Apollo's Proverbs
A Zen meditation on a God's words of wisdom
Pretty much everyone is aware of that maxim said to have been carved into the entrance of the temple of Apollo at Delphi.
Know Thyself.
What fewer people in our moment are aware of is that there are three proverbs or maxims, in the Greek of the time apophthegmata, or words of wisdom. They were carved maybe above the entrance to Apollo’s temple, or possibly on a post right there, or at the very least somewhere set to catch the attention as one entered the temple. We’re no longer precisely sure exactly where. But up front and center, and so sometimes they’re called the Gateway Maxims.
I like how that can be read as the gateway advice for an authentic life.
They probably were posted there since sometime in the fifth century before our common era. Along with another one hundred and forty-seven maxims preserved elsewhere at the temple these are all attributed sometimes to the god Apollo and sometimes to the seven sages.
Who is on that list of putative authors is not entirely certain at our late date. The version Plato gives us is Thales, Pittacus, Bias, Solon, Cleobulus, Myson, and Chilon. A bit of mixed bag including a law giver, a couple of politicians, and with Thales the first person to be adorned with the sobriquet “philosopher.” Chilon was often said to be the source of that first and most famous maxim.