Greek Reading: Fables 20

Today's fables are from Young's Tutorial Greek Reader; these are the last of the fables in this book, but there are lots more selections you can read, with useful vocabulary notes in the back, story by story.

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

Μυῖα καὶ χύτρα κρέατος

Μυῖα ἐμπεσοῦσα εἰς χύτραν κρέατος, ἐπειδὴ ὑποπνίγεσθαι ἔμελλεν, ἔφη πρὸς ἑαυτήν· Ἀλλ' ἔγωγε καὶ βέβρωκα καὶ πέπωκα καὶ λέλουμαι, κἂν ἀποθάνω οὐδὲν μέλει μοι.

Μυῖα ἐμπεσοῦσα εἰς χύτραν κρέατος, 

ἐπειδὴ ὑποπνίγεσθαι ἔμελλεν, 

ἔφη πρὸς ἑαυτήν· 

Ἀλλ' ἔγωγε 

καὶ βέβρωκα καὶ πέπωκα καὶ λέλουμαι, 

κἂν ἀποθάνω οὐδὲν μέλει μοι.

Μυῖα  ... A fly

ἐμπεσοῦσα εἰς χύτραν κρέατος  ... fell into a pot of meat, 

ἐπειδὴ ὑποπνίγεσθαι ἔμελλεν  ... when she was about to drown, 

ἔφη πρὸς ἑαυτήν  ... she said to herself, 

Ἀλλ' ἔγωγε καὶ βέβρωκα  ... Well, I've had food 

καὶ πέπωκα καὶ λέλουμαι  ... and a drink and a bath,

κἂν ἀποθάνω οὐδὲν μέλει μοι  ... and it matters not to me if I die.

medieval cooking scene

Κύων καὶ σκιά

Κύων κρέας φέρων ποταμὸν διέβαινεν. θεασάμενος δὲ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ σκιὰν ἐπὶ τοῦ ὕδατος, ὑπέλαβεν ἕτερον κύνα εἶναι κρέας καρέχοντα. καὶ ἀφεὶς τὸ ἴδιον, ὥρμησε τὸ ἐκείνου λαβεῖν. ἀπώλεσε δὲ ἀμφότερα. τὸ μὲν οὖν οὐκ ἦν· ὃ δὲ κατεῖχεν αὐτός, ὑπὸ ῥεύματος κατεσύρετο.

Κύων κρέας φέρων 

ποταμὸν διέβαινεν. 

θεασάμενος δὲ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ σκιὰν 

ἐπὶ τοῦ ὕδατος, 

ὑπέλαβεν ἕτερον κύνα εἶναι 

κρέας καρέχοντα. 

καὶ ἀφεὶς τὸ ἴδιον, 

ὥρμησε τὸ ἐκείνου λαβεῖν. 

ἀπώλεσε δὲ ἀμφότερα. 

τὸ μὲν οὖν οὐκ ἦν· 

ὃ δὲ κατεῖχεν αὐτός, 

ὑπὸ ῥεύματος κατεσύρετο.

Κύων κρέας φέρων  ... A dog carrying meat

ποταμὸν διέβαινεν  ... crossed a river. 

θεασάμενος δὲ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ σκιὰν  ... He saw his own reflection 

ἐπὶ τοῦ ὕδατος  ... in the water, 

ὑπέλαβεν ἕτερον κύνα εἶναι  ... He supposed there was another dog 

κρέας κατέχοντα  ... who possessed some meat. 

καὶ ἀφεὶς τὸ ἴδιον  ... The dog let go of his own, 

ὥρμησε τὸ ἐκείνου λαβεῖν  ... and rushed to grab that dog's meat. 

ἀπώλεσε δὲ ἀμφότερα  ... and lost both. 

τὸ μὲν οὖν οὐκ ἦν  ... For the other dog's meat did not exist 

ὃ δὲ κατεῖχεν αὐτός  ... and the meat he had possessed, 

ὑπὸ ῥεύματος κατεσύρετο  ... was carried away by the stream.

The Dog and His Shadow

Κόραξ καὶ μήτηρ

Κόραξ νοσῶν ἔφη τῇ μητρί· Μῆτερ, εὔχου τῷ θεῷ καὶ μὴ θρήνει. ἡ δὲ μήτηρ ἀπολαβοῦσα ἔφη· Τίς σε, ὦ τέκνον, τῶν θεῶν ἐλεήσει· τίνος γὰρ κρέας ὑπὸ σοῦ γε οὐκ ἐκλάπη;

Κόραξ νοσῶν ἔφη τῇ μητρί· 

Μῆτερ, εὔχου τῷ θεῷ 

καὶ μὴ θρήνει. 

ἡ δὲ μήτηρ ἀπολαβοῦσα ἔφη· 

Τίς σε, ὦ τέκνον, τῶν θεῶν ἐλεήσει· 

τίνος γὰρ κρέας ὑπὸ σοῦ γε οὐκ ἐκλάπη;

Κόραξ νοσῶν  ...  A sick kite

ἔφη τῇ μητρί  ...  said to his mother, 

Μῆτερ, εὔχου τῷ θεῷ  ...  Mother, pray to gods 

καὶ μὴ θρήνει  ...  and don't lament. 

ἡ δὲ μήτηρ ἀπολαβοῦσα  ...  The mother  interrupted,

ἔφη· ὦ τέκνον  ...  said, O my child,

τίς σε τῶν θεῶν ἐλεήσει  ...  Which of the gods will pity you

τίνος γὰρ κρέας οὐκ ἐκλάπη  ...  for whose meat has not been stolen

ὑπὸ σοῦ γε   ...  by you? (i.e. from the sacrificial altar)

Medici Aesop

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

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Greek Vocabulary Challenge: Feb. 11

Here are today's vocabulary words; it's Group 142. Click on the word to learn more at Logeion:

ἄνω (adverb): upwards, above

ὡς (adv./conj.): so, thus, as

ἅμα (adverb): at the same time, at

μηδέποτε (adverb): never

νῦν (adverb): now

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

Ἄνω ποταμῶν χωροῦσι πηγαί.

Λόγοι σοφῶν ὡς τὰ βούκεντρα.

Μὴ ἅμα ἀρχῇ πᾶν τέλος καταφαίνεσθαι.

Μηδέποτε πειρῶ δύο φίλων εἶναι κριτής.

Μακάριοι οἱ πεινῶντες νῦν, ὅτι χορτασθήσεσθε.

And now, some commentary:

Ἄνω ποταμῶν χωροῦσι πηγαί.

The sources of the rivers are moving upwards.

In other words, things are topsy-turvy. Rivers flow downstream from their sources, not upstream. The phrase shows up in this form in Euripides' Medea, adding the word ἱερῶν, making the rivers holy:

ἄνω ποταμῶν ἱερῶν χωροῦσι παγαί.

Λόγοι σοφῶν ὡς τὰ βούκεντρα.

The words of the wise are goads. 

The Greek βούκεντρα is a compound word: βού-κεντρα, cattle-goads. In other words, the hoi polloi are like cattle that the wise men drive, willing or not, with their words. The saying comes from the Biblical Book of Ecclesiastes.

Μὴ ἅμα ἀρχῇ πᾶν τέλος καταφαίνεσθαι.

At the beginning, the whole business is not clear.

In other words, you can't tell how things are going to turn out! Herodotus quotes this as a saying, labeling it παλαιὸν ἔπος, an "old saying" and attributing the words to the Persian Artabanos in a dialogue with his nephew Xerxes. The accusative τέλος is the subject of the infinitive, καταφαίνεσθαι.

Μηδέποτε πειρῶ δύο φίλων εἶναι κριτής.

Do not ever try to play the judge between two friends.

There are two forms of his adverb: οὐδέποτε and μηδέποτε; this saying uses the μη form because it is an imperative (πειρῶ is a middle imperative of πειράω). This is one of the sayings preserved in the one-liners (monostichs) of Menander. Here is the iambic meter marked:

Μηδέποτ' πει||ρῶ δύο φίλων || εἶναι κριτής.

Μακάριοι οἱ πεινῶντες νῦν, ὅτι χορτασθήσεσθε.

Blessed are those who now hunger, for they will be well fed.

The words come from the Gospel of Matthew, in the passage known as the Sermon on the Mount. You can find out more at Wikipeda: Beatitudes. Here is the Church of the Beatitudes on the Sea of Galilee, built on what was supposedly the site of Jesus's sermon:

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

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Greek Reading: Fables 19

Today's fable is from Young's Tutorial Greek Reader and the jokes are from Rushbrooke's First Greek Reader, both available at the Internet Archive; Rushbrooke's book contains a dictionary in the back.

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

Ἔλαφος διψήσας

Ἔλαφος διψήσας ἐπὶ πηγὴν ἦλθεν· ἰδὼν δὲ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ σκιάν, τοὺς μὲν πόδας ἐμέμφετο ὡς λεπτοὺς καὶ ἀσθενεῖς ὄντας· τὰ δὲ κέρατα ἐπῄνει ὡς μέγιστα καὶ εὐμήκη. οὐδέπω πιών, κυνηγέτου καταλαβόντος, ἔφευγεν. ἐπὶ πολὺν δὲ τόπον δραμὼν καὶ εἰς ὕλην ἐμβάς, τοῖς κέρασι ἐμπλακεὶς ἐθηρεύθη. ἔφη δέ· Ὦ μάταιος ἐγώ, ὃς ἐκ μὲν τῶν ποδῶν ἐσώθην οἷς ἐμεμφόμην, ἐκ δὲ τῶν κεράτων προυδόθην ἐφ' οἷς ἐκαυχώμην.

Ἔλαφος διψήσας 

ἐπὶ πηγὴν ἦλθεν· 

ἰδὼν δὲ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ σκιάν, 

τοὺς μὲν πόδας ἐμέμφετο 

ὡς λεπτοὺς καὶ ἀσθενεῖς ὄντας· 

τὰ δὲ κέρατα ἐπῄνει 

ὡς μέγιστα καὶ εὐμήκη. 

οὐδέπω πιών, 

κυνηγέτου καταλαβόντος, 

ἔφευγεν. 

ἐπὶ πολὺν δὲ τόπον δραμὼν 

καὶ εἰς ὕλην ἐμβάς, 

τοῖς κέρασι ἐμπλακεὶς ἐθηρεύθη. 

ἔφη δέ· 

Ὦ μάταιος ἐγώ, 

ὃς ἐκ μὲν τῶν ποδῶν ἐσώθην 

οἷς ἐμεμφόμην, 

ἐκ δὲ τῶν κεράτων προυδόθην 

ἐφ' οἷς ἐκαυχώμην.

Ἔλαφος διψήσας  ... A thirsty stag 

ἐπὶ πηγὴν ἦλθεν  ... came to a spring —  

ἰδὼν δὲ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ σκιάν  ... seeing his own reflection, 

τοὺς μὲν πόδας ἐμέμφετο  ... he criticized his legs 

ὡς λεπτοὺς καὶ ἀσθενεῖς ὄντας  ... for being thin and weak 

τὰ δὲ κέρατα ἐπῄνει  ... but he praised his horns

ὡς μέγιστα καὶ εὐμήκη  ... as big and tall. 

οὐδέπω πιών  ... Not yet drinking, 

κυνηγέτου καταλαβόντος  ... a hunter overtook him, 

ἔφευγεν  ... so he fled. 

ἐπὶ πολὺν δὲ τόπον δραμὼν  ... After running a long way 

καὶ εἰς ὕλην ἐμβάς  ... he entered the woods, 

τοῖς κέρασι ἐμπλακεὶς ἐθηρεύθη  ... but his horns got stuck 

ἐθηρεύθη  ... and he was caught.

ἔφη δέ  ... and he said,

Ὦ μάταιος ἐγώ  ... "Oh, I am a fool — 

ὃς μὲν ἐσώθην  ... I could have been saved 

ἐκ τῶν ποδῶν  ...  by my legs,

οἷς ἐμεμφόμην  ... which I criticized, 

προυδόθην δὲ  ... but I was betryed 

ἐκ τῶν κεράτων  ... by my horns 

ἐφ' οἷς ἐκαυχώμην  ... which I boasted about.

The Stag and His Reflection

Δικαίως μωροὶ καλούμεθα...

Σχολαστικός τις καθ' ὕπνους ἧλον πεπατηκέναι δόξας, τὸν πόδα περιέδησεν. ὁ δὲ αὐτοῦ ἑταῖρος, πυθόμενος τὴν αἰτίαν καὶ γνοὺς, Δικαίως, ἔφη, μωροὶ καλούμεθα· διὰ τί γὰρ ἀνυπόδητος κοιμᾷ;

Σχολαστικός τις 

καθ' ὕπνους 

ἧλον πεπατηκέναι δόξας, 

τὸν πόδα περιέδησεν. 

ὁ δὲ αὐτοῦ ἑταῖρος, 

πυθόμενος τὴν αἰτίαν 

καὶ γνοὺς, 

Δικαίως, ἔφη, μωροὶ καλούμεθα· 

διὰ τί γὰρ ἀνυπόδητος κοιμᾷ;

Σχολαστικός τις  ...  A certain dunce   

καθ' ὕπνους  ...  in a dream 

ἧλον πεπατηκέναι δόξας  ...  thought he stepped on a nail 

τὸν πόδα περιέδησεν  ...  and bandaged his foot.

ὁ δὲ αὐτοῦ ἑταῖρος  ...  Another dunce

πυθόμενος τὴν αἰτίαν  ...  asked the reason

καὶ γνοὺς ἔφη  ...  and learning the answer, said

Δικαίως μωροὶ καλούμεθα  ...  It's right that we're called fools:

διὰ τί γὰρ ἀνυπόδητος κοιμᾷ;  ...  why do you go to bed barefoot?

Κυμαῖός τις ἐν τῷ κολυμβᾶν...

Κυμαῖός τις ἐν τῷ κολυμβᾶν χειμῶνος γενομένου διὰ τὸ μὴ βραχῆναι εἰς τὸ βάθος κατέδυ.

Κυμαῖός τις

 ἐν τῷ κολυμβᾶν 

χειμῶνος γενομένου 

διὰ τὸ μὴ βραχῆναι 

εἰς τὸ βάθος κατέδυ.

Κυμαῖός τις ἐν τῷ κολυμβᾶν  ...  While a fool was swimming

χειμῶνος γενομένου  ...  it started to rain.

διὰ τὸ μὴ βραχῆναι  ...  In order not to get wet,

εἰς τὸ βάθος κατέδυ  ...  he dove deep down.

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

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Greek Crossword 1-2-3

I have something a bit different today! From another project I'm working on (riddles!), I learned how to make simple crossword puzzles, and the software works with Greek letters too. So, I'm going to be resharing the proverbs starting from back in Week 1, with a crossword puzzle to go with them. I'll paste in below the original proverb information from back in Group 1, Group 2, and Group 3 from Week 1; you can visit those blog posts for the vocabulary information. The crossword is based on a missing word from each proverb: printable Crossword PDF. I've pasted in screenshots below so you can see what I mean.

Learning proverbs is all about repetition, and I hope this way of repeating the proverbs will be a fun one. I'll also be including crossword puzzles in the review posts I've been doing with the slideshows, and I already added a puzzle for this week's review slideshow. Enjoy!

Καιρὸν γνῶθι.
Recognize the critical moment.

Another translation might be: "Know the right moment (in which to do something." The word καιρός has a wide range of meanings in Greek; you can read the dictionary entry at Logeion to learn more. The etymology of this important Greek word remains a mystery. The saying is attributed to Pittacus of Mitylene, one of the seven sages of ancient Greece.

Μὴ παιδὶ μάχαιραν.

Do not (give) a knife to a child.

The verb is implied by the content of the nominative and dative nouns and the negative μή which is used with commands. As with the English word "child," the Greek word παῖς can refer to a girl or a boy; this is known as common gender. Find out more: Gender Diversity in Greek and Latin Grammar.

Μετὰ πόλεμον, ἡ συμμαχία.

After the battle (is over), the allies (arrive).

In other words, you need allied forces to show up before the battle, not afterwards when it's too late to do any good. Compare the English saying: "Closing the barn door after the horse has bolted."

Μεγάλη πόλις, μεγάλη ἐρημία.
Big city, big desert. 

The words are quoted by Strabo, describing the city of Megalopolis ("Big City") in Arcadia which had been devastated by frequent wars, playing on the name of the city. Over time, the words came to be used proverbially, referring to something big in size but empty of meaning or value; see Erasmus's Adagia.

Ἀνάγκῃ δ' οὐδὲ θεοὶ μάχονται.
Not even the gods fight against Necessity.

You can read about Ananke at Wikipedia. The saying comes from Plato's Protagoras, quoting Simonides of Ceos.

Λίθον ἕψεις.
You're boiling a stone.
In other words: you're wasting your time. No matter how long you boil a stone, it stays a stone. You can see this root in "paleolithic," the Old Stone Age.

Ἀρχὴ ἥμισυ παντός.
The beginning (is) half of the whole.

In other words: the key to finishing anything is just to get started. Compare the English saying: "Well begun is half done." Things that are "archaic" existed from the beginning of time.

Ἐξ ὄνυχος τὸν λέοντα.

By the claw (you know) the lion.

The idea is that you can recognize someone by a specific trait or feature, although it might be very small; a lion is very big, but his claw is very small. Plus lions, like other cats, often keep their claws hidden... you might not recognize the lion until it is too late!

Τύχη δ' ἀρετῆς ἀναίτιος.

Luck (is) not the cause of excellence.

Literally: Luck is not-cause, ἀναίτιος, of excellence; alpha-privative adjectives like ἀναίτιος do not have a distinctive feminine form. In other words: you don't achieve excellence just by being lucky; you have to work for it. You can read about the goddess of luck at Wikipedia: Tyche. 

Ἀνεῳγμέναι Μουσῶν θύραι.

The doors of the Muses (are) open.

In other words: everyone has access to the arts; it is not a private privilege. You can find out more about these goddesses at Wikipedia: Muses.

Γόρδιος δεσμός.
The Gordian knot.
You can read about Alexander the Great and the "knot of Gordium" at Wikipedia: Gordian Knot. The word δεσμός refers to any kind of bond or tie, literal and metaphorical; it can also mean a binding spell or charm.

Ἐν νυκτὶ βουλή.
In night (comes) counsel.
In other words: sleep on it; the decision will be clear to you in the morning.
The Greek root νυκτ-, like English night, is from Proto-Indo-European *nókʷts.

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.

Ὕπνος δὲ πάσης ἐστὶν ὑγιεία νόσου. 
Sleep is a cure for every illness.
Literally: Sleep is the health of every illness. This is one of the monostichs of Menander. You can read about the god of sleep at Wikipedia: Hypnos.

Δίκη δίκην τίκτει, καὶ βλάβη βλάβην. 
Justice breeds justice, and harm (breeds) harm. 
You can read about the goddess of justice at Wikipedia: Dike.

You can see the word δίκη in the Greek name Eurydice, the wife of Orpheus.

printable Crossword PDF - printable Crossword Key

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

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