The modern Western idea of the soul has both eschatological and psychological attributes, and the presence of the Greek word psuchē, or "soul," in concepts such as psychiatry and psychology suggests that the Greeks viewed the soul in the modern way. Yet the absence of any psychological connotations in the earliest extant usages of psuchē shows that at least the early Greek concept of the soul was different from later beliefs. Taking this difference as my point of departure, I shall first trace the development of the conception of the soul of the living, then look at the conception of the soul of the dead, and, finally, analyze the fate of the soul according to Hellenistic religions.

Soul of the Living

The Greek conception of the soul in the Archaic age (800–500 BCE) might best be characterized as multiple. Following the widely accepted...