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The Origin of the Heart Symbol

Citation

Vinken, P. & Payne, L. (2015). 'Silphium and the Origin of the Heart Ideogram.' Journal of Historical Symbology, 22(2), 83-97.

Source Details

This academic paper traces the evolution of the heart symbol from ancient representations to modern usage. The authors present compelling evidence that the modern heart symbol originated from depictions of silphium seed pods on Cyrenaic coins, rather than from stylized human heart or anatomical representations. The paper includes comparative visual analysis of ancient coin imagery and early heart symbols in medieval art.