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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Greek Proverbs: May 19

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):

______ ἐν ῥόδοις.

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Κύων ἐν ῥόδοις.

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Πλούτῳ ______.

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Πλούτῳ ἀπίστει.

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______ ποῖ πορεύῃ;

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Γλῶσσα ποῖ πορεύῃ;

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Ἐκ ______ στόματος.

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Ἐκ λύκου στόματος.

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Ἡφαίστειος ______.

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Ἡφαίστειος δεσμός.

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Κύων ἐν ῥόδοις.

A dog in the roses.

The idea here is incongruity, and also disparaging the dog: not only does a dog have nothing to do with roses, but a dog supposedly has no way to appreciate the roses either. (Dogs don't get a lot of respect in Greek proverbs.)

Πλούτῳ ἀπίστει.

Put no faith in wealth.

This is one of the so-called Delphic maxims recorded by Stobaeus. The verb ἀπίστει is an alpha-privative: ἀ-πίστει. The noun πλοῦτος is also the name of the god of wealth (as in English "plutocracy," like we have now in this country, alas); find out more at Wikipedia: Plutus.

Γλῶσσα ποῖ πορεύῃ;

Tongue, where are you going?

This proverb invokes the idea that the tongue (words, language) can be a force for good or a force for evil. Here is the saying in full as it appears in the Greek proverb collections: γλῶσσα, ποῖ πορεύῃ; πόλιν ἀνορθώσουσα καὶ πόλιν καταστρέψουσα; "Tongue, where are you going? To build the city up or to tear it down?"

Ἐκ λύκου στόματος.

From the mouth of the wolf.

As Erasmus explains, this refers to an unexpectedly good outcome because someone in the mouth of the wolf does not expect to escape alive. Compare the English saying "from the jaws of death." Erasmus cites a similar passage from Horace, hoedus ereptus lupo, "a kid snatched from the wolf," and Erasmus also suggests a connection to the Aesopic fable about the crane (or heron) and the wolf, where the crane kindly but foolishly offers to get a bone out of the wolf's throat and is lucky to escape alive.

Ἡφαίστειος δεσμός.

The Hephaestean bond.

Erasmus provides a very cool-sounding Latin version of the Greek: Vulcanium vinculum (Vulcan was the Roman name for the god Hephaestus). The saying alludes to the famous incident in the Iliad when Hephaestus forged a chain-link net to bind his wife Aphrodite in bed with her lover Ares; you can read about this story at Wikipedia: Hephaestus and Aphrodite.

______ ἐν ῥόδοις.

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Κύων ἐν ῥόδοις.

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Πλούτῳ ______.

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Πλούτῳ ἀπίστει.

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______ ποῖ πορεύῃ;

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Γλῶσσα ποῖ πορεύῃ;

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Ἐκ ______ στόματος.

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Ἐκ λύκου στόματος.

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Ἡφαίστειος ______.

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Ἡφαίστειος δεσμός.

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

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