Soul (ψυχή) often equated with life-force or breath.
"all things are full of gods" Aristotle, De Anima 411a7, quoting Thales
Heraclitus: the soul has a deep, unexplored structure and needs to be “kindled” like fire to become wise
Pythagoreans: soul is immortal and transmigrates (metempsychosis).
Empedocles and Anaxagoras introduce NOUS (mind) as a soul-like power.
No strict separation yet between physical and spiritual dimensions.
ΤΟ ΕΠΙΜΕΛΕΙΣΘΑΙ ΕΑΥΤΟΥ ΕΣΤΙΝ ΕΠΙΜΕΛΕΙΣΘΑΙ ΤΗΣ ΨΥΧΗΣ / To care for oneself is to care for the soul.
ΟΥ ΤΑ ΧΡΗΜΑΤΑ ΥΜΑΣ ΠΟΙΕΙΝ ΑΛΛΑ ΤΗΝ ΨΥΧΗΝ ΩΣ ΑΡΙΣΤΗΝ ΕΙΝΑΙ / Care not for your bodies or your wealth so much as for the best possible state of your soul.
the concept of EPIMELESTHAI ("care for one's self / care for the soul) is key concept of classical philosophical tradition
Aristotle’s theory of soul is grounded in hylomorphism, the idea that all living beings are composites of matter (hyle) and form (morphe).
The body is the matter, the potentiality.
The soul is the form, the actuality of a living body.
The soul is not a separate substance, but the essence that gives life and organization to the body.
The soul is the actuality of a body that has life potentially.” (De Anima, II.1)