"Know thyself": the Delphic inscription and why it is harder than it looks

The words in the temple of Apollo, why Socrates said he did not yet know himself and what psychologists have found about what others see in us better than we do

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Translated from the Albanian original by the editors. Shqip

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Illustration: the columns of a temple, a symbol of the inscription "Know thyself" at Delphi
Original illustration by the lexoshpejt editors. Not a historical photograph or object.
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In the mountains of central Greece stood Delphi, the place where the ancient Greeks came to consult the oracle of the god Apollo. According to ancient authors, several short sayings were carved in the forecourt of the temple. The best known was gnōthi seauton: "Know thyself". Another was mēden agan: "Nothing in excess".

Who wrote them?

The ancient sources do not fully agree. Plato, in the dialogue Protagoras, links these sayings with the "Seven Sages" of Greece, who by tradition dedicated them to the temple as an offering. The traveller Pausanias, in the second century CE, writes that he had seen them carved there. We do not know for certain who invented the saying; it seems to have been shared wisdom.

Socrates and "Know thyself"

For Socrates this saying was central. In the dialogue Phaedrus he says he has no time to busy himself explaining myths, because he has not yet managed to know himself, as the Delphic inscription commands, and it would be ridiculous to study other things while ignorant of this. Self-knowledge, for him, also meant knowing the limits of our knowledge.

Knowing yourself is not only knowing what you like. It is also seeing what you would rather not see.

What psychology says

In 2010 the American psychologist Simine Vazire proposed a model called SOKA, the "self–other knowledge asymmetry". According to her research, we know ourselves better on traits that are internal and not very visible, such as anxiety. But on traits that show in behaviour and carry an evaluative charge, such as intelligence or creativity, our friends often judge us as accurately as, or more accurately than, we do. The reason is that the wish to look good distorts our self-image.

Other studies have shown that most people see themselves as "above average" on many qualities, which cannot be true of everyone.

How to know ourselves better

  1. Ask people who know you well and have the courage to be honest. Listen without defending yourself.
  2. Observe behaviour, not only intentions. What do you actually do when you are tired, angry or free?
  3. Write regularly. Patterns that repeat in a journal stand out over time.
  4. Remember the other Delphic saying: nothing in excess. Neither harsh self-criticism nor self-praise.

Sources and further reading

  1. Plato. Phaedrus 229e–230a and Protagoras 343a–b. In: Cooper, J. M. (ed.) (1997). Plato: Complete Works. Hackett. WorldCat
  2. Vazire, S. (2010). Who knows what about a person? The self–other knowledge asymmetry (SOKA) model. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 98(2), 281–300. PubMed
  3. Pausanias. Description of Greece, 10.24.1. Translated by W. H. S. Jones (Loeb). WorldCat

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