kalokagathia

Meanings

1. A Platonic teaching consisting of the harmonious combination of bodily, moral and spiritual virtues. It is a classical Greek and Platonic ideal denoting the harmonious unity of bodily excellence, moral virtue, and intellectual cultivation. It expresses the integration of physical beauty, ethical character, and rational insight within a single, well-formed soul—where reason governs, spirit aligns with justice, and appetite is moderated. Rooted in the educational tradition of paideia, kalokagathia represents the perfection of human nature in accordance with both external nobility and inner truth.

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek καλοκαγαθίᾱ (kalokagathíā, “nobility, goodness”), from καλοκάγαθος (kalokágathos, “gentleman”), from καλός καὶ ἀγαθός (kalós kaì agathós, “beautiful and good”), shortened as καλός κἀγαθός (kalós kagathós), + -ίᾱ (-íā, “-ness”).