Difference between ψυχή and θυμός?

Greek Homeric Greek and Early Greek Poetry
1

According to Pharr, both mean “soul,” among other things. I’m having a little trouble understanding the distinction.

2

My understanding is that ψυχή refers only to what makes someone alive or dead, while θυμός is what moves a person and causes emotions and so on. So when a person is sleeping or unconscious, the ψυχή is still at work but not the θυμός. So the ψυχή on its own doesn’t have any intellectual or emotional faculties and so on.

3

hi, you can also see s5.2 (pg 14) of my old pharr notes on the distinction between these two words:

http://www.freewebs.com/mhninaeide/pharrnotes.pdf

cheers :slight_smile: