“Meden agan” is the second most famous inscription on the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. The first and more well-known one, “Gnothiseauton” or “Know Thyself,” was accepted by Socrates as the guiding principle of his philosophy.
The saying “Meden agan” is also known in the form of “Metronariston,” which means “Moderation is best,” and in the version “Pan metrionariston,” meaning “Everything in moderation,” “Everything in proper measure,” or “Moderation in all things.”
The saying “Meden agan” emphasizes moderation, one of the fundamental virtues of Greek philosophy, a virtue that was in one way or another incorporated into almost all ancient philosophical systems.
The first traces of the concept of moderation date back to the 6th century BC; it can be found in the works of Cleobulus of Rhodes, one of the seven sages of Greece, while the first discussions about moderation and the golden mean were recorded by Pythagoras’ wife, Theano.
Plato includes moderation among the four cardinal virtues, together with courage, wisdom, and justice. The golden mean was also celebrated in Greek philosophy by Aristotle with his writings.
In part of Nicomachean Ethics, he argues that the best way is always a middle ground between two extremes, between excess and deficiency, between excessive action and passivity.
In Chinese philosophy, we find a similar “doctrine of the mean” in Confucius. The Buddhist Noble Eightfold Path is also called the middle way and advocates for moderation and avoidance of extremes, which allows for proper action in the transient and changing world of samsara.