Abstract

The focus of this article is centred on the use of the term and concept σωφροσύνη in Euripides’ plays. Euripides uses the term more often than his two great predecessors. Mostly, he uses this term to cover the field of female sexuality and the social roles of women in the sense of chastity, restraint, abstinence, modesty, and honourableness. But he also employs the ethical accent of the term: self-control, self-restraint, moderation. Only Euripides, in contrast to Aeschylus and Sophocles, makes a rare use of the political sense of σωφροσύνη.