Ancient Heartbreaks

Sammi Rakkar (History)

For as long as human civilisations have existed, so has heartbreak. From the earliest civilisation of Mesopotamia to the classical world of ancient Greece, humans have found many explanations and solutions to heartbreak that still exist in our culture.

In the world of Ancient Mesopotamia, heartbreak was understood more as a medical condition that could be treated, involving different parts of the body and encompassed more than just romantic hardships. Even some of the oldest pieces of Babylonian cuneiform writing reference heartbreak and the different herbal treatments used.

In Ancient Greece, where religion dominated all aspects of life, the belief in gods and goddesses supported by mythology like the story of Ceyx and Alcyon that helped people understand the world around them and the emotions they were feeling. Alongside this, the work of influential stoic philosophers like Seneca and Marcus Aurelius helped people to navigate the struggles of daily life and difficult emotions like heartbreak themselves.

Myths have always had the ability to comfort us, and whilst our culture has evolved in different ways, these examples reveal that our understanding and experiences of heartbreak have not changed as much as we might think in the last few thousand years, providing a way of connecting us to the ancient world.