Sophrosyne an important topic for Plato. It is main subject of the dialogue "Charmides", wherein several definitions are proposed but no conclusion reached; however the dramatic context connotes moral purity and innocence. An etymological meaning of sophrosyne as "moral sanity" is proposed in "Cratylus" 411e. Plato's view of sophrosyne is related to Pythagorean "harmonia" ("Republic" 430e−432a, 442c) and closely linked with Plato’s tripartite division of the soul: "sophrosyne" is the harmonious moderation of the appetitive and spirited parts of the soul by the rational part (e.g., "Phaedrus" 237c−238e). For the Stoic, Zeno of Citium, "sophrosyne" is one of the four chief
Ancient Greek law Ancient Greek law Ancient Greek law consists of the laws and legal institutions of Ancient Greece. The existence of certain general principles of law is implied by the custom of settling a difference between two Greek states, or between members of a single state, by resorting to external arbitration. The general unity of Greek law shows mainly in the laws of inheritance and adoption, in laws of commerce and contract, and in the publicity uniformly given to legal agreements. While its older forms can be studied by the laws of Gortyn, its influence can be traced in legal documents preserved