How did the symbol for a heart come about given that it looks nothing like an actual heart?

Possible answer

Nobody's quite sure, but it might have to do with a North African plant. During the seventh century B.C., the city-state of Cyrene had a lucrative trade in a rare, now-extinct plant: silphium. Although it was mostly used for seasoning, silphium was reputed to have an off-label use as a form of birth control. The silphium was so important to Cyrene's economy that coins were minted that depicted the plant's seedpod, which looks like the heart shape we know today. The theory goes that the heart shape first became associated with sex, and eventually, with love.

Another answer

Another idea that may help explain this is that the heart-shaped symbol when it is upside-down is an abstraction that symbolizes the gluteal area of females and it also looks like female breasts in this position. So maybe the association was made with this cryptic symbol for sex and that is why it has been associated with the heart.

First answer by ID1112173583. Last edit by Natural Val. Contributor trust: 871 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 27 [recommend question]