancillary works. Rohde was a fellow student and colleague of the philosopher, his work on the Greek concepts of the soul still considered important. Besides, I was working for the Ares Press and writing for its journal, The Ancient World. So it is that many of my acts are overdetermined.

Psyche is indeed an excellent overview of Greek religion with a particular focus on the notion of the psyche, or what we normally translate as "soul". Like the related Hebrew and Roman notions of soul, the word originally designated breath or wind and came, by extension, to refer to the life force animating humans. Rohde's survey is pretty exhaustive. If there is a better, more modern, work comparable to it, I have yet to find such.

[maria bojan (bucșea) · Rating 5 out of 5]

totally a must read for someone who studies greek culture

[Feliks]

Speeding on its way to me now, conveyed across continent by fleet-footed messengers of the US Postal Corps

[Silvia · Rating 4 out of 5]

La poderosa grandezza del passato

È il primo volume di un saggio- pubblicato a fine '800- che affronta la questione complessa dello sviluppo del pensiero greco sul tema del destino dell'anima dopo la morte, a partire dai poemi omerici in poi.
La traduzione - datata anch'essa- è in un italiano ricco, pastoso, pieno: retorico e retró, certo, ma una piacevole sfida per tempi in cui la semplificazione la fa da padrona.
Non è mia intenzione addentrarmi nel merito delle conclusioni a cui arriva l'autore in merito ad un tema affascinante e complesso, quello che mi preme mettere in luce- invece- è l'approccio olistico e globale dell'approccio 'antico' allo studio dell'Antico.
Per professione e per interesse personale leggo saggi sul mondo greco; quelli recenti- sia di taglio antropologico, sia filologico, sia letterario in senso lato- mi sembrano tutti concentrati su minuzie, dettagli, tecnicismi; oppure a tal punto generici, da apparire centoni di cose già sentite mille volte.
Qui, invece, l'esperienza della lettura si fa immersiva, anche se non sempre le conclusioni a cui giunge l'autore convincono; però che piacere trovare note a piè pagina leggibili e ritrovare una complessità che, lungi dall'apparire uno scoglio insormontabile fatto di sigle e frammenti, è uno stimolo ad indagare, a far meglio e- sempre- a leggere e leggere ancora.

[Sebnem E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Çok iyi.

[Nicolae Ghita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Psyche: The Cult of Souls and Belief in Immortality Among the Greeks
by Erwin Rohde
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5)
I just finished Psyche, and wow—this 19th-century masterpiece blew me away. As Nietzsche’s close friend, Rohde dives deep into how the ancient Greeks thought about the soul and life after death, starting from Homer’s vague “shade” version of the psyche and evolving all the way to Plato’s immortal soul. It’s not just dry facts; he connects it to real rituals, mystery cults like Orphism and Dionysus worship, and even the raw human fear of dying.

What I loved most:
• Every detail backed up. He quotes Homer, Hesiod, Pindar, tragedy fragments—you name it. No fluff, just solid evidence.
• Mind-blowing insights. The way he splits the “thymos” (life force) from the “psyche” (ghostly double) totally changed how I read the Iliad.
• Big picture stuff. Shows how ecstasy, hero cults, and philosophy all mixed to create belief in immortality. It’s like watching Greek religion come alive.
Yeah, the writing’s dense (old-school German academic vibe), and a few comparisons to “primitive” societies feel outdated now. But honestly? That’s nitpicking. This book is the foundation for anyone studying ancient afterlife beliefs—Harrison, Burkert, all of them stand on Rohde’s shoulders.

If you’re into classics, philosophy of the soul, or just want to understand where Western ideas about immortality started, read this. Slow and challenging, but 100% worth it. I feel like I lived in ancient Greece for a while. Essential.