Prophecies, devil's temptations, and hidden meanings: Origins of dream interpretation
When and how dreams began to be interpreted and dream books compiled (photo: Getty Images)
Dreams have always carried an air of mystery. For some peoples, dreams were messages from the gods, for others, they served as a prophecy about the future or even a temptation of the devil. In the 20th century, Freud called dreams "the royal road to the unconscious," and today scientists explain them through brain activity during sleep phases. Yet despite millennia of searching for answers, dreams remain one of humanity's greatest mysteries. Here is how attitudes toward dreams changed, from Sumerian clay tablets to the theories of Freud, Jung, and modern neuroscientific research.
Ancient civilizations
The Sumerians and Akkadians (3rd millennium BC) were the first to record dreams on tablets. They believed dreams were direct messages from the gods, and temple priests were the main interpreters of dreams.
In Ancient Egypt, the first dream books were written on papyrus, and people slept in "dream sanctuaries" to receive divine revelations.
Mesopotamia divided dreams into good and bad depending on the direction from which they "came." They distinguished between true ("divine") dreams and false ones ("from demons"). If a dream came from the "right," it was considered good; if from the "left," bad.
Antiquity: From gods to medicine
In Greece, Hippocrates and Aristotle tried to explain dreams physiologically, but at the same time, in the temples of Asclepius, people slept to receive advice in their dreams.
Dreams were considered divine revelations, but the first philosophers claimed they were the result of a person’s physical condition, diet, or health.
In Rome, the philosopher Cicero regarded dreams as reflections of thoughts, while ordinary people believed in their prophetic power.
Middle Ages: From the Bible to demons
Christian tradition interpreted dreams as the devil's temptation, but at the same time, biblical stories confirmed the possibility of divine revelations. Medieval dream books intertwined pagan beliefs, biblical stories, and astrology.
Renaissance and modern era
Philosophers of the Enlightenment saw dreams as a play of imagination and a reflection of daily experience. Descartes considered them chaotic images without deeper meaning.
19th-20th centuries and psychology of dreams
Sigmund Freud, in his book "The Interpretation of Dreams" (1900), called dreams "the royal road to the unconscious." He believed they revealed hidden desires.
Carl Jung developed his own concept: dreams reflect not only personal experiences but also archetypes of the collective unconscious. His archetypes—the Mother, the Hero, the Shadow—appeared in dreams across different cultures.
What science says about dreams today
Neurobiology explains dreams as the result of brain activity during the REM phase. It is during this time that the process of organizing information takes place.
Psychology sees dreams as reflections of emotions and anxieties, as well as subconscious processes.
Pop culture has preserved the popularity of dream books, though scientists consider them more symbolic than real tools.
The interpretation of dreams has traveled a long path from divine signs to objects of scientific experimentation. But one thing has remained unchanged: people still want to decipher what really hides behind nighttime images.
Sources: Oppenheim, works of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, American Psychological Association (APA), Hollis Susan's work on dreams in Ancient Egypt.
