53: sacrifice, word, wine, mistress, wickedness

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

1. θυσία ~ θυσίας (fem.): sacrifice, victim 

2. ἔπος ~ ἔπους (neut.): word, poetry 

3. οἶνος ~ οἴνου (masc.): wine 

4. δέσποινα ~ δεσποίνης (fem.): mistress, lady of the house 

5. πονηρία ~ πονηρίας (fem.): wickedness, viciousness

Here are the proverbs and sayings:

Ἀγαμέμνονος θυσία.

Ἅμ᾽ ἔπος, ἅμ᾽ ἔργον.

Οἶνον νέον εἰς ἀσκοὺς καινούς.

Τὰς δεσποίνας αἱ κύνες μιμούμεναι.

Προφάσεως δεῖται μόνον ἡ πονηρία. 

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Laura Gibbs · Greek Proverbs: 053

Plus some commentary:

Ἀγαμέμνονος θυσία.

The sacrifice of Agamemnon.

As Erasmus tells us, the saying applies to someone who is reluctant or uncooperative. One explanation is that the saying alludes to the time when Agamemnon was sacrificing a bull which fled from the sacrifice and had to be captured and dragged back to the altar. Another explanation is that it refers to Agamemnon having to sacrifice his own daughter, Iphigenia, which he was reluctant to do. You can read more about that at Wikipedia: Iphigenia.

Ἅμ᾽ ἔπος, ἅμ᾽ ἔργον.

The deed at the same time as the word.

Compare the English saying, "No sooner said than done." The Greek ἁμα can be used in tandem as here, ἅμα...ἅμα, and it can also be used with τε...καί as in this variation on the same idea: ἅμα ἔπος τε καὶ ἔργον, "at the same time both the word and the deed." From the root in Greek ἔπος we get English "epic."

Οἶνον νέον εἰς ἀσκοὺς καινούς.

New wine (goes) into new wineskins.

The words are from the Gospel of Mark, and the parable is found in all three synoptic gospels. You can find out more at Wikipedia: New Wine into Old Wineskins. The idea is about how innovation requires the right context: if new wine is put into old wineskins, the skins will burst because old wineskins are already stretched and have become brittle; the new wine needs to go into new wineskins that can expand as the wine matures. From Greek οἶνος we get the English word oenology, the study of wine. The Greek word is from the Indo-European root wéyh₁ō, as is English "wine" and Latin vinum.

Τὰς δεσποίνας αἱ κύνες μιμούμεναι.

Dogs imitating their owners.

Specifically, female dogs, αἱ κύνες, imitating their female owners, δεσποίνας. As Erasmus explains, the  saying was used to refer to slaves or students or other subordinates who act like their masters, teachers, etc.: bad-tempered if their masters are bad-tempered, arrogant if their teachers are arrogant, etc. Plato invokes this saying in The Republic, where he labels it as a proverb: κατὰ τὴν παροιμίαν, "according to the proverb."

Προφάσεως δεῖται μόνον ἡ πονηρία.

Viciousness needs only a pretext.

The words are from Aristotle's Rhetoric, and he goes on to list all the many sorts of excuses people might use to justify their attacks on others, including the deeds of their ancestors or allies, etc. Aristotle identifies the words as a proverb: ὥσπερ γὰρ ἡ παροιμία, "as the proverb (says)." Note that the verb δεῖται takes a genitive complement: προφάσεως, "needs a pretext = has need of a pretext." 

Here is a fresco from Pompeii showing the sacrifice of Iphigenia:

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