- Dec 5, 2000
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A professor of psychology who studied the symbolism, origin and history of Valentine's Day said the traditional double-lobed heart symbol on candy and cards is inspired by the shape of female buttocks as they appear from behind, according to Discovery News.
The "essential literary and speculative evidence from mythology and secondary sources" leads to the theory, Prof. Galdino Pranzarone of Roanoke College in Salem, Va., told Discovery News.
The fact that the symbol doesn't resemble the human heart organ is one fairly glaring piece of evidence, he said.
"The twin lobes of the stylized version correspond roughly to the paired auricles and ventricles [chambers] of the anatomical heart," Pranzarone told Discovery News, adding that the organ "is never bright red in color" and the "shape does not have the invagination at the top nor the sharp point at the base."
The ancient Romans and Greeks may have started the link between the heart symbol and female anatomy, Pranzarone said. The Greeks associated beauty with the female behind's curves, he said.
"The Greek goddess of beauty, Aphrodite, was beautiful all over, but was unique in that her buttocks were especially beautiful," he told Discovery News. "Her shapely rounded hemispheres were so appreciated by the Greeks that they built a special temple Aphrodite Kallipygos, which literally meant, 'Goddess with the Beautiful Buttocks.' This was probably the only religious building in the world that was dedicated to buttock worship."
The "essential literary and speculative evidence from mythology and secondary sources" leads to the theory, Prof. Galdino Pranzarone of Roanoke College in Salem, Va., told Discovery News.
The fact that the symbol doesn't resemble the human heart organ is one fairly glaring piece of evidence, he said.
"The twin lobes of the stylized version correspond roughly to the paired auricles and ventricles [chambers] of the anatomical heart," Pranzarone told Discovery News, adding that the organ "is never bright red in color" and the "shape does not have the invagination at the top nor the sharp point at the base."
The ancient Romans and Greeks may have started the link between the heart symbol and female anatomy, Pranzarone said. The Greeks associated beauty with the female behind's curves, he said.
"The Greek goddess of beauty, Aphrodite, was beautiful all over, but was unique in that her buttocks were especially beautiful," he told Discovery News. "Her shapely rounded hemispheres were so appreciated by the Greeks that they built a special temple Aphrodite Kallipygos, which literally meant, 'Goddess with the Beautiful Buttocks.' This was probably the only religious building in the world that was dedicated to buttock worship."
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