Sophrosyne Sophrosyne Sophrosyne () is an ancient Greek concept of an ideal of excellence of character and soundness of mind, which when combined in one well-balanced individual leads to other qualities, such as temperance, moderation, prudence, purity, decorum and self-control. In other languages there is no equivalent word. In Greek literature sophrosyne is considered an important quality, and is sometimes expressed in opposition to the concept of hubris. A noted example of this occurs in Homer's "The Iliad". When Agamemnon decides to take the queen, Briseis, away from Achilles, it is seen as Agamemnon behaving with hubris and lacking sophrosyne. In
Ancient Greek literature from ancient Greek literature. These ideas were later, in turn, adopted by other western European writers and literary critics. Ancient Greek literature especially influenced later Greek literature. For instance, the Greek novels influenced the later work "Hero and Leander", written by Musaeus Grammaticus. Ancient Roman writers were acutely aware of the ancient Greek literary legacy and many deliberately emulated the style and formula of Greek classics in their own works. The Roman poet Vergil, for instance, modeled his epic poem "The Aeneid" on "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey". During the Middle Ages, ancient Greek literature was largely forgotten in Western