Sophrosyne view in subsequent Western European thought. Sophrosyne is one of the cardinal virtues. An adjectival form is "sophron". 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
Ancient Greek structurally and in its vocabulary, to Ancient Greek not present in other varieties. As few as 5,000 people speak the dialect, and linguists believe that it is the closest living language to Ancient Greek. Ancient Greek is often used in the coinage of modern technical terms in the European languages: see English words of Greek origin. Latinized forms of Ancient Greek roots are used in many of the scientific names of species and in scientific terminology. Ancient Greek The Ancient Greek language includes the forms of Greek used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around the 9th century