Delphic maxims

The Delphic maxims are a set of maxims inscribed on the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. Originally, they were said to have been given by the Greek god Apollo's Oracle at Delphi, Pythia, and therefore were attributed to Apollo. Plato attributed them to the Seven Sages of Greece, as did the 3rd-century doxographer Diogenes Laertius and the 5th-century scholar Stobaeus. Contemporary scholars, however, hold that their original authorship is uncertain, and that "most likely they were popular proverbs, which tended later to be attributed to particular sages". Roman educator Quintilian argued that students should copy these aphorisms often to improve their moral core. Perhaps the most famous of these maxims is "know thyself", which was the first of three maxims carved above the entrance to the Temple of Apollo at Delphi.

The specific order and wording of each maxim varies among different versions (and translations) of the text. Not all maxims appear in all versions.

Entrance maxims

Three maxims are known to have been inscribed on the Temple of Apollo at Delphi at least as early as the 5th century BC, and appear to have persisted into the 1st century AD. The exact location of the inscription is uncertain; it is variously stated to have been on the wall of the pronaos (forecourt), on a column, on a doorpost, on the temple front, or on the propylaea (gateway).

The maxims are as follows:

These maxims are routinely referenced by ancient authors, most notably by Plato. Benjamin Jowett's index to his translation of the ''Dialogues of Plato'' lists six dialogues which mention the Delphic inscriptions: '' Charmides'' (164D), '' Protagoras'' (343B), '' Phaedrus'' (229E), '' Philebus'' (45E, 48C), ''Laws'' (II.923A), '' Alcibiades I'' (124B, 129A, 132C).

147 maxims of Stobaeus

In the 5th-century anthology of Stobaeus, there is a list of 147 maxims attributed to the Seven Sages of Greece. Stobaeus cites a certain Sosiades as his source, but the identity of Sosiades is unknown, and it was once thought that this collection of maxims was of no great antiquity. However, parallel sayings have since been found in several ancient inscriptions, some dating to around 300 BC. These inscriptions also inform us that the original maxims were "carved on the stele at Delphi".

The maxims given by Stobaeus are as follows:

Ai-Khanoum inscription

In the ruins of the Hellenistic city of Ai-Khanoum (former Greco-Bactrian kingdom, and modern Afghanistan), on a Herõon (funerary monument) identified in Greek as the tomb of Kineas (also described as the (founder) of the Greek settlement) and dated to 300-250 BCE, an inscription has been found describing part of the Delphic maxims (maxims 143 to 147):