Thumos: The Source of Motivation

What the ancient Greeks believed about the soul’s source of striving energy — and how to channel your own

Plato’s Allegory of The Chariot

Plato, and the ancient Greeks under his influence, believed that the human soul was made of three parts: a charioteer and his two horses.

The chariot represents the soul itself. The two horses that pull the chariot represent the two sources of energy and motivation that naturally spring up from our soul.

One horse represents our mortal impulses: to eat, sleep, Netflix and chill — the motivations of our physical body. The other horse is Thumos, who represents the motivations of our divine body, our spirit: to experience glory, honor, recognition, and victory.

One horse represents our animal instinct to pursue simple pleasure, and the other represents our divine instinct to pursue social pride.

Both of these metaphorical horses also have wings, and are reigned and led by the charioteer, a man who represents reason.

Reason’s job is to harness the instinctual forces with the reigns and fly the chariot smoothly upward, towards heaven. There, above the clouds, beauty and truth can be seen, which nourish the soul, and…