Imagine, for a moment, that you are transported back in time to Ancient Greece. You’ve got some things weighing on your mind — wars are being waged, political decisions are being made, and/or you don’t know what your next move should be in a relationship. You are uncertain about your future and seek answers from the Oracle of Delphi, the priestess who works out of the Temple of Apollo, located on the rocky ridge of Mount Parnassus aka the center of the world as you know it. You submit your query, she goes into a trance-like state, and then leaves you with this advice: Know thyself.
The Oracle was known for giving vague or ambiguous answers (to encourage deep thinking, of course!) Know thyself became the most memorable of three inscriptions on Apollo’s temple. We can likely thank a group of Greek philosophers and statesmen from the 7th-6th centuries BCE known as the Seven Sages for coining the phrase. Of those seven, Chilon of Sparta —a politician who was responsible for militarizing that city-state— is most commonly credited with the “know thyself” maxim as well as the saying “brevity is the soul of wit” (which is so hard to achieve it feels like an affront.) A less well known inscription attributed to our man of few words can be found at the Bath of the Seven Sages in Ostia, pictured below, which reads “Sneaky Chilon taught to fart silently” lol. What a guy’s guy, eh?
Bathroom humor aside, there’s no denying the staying power of this Delphic maxim. “Know thyself” is old AF and has universality that inspires interpretations that even we, the people of 2025 CE, continue to ponder its meaning and application to our lives. Almost every civilization, religion, and philosopher has grappled with this theme. Here are a few interpretations and their origins:
Know your limits (or know your place) from Prometheus Bound, a play by Aeschycles;
Know your soul, Socrates/Plato;
Know your faults, Galen the physician and Aristotle who both observed that lacking; self-awareness leads to blind spots;
Know yourself through study of the universe aka microcosm and macrocosm, the Stoics;
Know yourself through the observation of others, Socrates/Plato;
“To thine own self be true,” said to Hamlet by Polonius (ironically) in the Shakespearean play.
Nowadays, “Know Thyself” is a call for introspection, self-awareness, individuality, self discovery or self-actualization as seen at the tippy top of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. We can learn about ourselves in many different ways, though as with most things in life, you tend to get out of it what you put in. For instance, a free Enneagram test solicits you to gain a deeper understanding of yourself by grouping you into one of nine categories. And while that information may assist you in labeling your emotions and providing clarity on certain behaviors, one can argue that these types of personality tests are not on the same level of what actual rites of passage, failures, and life in general can teach us.
One thing for sure, knowing thyself is an ongoing process—one that unfolds gradually and, on rare occasions, seemingly all at once. From the ancient Oracle of Delphi to modern psychological frameworks, the search for self-understanding has remained a universal pursuit shaped by our interactions, experiences, and especially our shortcomings. Whether it's through quiet reflection in nature, challenging ourselves through physical or intellectual endeavors, or having deep connections with others, each step brings us closer to understanding who we truly are. And much like those before us, we continue to ask ourselves the same timeless question: Who am I, really? In this pursuit, the path is just as important as the answer, and as long as we keep seeking, we keep evolving. So, as you move through your own life, remember the Oracle’s words: Know thyself. But also remember: this is a journey, not a destination...until our time here is up.
