Daily Greek Vocabulary Challenge: Oct. 15

Here are today's vocabulary words; it's Group 97. Click on the word to learn more at Logeion:

κάρα ~ κάρατος (noun n.): head 

δάκρυον ~ δακρύου (noun n.): tear, teardrop 

ἱμάτιον ~ ἱματίου (noun n.): cloak; clothes 

σῶμα ~ σώματος (noun n.): body 

εἶδος ~ εἴδους (noun n.): shape, form 

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

Ὑπὲρ κάρα πτύεις.

Μεγαρέων δάκρυα.

Ἱματίῳ πῦρ περιστέλλεις.

Λάβετε, τοῦτό ἐστιν τὸ σῶμά μου.

Κάτοπτρον εἴδους χαλκός ἐστ'· οἶνος δὲ νοῦ.

Laura Gibbs · Greek Proverbs: 097

And now, some commentary:

Μεγαρέων δάκρυα.

The tears of the Megareans.

This is like the phrase "crocodile tears," referring to feigned tears; see this earlier post. As Erasmus reports, ancient sources provide different explanations for the origin of the saying about Megarean tears. For example, supposedly Megara abounded in garlic, and people wept when cooking with raw garlic. In another story, there was a funeral for a princess of Megara at which there were many hired mourners, weeping theatrically but not from any real grief. Regardless of the origin of the saying, its meaning is the same: tears without sadness. 

Ὑπὲρ κάρα πτύεις.

You're spitting over your head.

Needless to say, spitting up over your own head is not a good idea; that spit is going to come right back at you. Compare the English saying: "spitting into the wind." From the word κάρα comes the diminutive κρανίον, meaning the upper part of the head or skull, which gives us the English word cranium.

Ἱματίῳ πῦρ περιστέλλεις.

You're wrapping fire in your cloak.

As Erasmus explains, this is like "nursing a viper in your bosom," i.e. you are keeping something close to you (fire) that will lead to your own destruction. The word himation is sometimes used in English when writing about ancient Greek clothing.

Λάβετε, τοῦτό ἐστιν τὸ σῶμά μου.

Take: this is my body.

These words come from The Gospel of Mark; see similar versions in Luke and Matthew.  Jesus is offering bread to his disciples at the Last Supper; you can find out more at Wikipedia: Last Supper. From Greek σῶμα, we get English somatic.

Κάτοπτρον εἴδους χαλκός ἐστ'· οἶνος δὲ νοῦ.

Bronze is a mirror of the face, wine of the mind.

This is an unattributed fragment of Aeschylus that is recorded in Athenaeus' Deipnosophistae. You can read about bronze mirrors at Wikipedia. (The earliest glass mirrors made with silver-mercury amalgams date to around 500 C.E.) Here's an Etruscan bronze mirror showing the Judgment of Paris:

And here's a random proverb too:

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