Temple of Athena the Savior

Heraclitus proclaimed sophrosyne as the greatest of virtues, but what is sophrosyne exactly?

Sōphrosynē is a Greek word that is often translated as “prudence,” “moderation,” or “temperance” from sōphrōn, “a sound mind.” In Greek thought, self-control and moderation were literally the sign of a healthy mental state.

Plato had this to say about sophrosyne:

“Sophrosyne is a certain kind of order and control over pleasures and desires, as they say, ‘mastery of oneself’—a phrase not without its difficulties, for in truth, no one is master of himself, but it is rather a kind of knowing oneself.”(Charmides, 167a)

This says to me that in order to be in control of oneself, you must first know yourself, as much as is possible. You need to be aware of your faults as well as your strengths. Some people may be prone to drinking to excess, others to excessive credit card debt, and others may be too easily enamored with a person they have just met. In order to successfully restrain those impulses and faults, you have to acknowledge the fault in yourself. You must see yourself with crystal clarity, which is not an easy task.Plato’s acknowledgment that no one is really 100 percent in control of themselves demonstrates that philosophy and the development of virtue is a process. It’s a lifelong goal, not a destination, not a binary on/off. It’s something you must constantly ask yourself if you are doing, and doing well.

Sophrosyne is also worshipped as the Personification or Spirit of moderation in all things, both historically and by Pagans and Polytheists practicing today. While doing research for this post, I found an article on a website dedicated to recovery from alcoholism. They posit Sophrosyne as a modern Goddess of Recovery. While the writer of this article isn’t Pagan, but a secular humanist who doesn’t like the heavily Christian overtones of AA, I thought it was nice to see these classic virtues and this Spirit at work in a modern context. I actually believe that the modern world could use much, much more self-restraint, across the board!

Socrates contrasted sophrosyne with hubris, which he believed to be its opposite. Hubris, “arrogance” or “shamelessness,” was the vice that so many Greek heroes of myth fell from. We are, of course, familiar with the concept of excessive pride in oneself and one’s accomplishments, but it’s interesting that it is also translated as shamelessness. There’s more wrapped up in the original concept of hubris, although I think I need more time to fully work it out.

While hubris is a fault to be wary of, I see only a tenuous connection to sophrosyne. Aristotle draws a line that is easier to follow, making sophrosyne the golden mean between two extremes with regard to pleasures. The extreme of excess, of hedonism, is obviously a vice, but according to Aristotelian ethics, so is a deficiency in enjoyment of pleasures. We are in a body for a reason; this is the truth of our existence. Self-denial to the point of pain is not a virtue in pagan thought. We are allowed to enjoy the profits of a good life, good food, sex, and comforts that money can bring us. Over-indulgence in any of these things makes us a slave to our passions and to our body. But we were never meant to deny these things.

Even into the Christian age, sophrosyne was highly regarded, although the idea of it being a balance of enjoying pleasures not too much or too little is lost. Augustine of Hippo wrote in the late antiquity period, most of his works being dated to the 4th and 5th centuries. From what I’ve read, the nuance seems to be lost, and self-denial is promoted as temperance, although I will admit I have not read much of his work, as I typically have an interest in earlier writers.

Augustine wrote:

“The virtue of temperance [sophrosyne in its Latin form, temperantia] is that which restrains the appetites of the flesh and keeps the soul in harmony with God’s order, for without it, we are slaves to our lower nature.” (City of God, XIX.4)

Sophrosyne isn’t just a Stoic idea, even though folks like Ryan Holiday talk about it as one of the Four Cardinal Virtues in The Daily Stoic. It is, but you can practice Sophrosyne without being solely a Stoic. While integral to Stoicism, this concept is bigger than that, stretching across Greek, Roman, Pagan, and even Christian thought, all about finding balance and knowing yourself. I think it’s a virtue we need now more than ever. Sophrosyne reminds us to stay grounded, enjoy life without going overboard, and keep asking ourselves who we are and how we can live better.