15: sky, man, old man, fish, nobody

Here are today's vocabulary words; they are masculine nouns with the nominative and genitive, along with a brief definition. Click on the word to learn more at Logeion, and there's also a study tips post.

1. οὐρανός ~ οὐρανοῦ (m.): sky, heaven

2. ἀνήρ ~ ἀνδρός (m.): man 

3. γέρων ~ γέροντος (m.): old man 

4. ἰχθύς ~ ἰχθύος (m.): fish 

5. οὐδείς ~ οὐδενός (m.): nobody, no one 

Here are the proverbs and sayings:

Εἰς οὐρανὸν πτύεις.

Εἶς ἀνὴρ οὐδεὶς ἀνήρ.

Δὶς παῖδες οἱ γέροντες.

Ἰχθὺς ἐκ τῆς κεφαλῆς ὄζειν ἄρχεται.

Οὐδεὶς ἐπλούτησε ταχέως δίκαιος ὤν.  

Listen at SoundCloud:

Laura Gibbs · Greek Proverbs: 015

Plus some commentary:

Εἰς οὐρανὸν πτύεις.

You're spitting into the sky.

This is not a good idea: the spit is going to fall right back down on you! Compare the English saying: "Spit in the wind, you'll get it back in your face." The Greek word οὐρανός meant the sky, and also the sky-god himself; you can read about the sky-god at Wikipedia: Uranus.

Εἶς ἀνὴρ οὐδεὶς ἀνήρ.

One man (is) no man.

The idea is that you cannot do anything alone, so one man is really no better than nobody at all. This saying is a good way to remember how the words εἶς, "one" and οὐδεὶς "not-one" — οὐ-εὶς — are related. In this proverb, οὐδείς is being used adjectivally, modifying ἀνήρ; see today's final proverb for the same word being used substantively as a noun, meaning "nobody." The Greek saying is the motto of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity (see below for their crest).

Δὶς παῖδες οἱ γέροντες.

Old men are twice children.

The idea is that as people become old, they become like children again, not understanding the things happening around them, no longer in control, etc. The saying appears in Aristophanes's The Clouds. You can see the Greek γέρων in English gerontology, and it is related to the noun γῆρας, "old age," which you have seen in other proverbs previously: Γῆρας διδάσκει πάντα and Τιθωνοῦ γῆρας.

Ἰχθὺς ἐκ τῆς κεφαλῆς ὄζειν ἄρχεται.

The fish begins to stink from the head.

The proverb applies metaphorically to how corruption begins at the top of an organization, like fish rotting from the head on down. The Greek word ΙΧΘΥΣ was used as a secret sign by the early Christians, with the five letters being interpreted as:

Ἰησοῦς
Χρῑστός
Θεοῦ
Yἱός
Σωτήρ, 

i.e. Jesus-Christ-God's-Son-Savior. You can find out more at Wikipedia: Ichthys.

Οὐδεὶς ἐπλούτησε ταχέως δίκαιος ὤν.

No one got rich quickly by doing what's right.

The verb πλουτέω is related to the noun πλοῦτος, meaning wealth. Πλοῦτος is also the name of the god of wealth; find out more at Wikipedia: Plutus. You can see the root of the word ταχέως in the English tachometer and also a quite new English word: tachyon (science fiction fans will recognize that one). 

This is the crest of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity; you can see the Greek proverb there:

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