In the following essay the author examines those aspects of the evolution of the concept of psyche from Homer to Aristotle that show striking dissimilarities with our modern understanding of the soul/mind. In this analysis, the author gives more room to the problem of the Homeric soul-words, for Homer's picture of the soul seems to be especially challenging for our conceptual schemes. The guiding suspicion during this study is that there is a temptation for modern students of this subject to (...) suppose a greater continuity between their understanding of what it is to be a soul or mind and ancient thinkers' grasp of the same experiential field than is warranted by available textual evidence. The article focuses on some of the astonishing features of the concept of psyche from Homer to Aristotle--features that are, hopefully, able to reconstruct in spite of the assimilating force of the authors' prejudices. 2012 APA, all rights reserved). (shrink)