3: oxxxpportunity, child, battle, city, necessity

Here are today's vocabulary words; they are nouns with the nominative and genitive plus gender, along with a brief definition. Click on the word to learn more at Logeion. (Study tips here.)

1. καιρός ~ καιρoῦ (n.) moment, opportunity
2. παῖς ~ παιδός (c.) child (boy or girl)
3. πόλεμος ~ πολέμου (m.) war, battle
4. πόλις ~ πόλεως (f.) city

5. ἀνάγκη ~ ἀνάγκης (f.) necessity

Here are the proverbs and sayings:

Καιρὸν γνῶθι.

Μὴ παιδὶ μάχαιραν.

Μετὰ πόλεμον, ἡ συμμαχία.

Μεγάλη πόλις, μεγάλη ἐρημία.  

Ἀνάγκῃ δ' οὐδὲ θεοὶ μάχονται.

Listen at SoundCloud:

Laura Gibbs · Greek Proverbs: 003

Plus some commentary:

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.

Here is a modern depiction of Ananke and the Three Moirai (Fates):

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