Greek Proverbs: June 2

Here are today's Greek proverbs with LOLCats! These are repeats of previous proverbs, but now with illustrations... and with a quiz too! See how you do on the questions up top, and then try them again down below after you've read through the proverbs (the quiz results display only at the blog, not in the email):

Κατὰ ______ ἥκεις.

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Κατὰ θεὸν ἥκεις.

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______ ὀφθαλμός.

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Δίκης ὀφθαλμός.

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Αὐλητοῦ ______ ζῇς.

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Αὐλητοῦ βίον ζῇς.

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______ ὕεται.

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Ὄνος ὕεται.

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Σαρδώνιος ______.

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Σαρδώνιος γέλως.

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Κατὰ θεὸν ἥκεις.

You come by god.

This is a polite greeting to a guest, especially to an unexpected guest. In other words: it is by the will of a god that you have come here, like a divine version of  the English phrase "welcome" (i.e. well-come). The phrase "κατὰ θεὸν" appears in the LSJ dictionary entry for κατά with the meaning of "by the favour of a god, etc." 

Δίκης ὀφθαλμός.

The eye of justice.

There is a fuller form of this saying found in Plutarch, quoting an iambic line from an unidentified tragic poet: Ἔστι Δίκης ὀφθαλμός, ὅς τὰ πάνθ' ὁρᾷ, "There is an eye of justice that sees all things" (πάνθ' ὁρᾷ = πάντα ὁρᾷ). For more about Δίκη, the goddess of justice, see Wikipedia: Dike.

Αὐλητοῦ βίον ζῇς.

You are living the life of a flute player.

This referred to living a life of luxury, but at someone else's expense — because of the fact that these flute-players provided entertainment at banquets, where they were able to feast at someone else's table (see Erasmus). You can read more about this Greek instrument at Wikipedia: Aulos. From the Greek root of ζήω, we get English zoology.

Ὄνος ὕεται.

The donkey is being rained on.

This saying refers to someone who can't be bothered to do anything, no matter what is happening, just as a donkey stands there in the rain and doesn't bother to look for shelter.

Σαρδώνιος γέλως.

Sardonic laughter.

The Greek word Σαρδώνιος is a variant of Σαρδάνιος, referring to the island of Sardinia, called Σαρδώ in Greek; see Wikipedia: Sardinia. This phrase has survived in English, meaning laughter that is scornful or mocking. Different ancient authors offer different explanations for this saying. I like the one about a plant that grows in Sardinia which was so bitter that it twisted people's faces into a sneering grin. It might have been a poisonous form of hemlock, so that the people who ate the plant smiled themselves to death; details here: The Chilling Origins Of The Sardonic Laugh.

Κατὰ ______ ἥκεις.

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Κατὰ θεὸν ἥκεις.

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______ ὀφθαλμός.

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Δίκης ὀφθαλμός.

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Αὐλητοῦ ______ ζῇς.

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Αὐλητοῦ βίον ζῇς.

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______ ὕεται.

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Ὄνος ὕεται.

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Σαρδώνιος ______.

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Σαρδώνιος γέλως.

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And to finish up, here's a random proverb and a random LOLCat too:

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Greek Proverbs: May 28

Here are today's Greek proverbs with LOLCats! These are repeats of previous proverbs, but now with illustrations... and with a quiz too! See how you do on the questions up top, and then try them again down below after you've read through the proverbs (the quiz results display only at the blog, not in the email):

______ γεωργεῖν.

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Ἀνέμους γεωργεῖν.

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______ μὴ πίστευε.

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Τύχῃ μὴ πίστευε.

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Νέα ______.

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Νέα χελιδών.

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______ πέτρα.

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Ἀγέλαστος πέτρα.

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Ἀπὸ ______ θεός.

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Ἀπὸ μηχανῆς θεός.

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Ἀνέμους γεωργεῖν.

To farm the winds.

This is another proverbial fool's errand. You are supposed to farm the earth, which is literally what the word means: the γεωργός, "farmer," is someone does work ἔργον on the earth γεω-. Nothing will come of farming the winds. Of course, now in the 21st century we do have wind-farms! From the Greek word ἄνεμος we get English "anemometer" which measures the speed of the wind. And from Greek farming, we get the name George in English.

Τύχῃ μὴ πίστευε.

Don't trust in luck.

This is one of the so-called Delphic maxims recorded by Stobaeus; you can find out more at Wikipedia.

Νέα χελιδών.

A new swallow.

The swallow was the proverbial herald of spring, and so the new swallow referred to the advent of springtime (see Aristophanes' Knights). In connection with this saying, Erasmus cites an ancient song from Rhodes: Ἦλθε, ἦλθε χελιδών, καλὰς ὧρας ἄγουσα καὶ καλοὺς ἐνιαυτούς, "Come, come, swallow, bringing good seasons and good times." This Greek folk song even has its own article at Wikipedia: Swallow song of Rhodes. From the same Greek root in νέα, we get all the neo- words in English like neolithic, neologism, etc.

Ἀγέλαστος πέτρα.

The un-laughing stone.

This refers to the stone at Eleusis on which the grieving Demeter rested while she searched for her daughter Persephone; see Wikipedia: Abduction of Persephone for that story. Note that the alpha-privative adjective ἀ-γέλαστος does not have a distinct feminine form; instead, the feminine and masculine forms are the same. This is true not just for alpha-privatives but for many other compound adjectives as well.

Ἀπὸ μηχανῆς θεός. 
God from the machine.
This is better known in its Latin form: Deus ex machina. The machine in question is the crane used in ancient Greek theater to lower a god onto the stage, and the phrase refers to some unexpected event; find out more at Wikipedia: Deus ex machina. From Greek θεός we get English theology, the name Theo, and many other words.

______ γεωργεῖν.

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Ἀνέμους γεωργεῖν.

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______ μὴ πίστευε.

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Τύχῃ μὴ πίστευε.

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Νέα ______.

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Νέα χελιδών.

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______ πέτρα.

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Ἀγέλαστος πέτρα.

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Ἀπὸ ______ θεός.

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Ἀπὸ μηχανῆς θεός.

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And to finish up, here's a random proverb and a random LOLCat too:

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Greek Proverbs: May 26

Here are today's Greek proverbs with LOLCats! These are repeats of previous proverbs, but now with illustrations... and with a quiz too! See how you do on the questions up top, and then try them again down below after you've read through the proverbs (the quiz results display only at the blog, not in the email):

Ἡ ______ ἐν φάτνῃ.

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Ἡ κύων ἐν φάτνῃ.

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Ἐφέσια ______.

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Ἐφέσια γράμματα.

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______ ὀρχεῖται.

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Κάμηλος ὀρχεῖται.

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Πλούτει ______.

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Πλούτει δικαίως.

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Μίδας ______ ὦτα.

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Μίδας ὄνου ὦτα.

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The dog in the manger.

This alludes to the fable of the dog in the manger: he cannot eat the hay that is there, but he will not let the other animals eat it either. So, the dog in the manger is a proverbial miser, not enjoying his wealth in any way while at the same time not sharing it with others. You can see some English versions of the fable here: The Dog in the Manger.

Ἐφέσια γράμματα.

Ephesian letters.

This refers to meaningless words with magical power that were inscribed on the famous statue of Artemis at Ephesus. The words in and of themselves were "senseless" (ἄσημα ὀνόματα), but they supposedly offered supernatural protection to the person who could pronounce them correctly. You can find out more at Wikipedia: Ephesia Grammata. Compare the English phrase "mumbo jumbo" and other "gibberish."

Κάμηλος ὀρχεῖται.

The camel is dancing.

This is another example of something ridiculous: camels have many talents, but dancing is not one of them. There is an Aesop's fable in which a camel attempts to make a good impression on the other animals by dancing, and instead they just laugh.

Πλούτει δικαίως.

Get rich fairly.

In other words, as you pursue wealth play by the rules, δικαίως, doing what is right. The word πλούτει is an imperative of the contract verb πλουτέω, from the noun πλοῦτος, meaning wealth, riches, etc. Πλοῦτος is also the name of the Greek god of wealth; find out more at Wikipedia: Plutus.

Μίδας ὄνου ὦτα.

Midas (has) the ears of a donkey.

This saying refers to an ancient legend about Midas and his barber, which you can read at Wikipedia. Midas kept his donkey ears wrapped up in a turban, a secret known only to his barber, but his barber could not resist whispering the secret into a hole in the ground; grass grew in that spot, and then the grass whispered the story to every passerby — and so Midas's secret became common knowledge. There are similar stories in many different cultures; see Midas and other folktales of type 782 collected by Dan Ashliman, which includes examples from Europe, India, and the Philippines. You can see the root of Greek οὖς (ὠτός) in English medical terms such as otologist and otolaryngologist.

 

Ἡ ______ ἐν φάτνῃ.

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Ἡ κύων ἐν φάτνῃ.

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Ἐφέσια ______.

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Ἐφέσια γράμματα.

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______ ὀρχεῖται.

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Κάμηλος ὀρχεῖται.

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Πλούτει ______.

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Πλούτει δικαίως.

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Μίδας ______ ὦτα.

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Μίδας ὄνου ὦτα.

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And to finish up, here's a random proverb and a random LOLCat too:

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Greek Proverbs: May 21

Here are today's Greek proverbs with LOLCats! These are repeats of previous proverbs, but now with illustrations... and with a quiz too! See how you do on the questions up top, and then try them again down below after you've read through the proverbs (the quiz results display only at the blog, not in the email):

Λαγὼν _______.

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Λαγὼν καθεύδων.

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Ἰχθύων _______.

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Ἰχθύων βίος.

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_______ ἐν νεφέλαις.

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Ἀετὸς ἐν νεφέλαις.

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_______ ἀπέχου.

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Ἀλλοτρίων ἀπέχου.

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_______ φύλαττε.

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Φιλίαν φύλαττε.

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Λαγὼν καθεύδων.

A sleeping rabbit.

According to the ancients (see Dio Chrysostom, for example), rabbits slept with their eyes open. So the idea of this proverb is that appearances can be deceiving: the rabbit is sleeping, but you don't realize it because of those wide open eyes.

Ἰχθύων βίος.

The lifestyle of fish.

This saying is shorthand for when powerful people take advantage of weaker people, just as big fish devour the little fish. It is sometimes called "the Law of Fish" in English, or "the Law of the Jungle." You can see this proverbial usage in Polybius: τὸν λεγόμενον τῶν ἰχθύων βίον, with τὸν λεγόμενον indicating the proverbial status of the phrase. 

Ἀετὸς ἐν νεφέλαις.

An eagle in the clouds.

This saying can be applied to several different situations: to something lofty and great, especially if it excels others, and also to something that is difficult or even impossible to obtain. You can see Erasmus's Adagia for a variety of Greek citations.

Ἀλλοτρίων ἀπέχου.

Keep away from other people's things.

Note the middle imperative: "keep (yourself) away." This is another of the so-called Delphic maxims recorded by Stobaeus; find out more here at Wikipedia.

Φιλίαν φύλαττε.

Preserve friendship.

The nice word-play in the Greek doesn't come through in the English, alas. This is another one of the sayings recorded in the Delphic Maxims of Stobaeus. You see the Attic form of the verb φυλάσσ-. You can see the root of this Greek verb in English "prophylactic." For the related noun φύλαξ, see below.

Λαγὼν _______.

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Λαγὼν καθεύδων.

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Ἰχθύων _______.

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Ἰχθύων βίος.

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_______ ἐν νεφέλαις.

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Ἀετὸς ἐν νεφέλαις.

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_______ ἀπέχου.

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Ἀλλοτρίων ἀπέχου.

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_______ φύλαττε.

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Φιλίαν φύλαττε.

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And to finish up, here's a random proverb and a random LOLCat too:

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