Using symbolic language, mythology expresses the deepest workings of the human mind, in a precise, though veiled, manner. To understand the psychological significance of this symbolism one must use a method of analysis that can unlock the true meaning of myths and their symbols. The introspective method, which Paul Diel developed and used in the study of mythology, is precisely such a system. His penetrating analysis of Greek mythology includes an interpretation of such famous myths as Icarus, the winded horse Pegasus, Dionysus, Heracles, Oedipus and Jason. The themes investigated include the appearance of sexual and social perversion in myths, the origins of a psychosomatic understanding of illness in mythology, and the significance of the Greek creation myths. In his discussion, Diel also probes the most common symbols that are used to represent the subconscious, the conscious and the superconscious, or spiritual, processes of the mind. Throughout, his goal is to elevate psychology to a science by deciphering, accurately and intimately, the symbolic language of myth, and thus of the mind. Diel's methodology, as employed in Symbolism in Greek MYthology, is based on the premise that the central phenomenon of life is desire. Suffering, in this context, comes from the contrast between desire (what one wants) and reality (what is possible and true). Unsatisfied desire, unsatisfied because it is unrealistic, constitutes suffering. Joy, on the other hand, comes from the harmonizing of multiple desires. This can only happen through the evolution of desire - the transformation of its energies. The hero or heroine, as the primary focus of myth, represents the spiritualizing impulse and the struggle of the psyche to transcend unrealistic or banalized forms of thought and desire. Within this schema, divinities, symbolize the evolutionary ideal of the human species, the sublime ideal that is sought by the hero. While firmly rooted in the Freudian and Adlerian schools, Diel's insights transcend the work of his predecessors and stand as a major, unique contribution to modern psychological inquiry. - Dust jacket.