Sophrosyne
Encyclopedia
Sophrosyne is a Greek philosophical
Greek philosophy
Ancient Greek philosophy arose in the 6th century BCE and continued through the Hellenistic period, at which point Ancient Greece was incorporated in the Roman Empire...

 term etymologically meaning healthy-mindedness and from there self-control or moderation guided by knowledge and balance.

In Greek philosophy Sophrosyne was a Greek goddess. She was the spirit of moderation, self control, temperance, restraint, and discretion. She was considered to be one of the good spirits that escaped Pandora's box
Pandora's box
Pandora's box is an artifact in Greek mythology, taken from the myth of Pandora's creation around line 60 of Hesiod's Works and Days. The "box" was actually a large jar given to Pandora , which contained all the evils of the world. When Pandora opened the jar, all its contents except for one item...

 when the first woman had opened the lid and fled to Olympos.

The Ancient Greeks upheld the ideal of sophrosyne, which means prudence and moderation but ultimately its complex meaning, so important to the ancients, is very difficult to convey in English. It is perhaps best expressed by the two most famous sayings of the Oracle of Delphi: "Nothing in excess" and "Know thyself."

The term suggests a life-long happiness obtained when one's philosophical needs are satisfied, resembling the idea of enlightenment through harmonious living. It is a nearly lost Classical ideal, but is enjoying some revival today with its emphasis on individuals to live within the proportions of reason and nature, this being achieved through practical wisdom and self knowledge. Parallels abound in eastern thought, in Hinduism, Buddhism and Taoism. The Analects of Confucius
Confucius
Confucius , literally "Master Kong", was a Chinese thinker and social philosopher of the Spring and Autumn Period....

, for example, has several passages on humility that resemble discussions of the Greek ideal.

It is conceptually the opposite of hubris
Hubris
Hubris , also hybris, means extreme haughtiness, pride or arrogance. Hubris often indicates a loss of contact with reality and an overestimation of one's own competence or capabilities, especially when the person exhibiting it is in a position of power....

.

The word is found in the writings of Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...

, especially that of Plato
Plato
Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...

 in ethical discussions of the dialogue
Dialogue
Dialogue is a literary and theatrical form consisting of a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people....

 Charmides
Charmides
Charmides was an Athenian statesman who flourished during the fourth century BC. Uncle of Plato, Charmides appears in the Platonic dialogue bearing his name , the Protagoras, and the Symposium, as well as in Xenophon's Symposium, Memorabilia, and Hellenica...

where it refers to the avoidance of excess in daily life. This term in Plato's use is connected with the Pythagorean
Pythagoras
Pythagoras of Samos was an Ionian Greek philosopher, mathematician, and founder of the religious movement called Pythagoreanism. Most of the information about Pythagoras was written down centuries after he lived, so very little reliable information is known about him...

 idea of harmonia
Harmonia
-Art:* Harmonia , an outdoor sculpture by Achim Kühn in Turku, Finland-Antiquity:* Harmonia , the Greek goddess of harmony and concord* Harmonia -Art:* Harmonia (sculpture), an outdoor sculpture by Achim Kühn in Turku, Finland-Antiquity:* Harmonia (mythology), the Greek goddess of harmony and...

.

In Christian theology, especially in the Greek Orthodox patristic form, the word sophrosyne has come to mean purity, integrity and virginity, although this is not its Classical meaning. The Gospel of Matthew
Gospel of Matthew
The Gospel According to Matthew is one of the four canonical gospels, one of the three synoptic gospels, and the first book of the New Testament. It tells of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth...

 may be the source of this difference; however, there are clear examples in secular Hellenistic authors where sophrosyne refers to sexual fidelity and integrity (at least for a woman; cf. Callirhoe §2.8.4, §2.10.8). For the Ancient Greeks, "sophrosyne" had these noble connotations, but could also be used in more mundane contexts.

Hypatia of Alexandria
Hypatia of Alexandria
Hypatia was an Egyptian Neoplatonist philosopher who was the first notable woman in mathematics. As head of the Platonist school at Alexandria, she also taught philosophy and astronomy...

was regarded as an example of sophrosyne. Biographer Maria Dzielska states that Hypatia remained a virgin to the end of her life

Examples of this term often appear in Greek literature as well. See the character of Deianeira in Trachinian Women by Sophocles. Achilles in The Iliad when Agamemnon decides to take Briseis or Oedipus in Oedipus Rex are examples of characters without sophrosyne. Plato's Symposium could accurately be subtitled "On Sophrosyne," and his character Socrates is sophrosyne exemplified.
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