Τρίτη 20 Ιανουαρίου 2026
Δευτέρα 19 Ιανουαρίου 2026
The Delphic Maxims
The Delphic Maxims are a collection of 147 maxims that are understood to be delivered by the deity Apollo Himself to the Oracle at Delphi, who divinely inspired the Seven Sages, seven early-6th-century BCE philosophers, mystics, politicians, and law-givers, who wrote them down. They are usually identified as:
- Solon of Athens (c. 638 – 558 BCE) a famous legislator and reformer from Athens, framing the laws that shaped Athenian democracy.
- Khilon of Sparta (fl. 6th century BCE) a Spartan politician to whom the militarization of Spartan society was attributed.
- Thales of Miletos (c. 624 – c. 546 BCE) is the first well-known philosopher, mathematician, and astronomer. His maxim, “Know thyself,” was engraved on the front facade of the Oracle of Apollo in Delphi.
- Bias of Priene (fl. 6th century BCE) was a politician and legislator known for being an advocate.
- Kleoboulos of Lindos (fl. 6th century BCE) governed as tyrant of Lindos, in the Greek island of Rhodes.
- Pittacus of Mitylene (c. 640 – 568 BCE) governed Mytilene on the island of Lesbos. He tried to reduce the power of the nobility and was able to govern with the support of the popular classes, whom he favored.
- Periander of Korinthos (fl. 627 BCE) was the tyrant of Corinth in the 7th and 6th centuries BCE. Corinth saw a golden age of unprecedented stability during his rule.
They provide a framework for life of an honest, worthy way of living. They are guidelines and advice, not absolutes, as our ability to think and act for ourselves is a great good that is part of the soul’s essence. You cannot read the Delphic Maxims as absolutes. Especially because some of the maxims are ritual laws rather than moral laws or ethical rules, and following many of them is a matter of self-discipline and serves a ritual function, rather than a moral one. You’re not immoral if you don’t follow some of these, you’re just slightly messing up a ritual agreement and failing in self-discipline. To assume the maxims all relate to absolute morality is a mistake– especially given how many of them are very specific to the times they were written in. For example, Delphic Maxim 95 is Γυναικος αρχε, “Rule your wife.”
It is important to note that Hellenism has an oral tradition as well as a written one, and the oral tradition has reinterpreted many of the written maxims throughout history. There is no reason the oral Hellenic tradition cannot reinterpret them more now.