When Did the Heart Shape Come About?

The first known depiction of a heart-shape as a symbol of love was in the 1250's French manuscript the Roman de la poire, in which a young man holds his vaguely pine cone-shaped heart up towards his lady love. Up until the fourteenth century, the heart was usually depicted upside down.

Who came up with the heart shape and why?

Silphium's seedpod bore a striking resemblance to the modern Valentine's heart, leading many to speculate that the herb's associations with love and sex may have been what first helped popularize the symbol. The ancient city of Cyrene, which grew rich from the silphium trade, even put the heart shape on its money.

Why did the heart shape come from?

In the 5th-6th century BC, the heart shape was used to represent the heart-shaped fruit of the plant silphium, a plant possibly used as a contraceptive. ... Silver coins from Cyrene of the 5th-6th BC bear a similar design, sometimes accompanied by a silphium plant and is understood to represent its seed or fruit.