ἐν (prep.+dat.): in, at
ἡ ~ τῆς (article f.): the
ὁ ~ τοῦ (article m.): the
περί (prep.+acc.): around, upon
ὅπου (adverb): where, wherever
These are the proverbs (and there are always more proverbs at the blog):
Ὄνος ἐν πιθήκοις.
Αἱ Ἰβύκου γέρανοι.
Ὁ Καρπάθιος τὸν λαγών.
Λύκος περὶ φρέαρ χορεύει.
Ὅπου γὰρ ἡ λεοντῆ μὴ ἐφικνεῖται προσραπτέον ἐκεῖ τὴν ἀλωπεκῆν.
And now, some commentary:
Ὄνος ἐν πιθήκοις.
A donkey among the monkeys.
The saying appears in a long fragment of Menander quoted by Aulus Gellius. It refers to someone, not very bright, who is being mocked and insulted by those around him, as the donkey is regularly an object of ridicule, while monkeys are proverbially rude.
Αἱ Ἰβύκου γέρανοι.
The cranes of Ibycus.
This refers to a story about the lyric poet, Ibycus, whose murder was avenged by cranes. You can read the story in the Wikipedia article about Ibycus, which cites this proverb. The poet Schiller made this story the subject of a poem; here is an English translation. Note that the cranes, γέρανοι, are feminine (like many animal names, γέρανος is common gender).
Ὁ Καρπάθιος τὸν λαγών.
The Carpathian (brought) the rabbit.
This is mentioned as a proverb in Aristotle's Rhetoric, and it was already known to Archilochus. The story goes that a Carpathian unwittingly imported a pair of rabbits onto the island (Κάρπαθος), and the rabbits multiplied, devastating the crops. Compare the rabbits in Australia.
Λύκος περὶ φρέαρ χορεύει.
The wolf is dancing around the well.
This saying actually made it into the LSJ Greek dictionary in the entry for the word λύκος, where they explain that it refers to someone doing something foolish, useless, etc. A wolf will not accomplish anything by dancing around a well; he might be thirsty, but he is not going to get anything to drink by dancing. Or, in another interpretation, if his prey has jumped into the well, he's not going to catch it now.
Ὅπου γὰρ ἡ λεοντῆ μὴ ἐφικνεῖται προσραπτέον ἐκεῖ τὴν ἀλωπεκῆν.
Where the lion skin cannot reach, apply there the skin of the fox.
In other words, when the lion's strength will not succeed, use the fox's cunning. Plutarch attributes the saying to the Spartan general Lysander, and the words are especially apt, because Lysander was rebuking those who said that the "descendants of Heracles" (Heracleidae) should not stoop to cunning, and the lion-skin was emblematic of Heracles. For more about Lysander, see Wikipedia (which cites this saying).
And here's a random proverb too:
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