Noos precedes phren in Greek Lyric Poetry

Abstract

Homer, Hesiod, and the lyric poets locate intellectual, emotional, and volitional activities in several psychic organs, among which are noos and phren. Although attention has been given to their meanings, the two have sometimes been treated as if synonymous K The exact relationship between them has yet to be clarified. Noos and phren rarely appear together, but where they do the passages illuminate the relation between them. Treating all the texts from the lyric poets that mention them together, this paper will consider how a person in the Archaic Age viewed these two psychic organs.