Greek Reading: Fables 59

Both the fable and the joke below come from Abbott's Easy Greek Reader which is available at the Internet Archive. 

So, here are the stories in Greek, then segmented, and then interwoven with English. The titles are linked to the Internet Archive page.

Λύκος, ἀρνίον καὶ λέων

(another version of this story)

Λύκος δήποτε ἄρας ἀρνίον ἐκ ποίμνης ἀπεκόμιζεν εἰς τὴν ἰδίαν κοίτην· λέων δὲ τούτῳ ἐξαίφνης συναντήσας, ἦρεν ἐξ αὐτοῦ τὸ ἀρνίον. Στὰς δὲ πόῤῥωθεν πρὸς αὐτὸν ταῦτα λέγει· ἵνα τί, ἄναξ, ἐξ ἐμοῦ τοῦτο ἦρας; πῶς δὲ οὐ τηρεῖς τοὺς θεσμοὺς τοὺς ἀρχαίους, τοῦ μὴ τυραννεῖν χειρὶ δυνατωτάτῃ, ἀλλὰ πάντοτε ἐκδικεῖν τοῖς ἀπόροις; Ὁ δὲ γελάσας πρὸς αὐτὸν ταῦτα λέγει· σὺ δὲ, ὦ λύκε, δικαίως τοῦτʼ ἂν ἔσχες, εἴ τις τῶν φίλων αὐτὸ κεχάρικέ σοι.

Λύκος δήποτε 

ἄρας ἀρνίον ἐκ ποίμνης 

ἀπεκόμιζεν 

εἰς τὴν ἰδίαν κοίτην· 

λέων δὲ 

τούτῳ ἐξαίφνης συναντήσας, 

ἦρεν ἐξ αὐτοῦ τὸ ἀρνίον. 

Στὰς δὲ πόῤῥωθεν 

πρὸς αὐτὸν ταῦτα λέγει· 

ἵνα τί, ἄναξ, 

ἐξ ἐμοῦ τοῦτο ἦρας; 

πῶς δὲ 

οὐ τηρεῖς 

τοὺς θεσμοὺς τοὺς ἀρχαίους, 

τοῦ μὴ τυραννεῖν χειρὶ δυνατωτάτῃ, 

ἀλλὰ πάντοτε 

ἐκδικεῖν τοῖς ἀπόροις; 

Ὁ δὲ γελάσας 

πρὸς αὐτὸν ταῦτα λέγει· 

σὺ δὲ, ὦ λύκε, 

δικαίως τοῦτʼ ἂν ἔσχες, 

εἴ τις τῶν φίλων 

αὐτὸ κεχάρικέ σοι.

Λύκος δήποτε  ...  There was once a wolf 

ἄρας ἀρνίον  ...  who seized a lamb

ἐκ ποίμνης  ...  from the flock, 

ἀπεκόμιζεν  ...  and carried it away 

εἰς τὴν ἰδίαν κοίτην  ...  to his lair. 

λέων δὲ ἐξαίφνης  ...  All of a sudden, a lion 

τούτῳ συναντήσας  ...  ran into him, 

ἦρεν ἐξ αὐτοῦ τὸ ἀρνίον  ...  and took the lamb. 

Στὰς δὲ πόῤῥωθεν  ...  Standing at a distance 

πρὸς αὐτὸν ταῦτα λέγει  ...  the wolf said to him, 

ἵνα τί, ἄναξ  ...  Why, my lord, 

ἐξ ἐμοῦ τοῦτο ἦρας  ...  did you take that from me? 

πῶς δὲ οὐ τηρεῖς  ...  How can you not heed 

τοὺς θεσμοὺς τοὺς ἀρχαίους  ...  the ancient laws 

τοῦ μὴ τυραννεῖν  ...   against ruling absolutely

χειρὶ δυνατωτάτῃ  ...  by the most powerful hand, 

ἀλλὰ πάντοτε  ...  but rather always 

ἐκδικεῖν τοῖς ἀπόροις  ...  showing justice to the helpless? 

Ὁ δὲ γελάσας  ...  And the lion laughed 

πρὸς αὐτὸν ταῦτα λέγει  ...  and said to him, 

σὺ δὲ, ὦ λύκε  ...  And you, wolf:

τοῦτʼ ἂν ἔσχες  ...  I suppose you got the lamb

δικαίως  ...  lawfully,

εἴ τις τῶν φίλων  ...  some friend of yours 

αὐτὸ κεχάρικέ σοι  ...  having given it to you as a gift.

The Wolf and the Lion

Ὑὸς κεφαλή

Σχολαστικὸς συμφοιτητὰς ἐπὶ δεῖπνον καλέσας, ἐπαινεσάντων αὐτῶν ὑὸς κεφαλὴν καὶ ἀξιωσάντων καὶ τῇ ὑστεραίᾳ παρ’ αὐτῷ ἑστιαθῆναι, ἀπελθὼν πρὸς τὸν μάγειρον· Δός μοι, ἔφη, ἀπὸ τοῦ αὐτοῦ χοίρου κεφαλὴν ἑτέραν· ἡ γὰρ χθὲς ἡμῖν πάνυ ἤρεσεν.

Σχολαστικὸς 

συμφοιτητὰς ἐπὶ δεῖπνον καλέσας, 

ἐπαινεσάντων αὐτῶν 

ὑὸς κεφαλὴν 

καὶ ἀξιωσάντων 

καὶ τῇ ὑστεραίᾳ 

παρ’ αὐτῷ ἑστιαθῆναι, 

ἀπελθὼν πρὸς τὸν μάγειρον· 

Δός μοι, ἔφη, 

ἀπὸ τοῦ αὐτοῦ χοίρου 

κεφαλὴν ἑτέραν· 

ἡ γὰρ χθὲς 

ἡμῖν πάνυ ἤρεσεν.

Σχολαστικὸς 

συμφοιτητὰς ἐπὶ δεῖπνον καλέσας, 

ἐπαινεσάντων αὐτῶν 

ὑὸς κεφαλὴν 

καὶ ἀξιωσάντων 

καὶ τῇ ὑστεραίᾳ 

παρ’ αὐτῷ ἑστιαθῆναι, 

ἀπελθὼν πρὸς τὸν μάγειρον· 

Δός μοι, ἔφη, 

ἀπὸ τοῦ αὐτοῦ χοίρου 

κεφαλὴν ἑτέραν· 

ἡ γὰρ χθὲς 

ἡμῖν πάνυ ἤρεσεν.

Σχολαστικὸς  ...  A dunce

συμφοιτητὰς καλέσας  ...  invited his schoolfellows

ἐπὶ δεῖπνον  ...  to dinner.

ἐπαινεσάντων αὐτῶν  ...  When they praised 

ὑὸς κεφαλὴν  ...  the pig's head,

καὶ ἀξιωσάντων  ...  and encouraged him 

παρ’ αὐτῷ ἑστιαθῆναι  ...  to serve it at dinner

καὶ τῇ ὑστεραίᾳ  ...  again the next day.

ἀπελθὼν πρὸς τὸν μάγειρον  ...  He went to the butcher, 

Δός μοι, ἔφη  ...  and said, "Give me 

κεφαλὴν ἑτέραν  ...  another head

ἀπὸ τοῦ αὐτοῦ χοίρου  ...  from that same pig.

ἡμῖν πάνυ ἤρεσεν  ...  We really enjoyed

ἡ γὰρ χθὲς  ...  the one yesterday.

Greek terracotta pig vase

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

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Proverbs Slideshow/Crossword: May 13

For today, it's a new review slideshow for Groups 155, 156 and 157. Here's the post with the details about how the slideshows work, and there's a random cat at the bottom of the post! Plus more cats.

The slideshow is embedded in the blog post, and you can also access today's slideshow directly, full-sized view. And remember: each time you see the English translation on a slide, you can click to access the original blog post with the notes for each proverb.

There's also a crossword puzzle PDF that you can print; here's a screenshot of the puzzle and key. :-)

These are the proverbs, linked back to their blog post:

1. Ἀγὼν οὐ δέχεται σκήψεις.
   
2. Ἀνελεύθεροι γάρ εἰσιν οἱ φιλάργυροι.
   
3. Βροτοῖς ἅπασι κατθανεῖν ὀφείλεται.
   
4. Γλυκὺς ἀπείρῳ πόλεμος.
   
5. Ἐμοῦ θανόντος γαῖα μιχθήτω πυρί.
   
6. Εὐεργεσίας τίμα.
   
7. Θεοῦ θέλοντος, κἂν ἐπὶ ῥιπὸς πλέοις.
   
8. Μακάριοι οἱ πτωχοί, ὅτι ὑμετέρα ἐστὶν ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ.
   
9. Μὴ γίνου δίκαιος πολὺ καὶ μὴ σοφίζου περισσά.
   
10. Οἴνου κατίοντος, ἐπιπλέουσιν ἔπεα.
    
11. Ὄνοι δ` ἀπωτέρω κάθηνται τῆς λύρας.
    
12. Οὐδὲν γλύκιον ἧς πατρίδος.
    
13. Πᾶν γὰρ τὸ πολὺ πολέμιον τῇ φύσει.
    
14. Πολλ' ἐλπίδες ψεύδουσι καὶ λόγοι βροτούς.
    
15. Ὕβριν ἀμύνου.
    

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

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Greek Reading: Fables 58

Both the fable and the joke below come from Abbott's Easy Greek Reader which is available at the Internet Archive. 

So, here are the stories in Greek, then segmented, and then interwoven with English. The titles are linked to the Internet Archive page.

Λαγωοὶ καὶ βάτραχοι 

(another version)

Οἱ λαγωοί ποτε συνελθόντες τὸν ἑαυτῶν πρὸς ἀλλήλους ἀπεκλαίοντο βίον, ὡς ἐπισφαλὴς εἴη καὶ δειλίας πλέως· καὶ γὰρ καὶ ὑπ’ ἀνθρώπων καὶ κυνῶν καὶ ἀετῶν καὶ ἄλλων πολλῶν ἀναλίσκονται· βέλτιον οὖν εἶναι θανεῖν ἅπαξ, ἢ διὰ βίου τρέμειν. Τοῦτο τοίνυν κυρώσαντες, ὥρμησαν κατὰ ταὐτὸν εἰς τινα λίμνην, ὡς εἰς αὐτὴν ἐμπεσούμενοι καὶ ἀποπνιγησόμενοι. Τῶν δὲ καθημένων κύκλῳ τῆς λίμνης βατράχων, ὡς τὸν τοῦ δρόμου κτύπον ᾔσθοντο, εὐθὺς εἰς ταύτην εἰσπηδησάντων, τῶν λαγωῶν τις ἀγχινούστερος εἶναι δοκῶν τῶν ἄλλων ἔφη· στῆτε, ἑταῖροι, μηδὲν δεινὸν ὑμᾶς αὐτοὺς διαπράξησθε· ἤδη γάρ, ὡς ὁρᾶτε, καὶ ἡμῶν ἕτερ’ ἐστὶ ζῷα δειλότερα.

Οἱ λαγωοί ποτε 

συνελθόντες 

τὸν ἑαυτῶν πρὸς ἀλλήλους ἀπεκλαίοντο βίον, 

ὡς ἐπισφαλὴς εἴη 

καὶ δειλίας πλέως,

καὶ γὰρ 

καὶ ὑπ’ ἀνθρώπων καὶ κυνῶν 

καὶ ἀετῶν καὶ ἄλλων πολλῶν 

ἀναλίσκονται· 

βέλτιον οὖν εἶναι 

θανεῖν ἅπαξ

ἢ διὰ βίου τρέμειν. 

Τοῦτο τοίνυν κυρώσαντες, 

ὥρμησαν κατὰ ταὐτὸν 

εἰς τινα λίμνην, 

ὡς εἰς αὐτὴν 

ἐμπεσούμενοι καὶ ἀποπνιγησόμενοι. 

Τῶν δὲ καθημένων κύκλῳ 

τῆς λίμνης βατράχων, 

ὡς τὸν τοῦ δρόμου κτύπον ᾔσθοντο, 

εὐθὺς εἰς ταύτην εἰσπηδησάντων, 

τῶν λαγωῶν τις 

ἀγχινούστερος εἶναι δοκῶν τῶν ἄλλων 

ἔφη,

στῆτε, ἑταῖροι, 

μηδὲν δεινὸν ὑμᾶς αὐτοὺς διαπράξησθε,

ἤδη γάρ, ὡς ὁρᾶτε, 

καὶ ἡμῶν 

ἕτερ’ ἐστὶ ζῷα δειλότερα.

Οἱ λαγωοί ποτε  ...  Once upon a time the rabbits

συνελθόντες  ...  got together 

ἀπεκλαίοντο πρὸς ἀλλήλους  ...  and wailed to each other 

τὸν ἑαυτῶν βίον  ...  about their life, 

ὡς ἐπισφαλὴς εἴη  ...  how precarious it was, 

καὶ δειλίας πλέως  ...  full of cowardice, 

καὶ γὰρ ἀναλίσκονται  ...  for they were seized

καὶ ὑπ’ ἀνθρώπων καὶ κυνῶν  ...  by people, by dogs, 

καὶ ἀετῶν καὶ ἄλλων πολλῶν  ...  by eagles and many others.

βέλτιον οὖν εἶναι  ...  So they said it would be better 

θανεῖν ἅπαξ  ...  to die once and for all

ἢ διὰ βίου τρέμειν  ...  rather than tremble their whole life.

Τοῦτο τοίνυν κυρώσαντες  ...  So they decided: 

ὥρμησαν κατὰ ταὐτὸν  ...  as one they would rush

εἰς τινα λίμνην  ...  down into the swamp, 

ὡς εἰς αὐτὴν  ...  and there 

ἐμπεσούμενοι    ...  plunge in

καὶ ἀποπνιγησόμενοι  ...  and drown. 

Τῆς λίμνης βατράχων  ...  The frogs of the swamp 

τῶν δὲ καθημένων κύκλῳ  ...  sitting together

ὡς ᾔσθοντο  ...  when they sensed

τὸν τοῦ δρόμου κτύπον   ...  the noise of their running 

εὐθὺς  ...  without delay 

εἰς ταύτην εἰσπηδησάντων  ...  leaped into the swamp. 

τῶν λαγωῶν τις  ...  One of the rabbits 

ἀγχινούστερος εἶναι δοκῶν  ...  who seemed wiser  

τῶν ἄλλων  ...  than the others

ἔφη  ...  said,

στῆτε, ἑταῖροι  ...  Wait, my friends, 

μηδὲν διαπράξησθε ... don't destroy

ὑμᾶς αὐτοὺς δεινὸν  ... yourselves in this terrible way,

ἤδη γάρ, ὡς ὁρᾶτε  ...  for, as you see,

καὶ ἕτερ’ ἐστὶ ζῷα  ...  there are other animals

δειλότερα ἡμῶν  ...  more cowardly than we are.

Medici Aesop

Ἡ μήτηρ Πριάμου

Ἀφυὴς γραμματικὸς ἐρωτηθείς,  ἡ μήτηρ Πριάμου τίς ἐκαλεῖτο; ἀπορῶν ἐφη· ἡμεῖς κατὰ τιμὴν κυρίαν αὐτὴν καλοῦμεν.

Ἀφυὴς γραμματικὸς 

ἐρωτηθείς,

ἡ μήτηρ Πριάμου 

τίς ἐκαλεῖτο; 

ἀπορῶν ἐφη,

ἡμεῖς 

κατὰ τιμὴν 

κυρίαν αὐτὴν καλοῦμεν.

Ἀφυὴς γραμματικὸς  ...  A foolish teacher

ἐρωτηθείς  ...  was asked

ἡ μήτηρ Πριάμου  ...  what Priam's mother 

τίς ἐκαλεῖτο  ...  should be called.

ἀπορῶν ἐφη  ...  Baffled, he said,

κατὰ τιμὴν  ...  To be polite,

ἡμεῖς κυρίαν αὐτὴν καλοῦμεν  ...  we should call her "Madam."

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

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Greek Vocabulary Challenge: May 10

Here are today's vocabulary words; it's Group 165. Click on the word to learn more at Logeion:

κακόν ~ κακοῦ (adj. neut.): bad, evil (thing) 

φίλος ~ φίλου (adj. masc.): dear, friend 

ἴσον  ~ ἴσου (adj. neut.): equal, fair

μηδέν ~ μηδενός (adj. neut.): none, nothing (μη) 

οἷος ~ οἵου (adj. masc.): such as, kind 

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

Λέρνη κακῶν.

Φίλοις βοήθει.

Μηδὲ θεοῖσιν ἶσ' ἔθελε φρονέειν.

Ὁ μηδὲν ἀδικῶν οὐδενὸς δεῖται νόμου.

Πρὸς δύο οὐδ' ὁ Ἡρακλῆς οἷός τε εἶναι.

And now, some commentary:

Λέρνη κακῶν.

A Lerna of evils.

As one of his Labors, Heracles had to kill the Hydra that lived in the Lake of Lerna, but that monster was not its only evil. It was, among other things, a gateway to the underworld, and many swimmers had drowned in its depths. You can read more about the Lake of Lerna at Wikipedia. 

Φίλοις βοήθει.

Help your friends.

This is one of the so-called Delphic maxims recorded by Stobaeus. Notice that the verb βοηθέω takes a dative complement: φίλοις.

Μηδὲ θεοῖσιν ἶσ' ἔθελε φρονέειν.

Do not think to match yourself with the gods.

Literally: "Don't wish to suppose equal to the gods." The words are from Homer's Iliad: the god Apollo is doing battle with Diomedes, and with these words he warns him to back off: a mortal cannot match a god in battle. 

Ὁ μηδὲν ἀδικῶν οὐδενὸς δεῖται νόμου.

The man who does no wrong has need of no law.

Notice the contrast between the μη and οὐ. The οὐ is for the indicative verb: that person actually has no need of any law, while the μη is about a bigger statement, beyond a specific moment — the person who would do no wrong (not now, not ever) has no need in the here and now of any law.

Πρὸς δύο λέγεται οὐδ᾽ ὁ Ἡρακλῆς οἷός τε εἶναι.

Not even Heracles is said to be able to go against two.

This saying is widely cited in Greek literature, including in Plato's Phaedo. The idiom οἷός τε εἶναι has the sense of "being able" ("being such a person who is able..."), and the τε is part of the idiom, not a conjunction; you can see more in the LSJ entry for οἷος. You've seen a shorter version of this saying already in a previous blog post: Οὐδὲ Ἡρακλῆς πρὸς δύο.

Heracles battling Antaeus

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

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