The Meaning of Teeth (Falling Out) in Ancient Greek Tradition

Teeth falling out is a very common dream. It is often associated with themes of loss, insecurity, and personal power. What did the Ancient Greeks say about this type of dream?

The Most Common Dream in Every Country - Source

In dream interpretation, dreaming about teeth falling out is common. It is often associated with themes of loss, insecurity, and personal power. Contemporary interpretations for dreaming about teeth falling out may relate to some of the following:

1. Insecurity and Anxiety: Dreams about teeth falling out can be related to feelings of insecurity and anxiety in waking life. It might indicate a lack of confidence, fear of judgment, or concerns about personal appearance.

2. Fear of Aging or Loss: Teeth are associated with youthfulness and attractiveness. Dreaming about teeth falling out may reflect a fear of getting older, losing vitality, or experiencing a sense of loss in general.

3. Communication Issues: Teeth are essential for speaking and communication. Dreaming about teeth falling out can symbolize difficulties in expressing yourself effectively or feeling unheard in your relationships or social interactions.

4. Powerlessness or Power Dynamics: Teeth are symbolic of personal power and control. Dreaming about teeth falling out might signify a perceived loss of power, feeling helpless or unable to assert yourself in certain situations.

5. Transition or Transformation: Some interpretations view teeth falling out as a sign of transformation or transition. It could indicate that you are going through significant changes or a period of personal growth.

Dream interpretation is a mantic tradition that can be found in many if not all cultures. In the ancient Greek tradition, we are fortunate to have a surviving dream interpretation book from Artemidorus called The Interpretation of Dreams. This text, in my view, is largely undervalued and not spoke about enough. It provides us a unique means to get a glimpse into the ancient psyche and society. Concerning teeth Artemidorus writes:

The interpretation of dreams about teeth requires much subdivision, and very few of the modern dream-interpreters have handled it well. The fullest and best set of principles is that proposed by Aristander of Telmessus. They are as follows.

The top teeth signify the superior and important members of the dreamer's household, and the bottom teeth the lower orders. The mouth must be thought of as a house, and the teeth as the people in the house. The teeth on the right side of the mouth signify the men, and those on the left side the women, except in some rare cases, for example when a brothel-keeper's household consists entirely of females, or a gentleman farmer's household consists entirely of males. In these cases, the teeth on the right side signify the older men or women, and those on the left side the younger. And the teeth called 'incisors' (that is, the front teeth) signify the relatively young; the canine teeth signify the middle-aged; and the molars, which some call the 'grinders', signify the old. So the sort of tooth lost will be followed by the loss of the corresponding sort of person.

Since teeth signify not only people but also property, we should regard the molars as signifying treasures, the canines things of no great value, and the incisors general household effects. It follows that any teeth falling out signify the loss of property. And the teeth also signify various factors in the conduct of one's life. The molars signify those factors which are private and not revealed to anyone, the canines those which are apparent to no more than a few, and the incisors the most obvious factors which are openly voiced and effected through what you say. So teeth falling out impede those factors to which they correspond.

So now let us proceed to some distinctions. For debtors, any teeth falling out signify the repayment of their debts. This is a common and well-worn path of interpretation, but even so we shall explain just what the teeth signify about debts. If someone loses a single tooth, he will repay one creditor or many at one go: if he loses many teeth, he will repay many creditors or one creditor many times. If he has broken teeth, he will pay off his debts bit by bit. And if the loss of teeth is painless, repayment will be made from what he earns by his work: bus the dreams that the loss is attended by pain, he will have to sells one of his household effects to meet the debt. Loss of the front teeth prevents any oral negotiation. But if their loss is accompanied by pain, blood, or fragments of flesh, that means that all deals are off and the whole business is at an end. If the front teeth drop out painlessly, that only postpones matters for the time being.

All the teeth falling out together signifies for people who are healthy, free, and not involved in trade that their household will be completely bereft of all its members at one and the same time. For the sick it foretells long consumptive illness, but assures them that they will not die: without teeth they cannot manage properly nutritious food, and must subsist on porridge and gruel, but none of the dead lose their teeth. So anything which does not happen to dead bodies constitutes an indication of survival for the sick. And it is better for the sick to dream of losing all their teeth: they will recover that much quicker. For a slave having no teeth foretells freedom, either because he will not be paying commission to a master, just as he is not giving food to his teeth, or because he will not be reliant on sustenance from anyone else, just as he is not sustained by his teeth: one way or another he will be free. For traders this sort of dream signifies that they will quickly dispose of their goods, especially if they are live cargo.

Enlarged teeth, grown to greater size on one side of the mouth, signify that there will be discord in the dreamer's household, since there is now no harmonious relation between them. And the same when teeth are wobbly, but do not fall out. And all with black, rotten, or broken teeth who dream that they have shed their teeth will be freed from everything troubling or oppressing them- and often enough people have shed their aged relatives.

To dream of having ivory teeth is auspicious for everyone. For public speakers it signifies eloquence, and for other people luxury in the house. To dream of having golden teeth is auspicious only for public speakers, whose voice then seems to issue from a mouth with teeth of gold* for other people it signifies that there will be funeral Pyres in the house. To dream of having teeth of wax brings death on Sharply, as teeth like that cannot cut through food. Teeth of lead or tin signify disgrace and shame, and glass or wooden teeth result in some form of violent death. Silver teeth signify an income from oratory, and for the rich heavy expenditure on food.

If someone dreams that he has lost his original teeth and others are growing in their place, this dream signifies a complete change in his life-for the better, if these second teeth are better than the first, and for the worse if they are worse.

To dream of having bits of meat or prickles or anything else stuck in the teeth prevents one from giving voice to some important concerns, and foretells unemployment. But if someone dreams of removing such things from his teeth, he will regain employment and talk his way to some success.

                                                                        (Translation Martin Hammond)