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 literature themes originating in ancient Greece. The ideas expressed in Aristotle's "Poetics", in particular, have influenced generations of Western writers and literary critics. A Latin translation of an Arabic version of the "Poetics" by Averroes was available during the Middle Ages. Common Greek literary terms still used today include: "catharsis", "ethos", "anagnorisis", "hamartia", "hubris", "mimesis", "mythos", "nemesis", and "peripeteia". Ancient Greek literature Ancient Greek literature refers to literature written in the Ancient Greek language from the earliest texts until the time of the Byzantine Empire. The earliest surviving works of ancient Greek literature, dating back to the early Archaic period, are