The 147 maxims and the mysterious E of the sanctuary of Delphi

The most famous oracular sanctuary of antiquity, Delphi, is located next to Mount Parnassus in Phocis, on whose southern slope there is an enclosure practically full of temples, treasures and other constructions. As we said in our previous article about the last words of the oracle of Delphi, it was founded around 750 BC. and there is evidence that as late as A.D. 424. it still maintained a certain activity, when the oracle had already disappeared and the Greek world was essentially Christian. Approximately 1,100 years of existence .

The main building of the enclosure was the Temple of Apollo. Inside it, the Pythia issued her oracles sitting on a crack from which vapors emanated that made her go into a trance. Then the priests interpreted those oracles and transmitted them.

The ruins that we see today correspond to the third of the temples built in the same place, and erected in the year 330 BC, about 43 years after an earthquake destroyed the previous one, for which much of its stone was used. Covered in marble and decorated by the best sculptors of its time, such as Paxias and Androstenes, it incorporated in the metopes the Persian shields captured at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC.

But perhaps the best known element of this temple, which survived until 390 AD. when Emperor Theodosius I silenced the oracle, they are the 147 maxims inscribed on its columns and walls. These are phrases, aphorisms or proverbs, possibly of popular origin, but during ancient times they were attributed to Apollo himself, who would have transmitted them through the Pythia. Classical and medieval authors wanted to see in them the authorship of the Seven Wise Men of Greece, and in fact some of these phrases are attributed to them. But the truth is that we do not know for sure who its authors were.

The order and wording of each maxim varies according to the different sources in which they are collected, and even not all maxims appear in all versions. These are the 147 maxims inscribed on the walls of the temple of Apollo at Delphi, according to Ioannes Stobaeus, a 5th century AD Neoplatonist:

1. Έπου θεῴ. Obey the god.
2. Νόμοις πείθου. Obey the laws.
3. Θεούς σέβου. Respect the gods.
4. Γονείς αίδου. Respect your parents.
5. Ηττώ υπέρ δικαίου. Submit to justice.
6. Γνῶθι μαθών. Learn to learn.
7. Ακούσας νόει. Reflect on what you have heard.
8. Γνῶθι σαυτόν. Know yourself.
9. Γαμεῖν μέλλε. Get married.
10. Καιρὸν γνῶθι. Be timely.
11. Φρόνει θνητά. Think you're mortal.
12. Ξένος ὢν ἴσθι. Recognize when you're out of place.
13. Εστίαν τίμα. Honor your house.
14. Άρχε σεαυτού. Control yourself.
15. Φίλους βοήθει. Help your friends.
16. Θυμοῦ κράτει. Master your character.
17. Φρόνησιν ἄσκει. Exercise caution.
18. Πρόνοιαν τίμα. Honor foresight.
19. Όρκῶ μη χρω. Do not use oaths.
20. Φιλίαν αγάπα. She loves friendship.
21. Παιδείας αντέχου. Persevere in your education.
22. Δόξαν δίωκε. Pursue honor.
23. Καλὸν εὖ λέγε. Praise the good.
24. Σοφίαν ζήτει. Seek wisdom.
25. Ψέγε μηδένα. Don't censor.
26. Επαίνει αρετήν. Praise virtue.
27. Πράττε δίκαια. Act fairly.
28. Φίλοις ευνόει. Be nice to your friends.
29. Εχθρούς αμύνου. Drive your enemies away.
30. Ευγένειαν άσκει. Exercise the nobility.
31. Κακίας απέχου. Stay away from evil.
32. Κοινὸς γίνου. Be impartial.
33. Ἴδια φύλαττε. Protect what is yours.
34. Ἀλλοτρίων ἀπέχου. Stay away from what belongs to others.
35. Εύφημος ίσθι. Have a good reputation.
36. Φίλῳ χαρίζου. Do favors for friends.
37. Άκουε πάντα. Hear it all.
38. Μηδέν άγαν. Nothing in excess.
39. Χρόνου φείδου. Don't waste time.
40. Ὅρα τὸ μέλλον. Think ahead.
41. Ύβριν μίσει. He abhors arrogance.
42. Ικέτας αίδου. Respect supplicants.
43. Πᾶσιν ἁρμόζου. Be accommodating to everyone.
44. Υιούς παίδευε. Educate your children.
45. Έχων χαρίζου. Be generous when you have.
46. Δόλον φοβού. Beware of deception.
47. Ευλόγει πάντας. Speak well of everyone.
48. Φιλόσοφος γίνου. Become a lover of knowledge.
49. Όσια κρίνε. She esteems the sacred.
50. Γνους πράττε. Act according to your conscience.
51. Φόνου απέχου. Don't kill.
52. Εὔχου δυνατά. Ask for what is possible.
53. Σοφοίς χρω. Have dealings with the wise.
54. Ήθος δοκίμαζε. Examine your character.
55. Λαβὼν ἀπόδος. If you received, give.
56. Υφορώ μηδένα. Don't look down on anyone.
57. Τέχνῃ χρω. Make use of art.
58. Ὃ μέλλεις, δός. Do what needs to be done.
59. Ευεργεσίας τίμα. Honor good behavior.
60. Φθόνει μηδενί. Don't envy anyone.
61. Φυλακῇ πρόσεχε. Stay on guard.
62. Ελπίδα αίνει. She praises hope.
63. Διαβολήν μίσει. He abhors slander.
64. Δικαίως κτω. Get things fair.
65. Αγαθούς τίμα. Honor good men.
66. Κριτὴν γνῶθι. Recognize the judge.
67. Γάμους κράτει. Control your links.
68. Τύχην νόμιζε. Recognize fortune.
69. Ἐγγύην φεῦγε. Don't make risky promises.
70. Ἁπλῶς διαλέγου. Speak plainly.
71. Ὁμοίοις χρῶ. Associate with those who think like you.
72. Δαπανῶν ἄρχου. Control your expenses.
73. Κτώμενος ἥδου. Be happy with what you have.
74. Αισχύνην σέβου. Have feelings of modesty.
75. Χάριν ἐκτέλει. Return the favors.
76. Ευτυχίαν εύχου. Wish happiness.
77. Τύχην στέργε. Accept your fate.

78. Ἀκούων ὅρα. Listen and watch.
79. Εργάσου κτητά. Work for what is worth acquiring.
80. Έριν μίσει. He hates discord.
81. Όνειδος έχθαιρε. He abhors injury.
82. Υἱοῖς μὴ καταρῶ. Don't curse your children.
83. Γλῶτταν ἴσχε. Master your tongue.
84. Ὕβριν ἀμύνου. He abhors violence.
85. Κρῖνε δίκαια. Be fair in judging.
86. Χρῶ χρήμασιν. Make use of what you have.
87. Ἀδωροδόκητος δίκαζε. Be an incorruptible judge.
88. Αἰτιῶ παρόντα. Accuse face to face.
89. Λέγε ειδώς. Speak when you know.
90. Βίας μη έχου. Renounce violence.
91. Ἀλύπως βίου. Live without sorrow.
92. Ὁμίλει πρᾴως. Be kind in your relationships.
93. Πέρας ἐπιτέλει μὴ ἀποδειλιῶν. Complete the race and don't flinch.
94. Φιλοφρόνει πάσιν. Show kindness to everyone.
95. Γυναικὸς ἄρχε άρχε. Control your wife.
96. Σεαυτόν ευ ποίει. Do good to yourself.
97. Ευπροσήγορος γίνου. Be nice to everyone.
98. Αποκρίνου εν καιρῴ. Respond in a timely manner.
99. Πόνει μετά δικαίου. Go above and beyond what is necessary.
100. Πράττε αμετανοήτως. Act without regret.
101. Αμαρτάνων μετανόει. Repent when you're wrong.
102. Οφθαλμού κράτει. Master your look.
103. Βουλεύου χρήσιμα. Give timely advice.
104. Πρᾶττε συντόμως. Act without hesitation.
105. Φιλίαν φύλασσε. Keep up the friendship.
106. Ευγνώμων γίνου. Be grateful.
107. Ομόνοιαν δίωκε. Seek harmony.
108. Άρρητα μη λέγε. Don't say the unspeakable.
109. Τὸ κρατοῦν φοβοῦ. Fear those who rule.
110. Τὸ συμφέρον θηρῶ. Look for your benefit.
111. Καιρὸν προσδέχου. Accept the necessary measures.
112. Έχθρας διάλυει. Annihilate the hate.
113. Γήρας προσδέχου. Accept old age.
114. Επί ρώμη μη καυχώ. Don't flaunt your strength.
115. Ευφημίαν άσκει. Exercise a good reputation.
116. Απέχθειαν φεύγε. Avoid resentment.
117. Πλούτει δικαίως. Get rich honestly.
118. Δόξαν μὴ λεῖπε. Don't lose your honor.
119. Κινδύνευε φρονίμως. Take reasonable risks.
120. Κακίαν μίσει. He abhors evil.
121. Μανθάνων μη κάμνε. Don't get tired of learning.
122. Φειδόμενος μὴ λεῖπε. Don't stop saving.
123. Χρησμοὺς θαύμαζε. He admires oracles.
124. Ους τρέφεις αγάπα. She loves those who feed you.
125. Απόντι μη μάχου. Do not fight against the one who is absent.
126. Πρεσβύτερον σέβου. Respect the elder.
127. Νεώτερον δίδασκε. Teach the younger ones.
128. Πλούτω απόστει. Distance yourself from wealth.
129. Σεαυτόν αιδού. Respect yourself.
130. Μη άρχε υβρίζων. Do not be dominated by arrogance.
131. Προγόνους στεφάνου. Crown your ancestors.
132. Θνήσκε υπέρ πατρίδος. She dies for your country.
133. Τῷ βίῳ μὴ ἄχθου. Don't live your life unhappy.
134. Επί νεκρώ μη γέλα. Don't make fun of the dead.
135. Ατυχούντι συνάχθου. Feel compassion for the unfortunate.
136. Χαρίζου ἀβλαβῶς. Reward without hurting.
137. Μὴ ἐπὶ παντὶ λυποῦ. Don't worry.
138. Ἐξ εὐγενῶν γέννα. Always extract the good from what is good.
139. Ἐπαγγέλλου μηδενί. Don't make promises to anyone.
140. Φθιμένους μὴ ἀδίκει. Make no mistake about the dead.
141. Εὖ πάσχε ὡς θνητός. Do the best your mortal condition allows.
142. Τύχῃ μη πίστευε. Don't trust to luck.
143. Παῖς ὢν κόσμιος ἴσθι. In childhood, behave well.
144. Ἡβῶν ἐγκρατής. In youth be disciplined.
145. Μέσος δίκαιος. In maturity, be honest.
146. Πρεσβύτης εὔλογος. In old age, be sensitive.
147. Τελεύτα άλυπος. Die without suffering.

Of all of them there are 3 that occupied a preferential place. They were inscribed on a column of the pronaos (the entrance portico), so that everyone could see them, and for this reason they are the best known and most reproduced:

• ΓΝΩΘΙ ΣΑΥΤΟΝ (Gnothi sauton , Know thyself)
• ΜΗΔΕΝ ΑΓΑΝ (Mèden agan , Nothing in excess)
• ΕΓΓΥΑ, ΠΑΡΑ ΔΑΤΗ (Engua, for date , Trust brings ruin)

Although Stobaeus does not mention this third maxim, it is known to have been listed alongside the better-known first two from other sources. In any case, just below those three maxims there was something else engraved. A simple capital letter E.

Approximately between the years 97 and 127 AD. the chief priest of the temple of Apollo at Delphi was the well-known historian Plutarch. About 30 years of service until his death. And precisely one of his most commented essays is the one that tries to unravel the meaning of that letter E. He titled it On the E of Delphi , and it is significant to see how even the main priest of the sanctuary was unaware of what it represented, which would indicate that it was very old.

In the essay, written as a dialogue between several characters, they present their particular interpretation of the E. Lamprias believes that the E is due to the fact that the famous Seven Wise Men of Greece were actually only 5 (the number 5 was represented with the letter E). Nicandro thinks that the E corresponds to the beginning of the word si (in Greek ei ), with which the consultants to the oracle always began their questions. Ammonio thinks it means you are (ei ), a kind of greeting from the faithful to the god.

Plutarch also indicates that there is an E made of gold in the temple, dedicated by Livia (Augustus's wife) some 100 years before the time he writes. And that previously the E was made of bronze and used to be called the E of the Athenians . A much earlier E was made of wood, and was known as the E of the wise .

Since then, many scholars have tried to give a meaning to the E, and even today its meaning is still being debated. One of the most popular explanations is the one proposed in 1975 by Kathleen Berman and Luis A. Losada:since it is accepted that before Apollo the sanctuary of Delphi belonged to the Mother Goddess (Gaea), and that in fact the successive temples of Apollo were built adjacent to the temple of Gea, the mysterious E would be nothing more than a monogram of the name of the goddess.

As a curiosity, the painter Nicolas Poussin, so fond of mysteries, included the letter E in one of his religious paintings, in which Jesus appears handing over the keys of heaven to Peter. Without a doubt, an intentional association that not many would notice.

Today at Delphi not a trace of his famous maxims remains among the ruins of the temple. But in the heroon (memorial monument) dedicated to Cineas (possibly the founder of the settlement) in the locality of Ai-Janum (ancient Alexandria of Oxiana, northeast of present-day Afghanistan), dating from 300-250 B.C. an inscription was found with some of the Delphic precepts. According to the inscription, the precepts were inscribed by a man named Clearchus, perhaps Clearchus of Solos, who was a disciple of Aristotle, who had copied them at Delphi.