Athens Journal of History - Volume 3, Issue 4 – Pages 275-296 https://doi.org/10.30958/ajhis.3-4-2 doi=10.30958/ajhis.3-4-2 Cervantes Read by Freud: A Perspective By Francisco López-Muñoz  Francisco Pérez-Fernández † Cecilio Álamo ‡ Pilar García-García  Sigmund Freud felt very attracted throughout his life by Miguel de Cervantes’ works, which led him to become a self-taught of Spanish in order to read Don Quixote. However, Freud cited Cervantes’ work very little along his scientific production. Freud's references to Cervantes and his texts and characters can be mostly found in his voluminous correspondence. There are two revealing epistolary collections that can shed light on the subject that concerns us: a collection of letters sent to Martha Bernays during the period between 1882 and 1886 (The Bridal Letters), and another collection (1871-1881), known as The Youth Letters, linked to his friend Eduard Silberstein. All these mentions are limited to two Cervantine texts: Don Quixote and The Dialogue of the Dogs. Freud and Silberstein founded a secret literary society ("Academia Castellana"), and they usually communicated in Spanish. This article examines the link between Freud and Cervantes and provides some details about the possible influence of the works of the classical Spanish writer on the scientific contributions of the author of psychoanalysis. In some paragraphs of Don Quixote there is a clear Freudian symbolism, whereas in the exemplary novel The Dialogue of the Dogs, a methodological development of psychoanalytic interview can be found which would be raised by Freud almost three hundred years later. Introduction Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) is, perhaps, one of the most famous authors in the history of psychology and psychiatry beyond their academic and scientific limits. His contributions have largely transcended these fields, making a decisive contribution to other disciplines such as philosophy, anthropology and humanities. Undoubtedly, Freud is one of the most influential figures of the 20 th century. However, his work has been criticized, having being denied its scientific nature by some sectors of the fields of medicine or psychology. These groups have placed it closer to general culture, anthropology or philosophy. In fact, even his greatest creation, psychoanalysis, experienced a process of decay since the middle of the last century, despite its continuous  Professor of Pharmacology, Faculty of Health Sciences, and Director of International Doctorate School at Camilo José Cela University, Madrid, Spain; Research Fellow at "Hospital 12 de Octubre" Research Institute (i+12), Madrid, Spain; and Research Fellow at Portucalense Institute of Neuropsychology and Cognitive and Behavioural Neurosciences, Portucalense University, Porto, Portugal. † Associate Professor of History of Psychology, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health Sciences at Camilo José Cela University, Madrid, Spain. ‡ Professor of Pharmacology, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at University of Alcalá, Madrid, Spain.  Honorary Research Professor, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at University of Alcalá, Madrid, Spain.