Greek Animal Vocabulary: Aug. 14

Here are today's animal names; it's Group 188. Click on the word to learn more at Logeion:

βοῦς ~ βοός (noun c.): ox, cow 

ὄνος ~ ὄνου (noun m.): donkey 

κάμηλος ~ καμήλου (noun c.): camel 

μῦς ~ μυός (noun m.): mouse 

πίθηκος ~ πιθήκου (noun m.): ape 

These are the proverbs (and there are always more proverbs at the blog):

Βοῦς ἐν πόλει.

Ὄνος ἐν μύροις.

Κάμηλος ὀρχεῖται.

Ἐλέφας μῦν οὐ δάκνει.

Γέρων πίθηκος οὐχ ἁλίσκεται.

And now, some commentary:

Βοῦς ἐν πόλει.

An ox in the city.

Compare the English saying "a bull in a china shop," although the idea here is more that you just don't expect to find an ox in the city, so it is something strange and surprising. Cattle are great... but not in the city! 

Ὄνος ἐν μύροις.

A donkey in perfume.

This is another proverb of incongruity: perfume is a very fine thing, but a perfumed donkey is just not right. This can be applied in two different ways: the donkey could stand for someone pretentious who is putting on airs, or it could refer to someone who stumbles into something whose value that they do not recognize, as if a donkey stumbled into a perfume shop when he was just looking for something to eat. You can also find the saying in this form: Ὄνος ἐν μύρῳ.

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.

Ἐλέφας μῦν οὐ δάκνει.

An elephant doesn't bite a mouse.

Another proverb of incongruity! A mouse is too small to be worthy of the elephant's attention, much less provoke an attack. So, if you're an elephant and you happen to notice a mouse, just let it go; don't sweat the small stuff. You've seen a variation on this saying before in a previous blog post: Ἐλέφας μῦν οὐχ ἁλίσκει. 

Γέρων πίθηκος οὐχ ἁλίσκεται.

An old ape is not caught.

The idea is that if an ape has survived to old age, it's learned to beware of traps and tricks. You might be able to catch a young, inexperienced monkey, but not an old one. You've seen a similar saying about old foxes in a past post: Γέρων ἀλώπηξ οὐχ ἁλίσχεται.

Aesop's dancing camel

And here's a random proverb and a random LOLCat too:

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Greek Reading: 92

Today's stories come from Colson's Stories and Legends: A First Greek Reader which is available at the Internet Archive. You'll find the stories below, first in Greek, then segmented, and then interwoven with English; the title is linked to the Internet Archive page.

Ἀνήρ καὶ δύο γυναῖκες

ἀνδρί τινι μέσην ἥβην ἔχοντι δύο ἦσαν γυναῖκες. καὶ τούτων ἡ μὲν ἦν νέα, ἡ δὲ ἑτέρα γραῦς. ἡ δὲ γραῦς βουλομένη τὸν ἄνδρα πρεσβύτερον φαίνεσθαι τὰς μελαίνας τρίχας ἔτιλλε. ἡ δὲ νέα ἔτῶλλε τὰς πολιάς, ἵνα νεώτερος δοκοίη. τετιλμένων δὲ πασῶν τῶν τριχῶν, ὁ ἀνήρ, φαλακρὸς γενόμενος, οὐδετέρᾳ ἤρεσκε.

ἀνδρί τινι 

μέσην ἥβην ἔχοντι 

δύο ἦσαν γυναῖκες. 

καὶ τούτων 

ἡ μὲν ἦν νέα, 

ἡ δὲ ἑτέρα γραῦς. 

ἡ δὲ γραῦς βουλομένη 

τὸν ἄνδρα 

πρεσβύτερον φαίνεσθαι 

τὰς μελαίνας τρίχας ἔτιλλε. 

ἡ δὲ νέα 

ἔτῶλλε τὰς πολιάς, 

ἵνα νεώτερος δοκοίη. 

τετιλμένων δὲ 

πασῶν τῶν τριχῶν, 

ὁ ἀνήρ, 

φαλακρὸς γενόμενος, 

οὐδετέρᾳ ἤρεσκε.

ἀνδρί τινι  ...  A certain man

μέσην ἥβην ἔχοντι  ...  who was middle-aged 

δύο ἦσαν γυναῖκες  ...  had two wives.

καὶ τούτων  ...  Of these,

ἡ μὲν ἦν νέα  ...  one was young,

ἡ δὲ ἑτέρα γραῦς  ...  the other an old woman.

ἡ δὲ γραῦς βουλομένη  ...  The old woman wanted

τὸν ἄνδρα  ...  for her husband

πρεσβύτερον φαίνεσθαι  ...  to look older,  

ἔτιλλε  ...  so she plucked

τὰς μελαίνας τρίχας  ...  his black hairs.

ἡ δὲ νέα  ...  But the young wife

ἔτῶλλε τὰς πολιάς  ...  plucked the grey hairs

ἵνα νεώτερος δοκοίη  ...  to he appeared younger.

πασῶν δὲ τῶν τριχῶν  ...  All his hairs 

τετιλμένων  ...  having been plucked,

ὁ ἀνήρ  ...  the man

φαλακρὸς γενόμενος  ...  became bald

οὐδετέρᾳ ἤρεσκε  ...  and pleased neither one.

illustration by Tenniel

Τροφὸς καὶ λύκος 

(another version)

παιδίον τι μικρὸν νυκτὸς ἔκλαιε καὶ ἐβρυχᾶτο. ἡ δὲ τροφὸς αὐτοῦ ὀργιζομένη παύεσθαι ἐκέλευε. “εἰ δὲ μὴ παύσει, ἔφη, “δώσω σε τῷ λύκῳ. ἔτυχε δὲ λύκος ἔξω ὧν τοῦ οἴκου, ἀκούσας δὲ ταῦτα ἥδετο, μάλα γὰρ ἐπείνα. πολὺν οὖν χρόνον ἔμενεν, ἕως τὸ παιδίον ἐκβάλλοιτοι. ἡκούσης δὲ ἡμέρας, ἐπεὶ οὐκ ἐξεβάλλετο ὁ παῖς, ἀπῴχετο λέγων, “ οἱ ἐνταῦθα οἰκοῦντες ἄλλα μὲν λέγουσι, ἄλλα δὲ πράττουσι."

παιδίον τι μικρὸν 

νυκτὸς ἔκλαιε 

καὶ ἐβρυχᾶτο. 

ἡ δὲ τροφὸς αὐτοῦ 

ὀργιζομένη 

παύεσθαι ἐκέλευε. 

εἰ δὲ μὴ παύσει, 

ἔφη, 

δώσω σε 

τῷ λύκῳ. 

ἔτυχε δὲ λύκος 

ἔξω ὧν τοῦ οἴκου, 

ἀκούσας δὲ ταῦτα 

ἥδετο, 

μάλα γὰρ ἐπείνα. 

πολὺν οὖν χρόνον 

ἔμενεν, 

ἕως τὸ παιδίον ἐκβάλλοιτοι. 

ἡκούσης δὲ ἡμέρας, 

ἐπεὶ οὐκ ἐξεβάλλετο 

ὁ παῖς, 

ἀπῴχετο λέγων, 

οἱ ἐνταῦθα οἰκοῦντες 

ἄλλα μὲν λέγουσι, 

ἄλλα δὲ πράττουσι.

παιδίον τι μικρὸν  ...  A little child 

νυκτὸς ἔκλαιε  ...  cried at night 

καὶ ἐβρυχᾶτο  ...  and howled. 

ἡ δὲ τροφὸς αὐτοῦ  ...  The child's nurse 

ὀργιζομένη  ...  got angry 

παύεσθαι ἐκέλευε  ...  and told him to stop. 

εἰ δὲ μὴ παύσει  ...  If you don't stop crying, 

ἔφη  ...  she said, 

δώσω σε  ...  I will throw you 

τῷ λύκῳ  ...  to the wolf. 

ἔτυχε δὲ λύκος  ...  A wolf happened to be 

ἔξω ὧν τοῦ οἴκου  ...  outside the house, 

ἀκούσας δὲ ταῦτα  ...  and, hearing this,  

ἥδετο  ...  he rejoiced, 

μάλα γὰρ ἐπείνα  ...  a he was very hungry. 

πολὺν οὖν χρόνον  ...  For a long time 

ἔμενεν  ...  he waited, 

ἕως τὸ παιδίον  ...  until the child 

ἐκβάλλοιτοι  ...  was thrown out. 

ἡκούσης δὲ ἡμέρας  ...  When morning came, 

ὁ παῖς  ...  and the child

ἐπεὶ οὐκ ἐξεβάλλετο  ...  still had not been thrown out 

ἀπῴχετο λέγων  ...  he went away, saying: 

οἱ ἐνταῦθα οἰκοῦντες  ...  The people who live here 

ἄλλα μὲν λέγουσι  ...  say one thing, 

ἄλλα δὲ πράττουσι  ...  and do another.

illustration by Grandville

And here's a random proverb and a random LOLCat too:

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Greek Crossword 46-47-48

Here is the review for proverbs in groups 46-47-48 with the crossword puzzle! You can click on those group links to review those posts and/or click on the linked sayings below for the post with that specific saying:

• Δεῖ τοὺς μὲν εἶναι δυστυχεῖς, τοὺς δ’ εὐτυχεῖς.
  
• Δὶς καὶ τρὶς τὸ καλόν, τὸ δὲ κακὸν οὐδ' ἅπαξ.
  
• Ἡ κύων ἐν φάτνῃ.
  
• Ἦσαν ὡς πρόβατα μὴ ἔχοντα ποιμένα.
  
• Θυμὸς ἔσχατον γηράσκει.
  
• Λιμὸς δὲ πολλῶν γίγνεται διδάσκαλος.
  
• Μακάριοι οἱ κλαίοντες νῦν, ὅτι γελάσετε.
  
• Μακάριος ἄνθρωπος ὃς εὗρεν σοφίαν.
  
• Οὐκ ἐπ᾽ ἄρτῳ μόνῳ ζήσεται ὁ ἄνθρωπος.
  
• Οὐχ εὕδει Διὸς ὀφθαλμός.
  
• Πάντα γὰρ δυνατὰ παρὰ τῷ θεῷ.
  
• Πάντα γὰρ καιρῷ καλά.
  
• Πολλὰ τὰ δεινά, κοὐδὲν ἀνθρώπου δεινότερον πέλει.
  
• Στρεπτὴ δὲ γλῶσσ' ἐστὶ βροτῶν.
  
• Χελώνην Πεγάσῳ κρίνεις.
  

Here are the sayings without spaces: see if you can find the word breaks! (I'm just doing the shorter ones because the long ones just keep running over longer than the line.)

η κ υ ω ν ε ν φ α τ ν ῃ.

π α ν τ α γ α ρ κ α ι ρ ῳ κ α λ α.

θ υ μ ο σ ε σ χ α τ ο ν γ η ρ α σ κ ε ι.

χ ε λ ω ν η ν π ε γ α σ ῳ κ ρ ι ν ε ι ς.

ο υ χ ε υ δ ε ι δ ι ο σ ο φ θ α λ μ ο ς.

π α ν τ α γ α ρ δ υ ν α τ α π α ρ α τ ῳ θ ε ῳ.

σ τ ρ ε π τ η δ ε γ λ ω σ σ ε σ τ ι β ρ ο τ ω ν.

μ α κ α ρ ι ο σ α ν θ ρ ω π ο σ ο σ ε υ ρ ε ν σ ο φ ι α ν.

η σ α ν ω σ π ρ ο β α τ α μ η ε χ ο ν τ α π ο ι μ ε ν α.

λ ι μ ο σ δ ε π ο λ λ ω ν γ ι γ ν ε τ α ι δ ι δ α σ κ α λ ο ς.

ο υ κ ε π α ρ τ ῳ μ ο ν ῳ ζ η σ ε τ α ι ο α ν θ ρ ω π ο ς.

μ α κ α ρ ι ο ι ο ι κ λ α ι ο ν τ ε σ ν υ ν ο τ ι γ ε λ α σ ε τ ε.

And here's the crossword puzzle based on a missing word from each proverb: printable Crossword PDF. I've pasted in screenshots below so you can see what the crossword looks like:

And here's a random proverb and a random LOLCat too :

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Greek Reading: 91

Today's stories come from Colson's Stories and Legends: A First Greek Reader which is available at the Internet Archive. You'll find the stories below, first in Greek, then segmented, and then interwoven with English; the title is linked to the Internet Archive page.

Ἁλιεύς καὶ ἰχθύς

ἁλιεύς ποτε δικτύῳ μικρὸν ἰχθὺν ἔλαβε. ὁ ἰχθὺς ἔλεγεν, "ὦ ἄνθρωπε, ορᾷς ἐμέ, ὅτι μικρὸς εἶμι. νῦν οὖν ἀπόλυσον ἐμέ. μείζω δὲ γενόμενον, τότε δὴ ἄγρευε. τοῦτο γάρ σοι ποιοῦντι πολὺ κέρδος ἔσται." ὁ δὲ ἁλιεὺς ἀπεκρίνατο "οὐ δῆτ'

ἀνὴρ γάρ ἐστι μωρός, ὅστις ἐλπίδας

κενὰς διώκων, κέρδος ἀποβάλλει παρόν."

ἁλιεύς ποτε 

δικτύῳ μικρὸν ἰχθὺν ἔλαβε. 

ὁ ἰχθὺς ἔλεγεν, 

ὦ ἄνθρωπε, 

ορᾷς ἐμέ, 

ὅτι μικρὸς εἶμι. 

νῦν οὖν ἀπόλυσον ἐμέ. 

μείζω δὲ γενόμενον, 

τότε δὴ ἄγρευε. 

τοῦτο γάρ σοι ποιοῦντι 

πολὺ κέρδος ἔσται.

ὁ δὲ ἁλιεὺς ἀπεκρίνατο,

οὐ δῆτ'

ἀνὴρ γάρ ἐστι μωρός, 

ὅστις ἐλπίδας κενὰς διώκων, 

κέρδος ἀποβάλλει παρόν.

ἁλιεύς ποτε  ... A fisherman once

μικρὸν ἰχθὺν ἔλαβε  ... caught  little fish 

δικτύῳ  ...  in his net. 

ὁ ἰχθὺς ἔλεγεν  ... The fish said, 

ὦ ἄνθρωπε  ... O person, 

ορᾷς ἐμέ  ... you see me, 

ὅτι μικρὸς εἶμι  ... that I'm small.

νῦν οὖν ἀπόλυσον ἐμέ  ... So let me go now

μείζω δὲ γενόμενον  ... and when I'm bigger

τότε δὴ ἄγρευε  ... catch me then. 

τοῦτο γάρ σοι ποιοῦντι  ... If you do this 

πολὺ κέρδος ἔσται  ... you'll have a big reward.

ὁ δὲ ἁλιεὺς ἀπεκρίνατο  ... The fisherman replied,

οὐ δῆτ'  ... No indeed!

ἀνὴρ γάρ ἐστι μωρός  ... For that man is a fool, 

ὅστις ἐλπίδας κενὰς διώκων  ... who chases empty hopes 

ἀποβάλλει  ...  and throws away

κέρδος παρόν  ... the reward he's got.

The last two lines are iambic verse:

ἀνὴρ γάρ ἐστι μωρός, ὅστις ἐλπίδας

κενὰς διώκων, κέρδος ἀποβάλλει παρόν.

17th-century Aesop

Γεωργὸς καὶ πελαργός

γεωργός, αἰσθόμενος ὅτι ὁ σπόρος ὑπὸ τῶν γεράνων διαφθείρεται, πάγην ἐν τῷ ἀγρῷ ἔθηκε. καὶ πολλὰς μὲν γεράνους ἔλαβε, μετὰ δὲ τούτων πελαργὸν. ὁ δὲ πελαργὸς ἀπολύεσθαι ἠξίωσε. “οὐ γάρ εἰμι γέρανος, ἔφη, “πελαργὸς δέ, ζῷον εὐσεβέστατον, ὅς, ὅτι τιμῶ τὸν πατέρα, ὑπὸ πάντων τιμῶμαι. ὁ δὲ ἀνὴρ ἔφη, ἴσως ἀληθῆ λέγεις. ἐπεὶ δὲ μετὰ τῶν πονηρῶν ὁμιλεῖς, μετὰ τούτων καί σε δεῖ κολάζεσθαι.

γεωργός, 

αἰσθόμενος ὅτι 

ὁ σπόρος 

ὑπὸ τῶν γεράνων διαφθείρεται, 

πάγην ἐν τῷ ἀγρῷ ἔθηκε. 

καὶ πολλὰς μὲν γεράνους ἔλαβε, 

μετὰ δὲ τούτων πελαργὸν. 

ὁ δὲ πελαργὸς ἀπολύεσθαι ἠξίωσε. 

οὐ γάρ εἰμι γέρανος, ἔφη, 

πελαργὸς δέ, 

ζῷον εὐσεβέστατον, 

ὅς, 

ὅτι τιμῶ τὸν πατέρα, 

ὑπὸ πάντων τιμῶμαι. 

ὁ δὲ ἀνὴρ ἔφη, 

ἴσως ἀληθῆ λέγεις. 

ἐπεὶ δὲ μετὰ τῶν πονηρῶν ὁμιλεῖς, 

μετὰ τούτων καί σε δεῖ κολάζεσθαι.

γεωργός  ...  A farmer,

αἰσθόμενος ὅτι  ...  realizing that 

ὁ σπόρος διαφθείρεται  ...  his crop was being destroyed

ὑπὸ τῶν γεράνων  ... by cranes, 

πάγην ἐν τῷ ἀγρῷ ἔθηκε  ...  laid a trap in the field 

καὶ πολλὰς μὲν γεράνους ἔλαβε  ...  and he caught many cranes,

μετὰ δὲ τούτων πελαργὸν  ...  and with them a stork. 

ὁ δὲ πελαργὸς  ...  The stork

ἀπολύεσθαι ἠξίωσε  ...  thought he should be released.

οὐ γάρ εἰμι γέρανος  ...  For I am not a crane, 

ἔφη  ...  he said, 

πελαργὸς δέ  ...  but a stork, 

ζῷον εὐσεβέστατον  ...  a most pious animal

ὅς  ...  who, 

ὅτι τιμῶ τὸν πατέρα  ...  because I honor my father, 

ὑπὸ πάντων τιμῶμαι  ...  am honored by all. 

ὁ δὲ ἀνὴρ ἔφη  ...  The man said, 

ἴσως ἀληθῆ λέγεις  ...  Perhaps you speak the truth, 

ἐπεὶ δὲ  ...  but since 

μετὰ τῶν πονηρῶν ὁμιλεῖς  ...  you consorted with the wicked, 

μετὰ τούτων  ...  with them 

καί σε δεῖ κολάζεσθαι  ...  you too must be punished.

About the fabled filial piety of storks, see Thompson's Glossary of Greek Birds.

19th-century Aesop illustration

And here's a random proverb and a random LOLCat too:

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