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▲ seizethecheese 2 hours ago

Why would liver signal defiance?

▲Sleaker an hour ago | parent | next [-]

It was the believed area of emotion, passion and 'soul'. I think western/modern religion has morphed from the liver to the heart essentially.

▲pinkmuffinere an hour ago | parent [-]

This 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.

▲jephs an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-]

There 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.

▲card_zero 36 minutes ago | parent | next [-]

The Greeks did get to India. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greco-Buddhist_art

▲BobaFloutist 35 minutes ago | parent | prev | next [-]

>I have no idea, however, why both Eastern and Western naive psychology associate gall with, well, gall.

Possibly because it's filled with strong acid.

▲vconnor an hour ago | parent | prev [-]

In Italian, to have 'liver' (fegato) means to be courageous.

▲bheadmaster an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I phrased it awkwardly. Simply put, in Ancient Greece, liver was something like heart in modern society. It was the seat of human emotions.

So by destroying Prometheus' liver, Zeus attempted to destroy his human emotions, including his pride and defiance against gods.

▲seizethecheese an hour ago | parent [-]

I don’t think it was phrased awkwardly, I was just curious.

▲Bluestein 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Humors perhaps. Not my area, so I do not recall the correspondence ...