Greek Vocabulary Challenge: April 24

Here are today's vocabulary words; it's Group 161. Click on the word to learn more at Logeion:

ποῖ (adv.): to where, whither, where 

ἐν (prep.+dat.): in, at 

παρά (prep.+dat.): beside, with 

ὥσπερ (adverb): like, as 

μᾶλλον (adverb): more, rather, better

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

Γλῶσσα ποῖ πορεύῃ;

Πίθηκος ἐν πορφύραι.

Ἀεὶ κολοιὸς παρὰ κολοιῷ ἰζάνει.

Ἔχεται δ' ὥσπερ πολύπους πέτρας.

Φιλήκοον εἶναι μᾶλλον ἢ πολύλαλον.

And now, some commentary:

Γλῶσσα ποῖ πορεύῃ;

Tongue, where are you going?

This proverb invokes the idea that the tongue (words, language) can be a force for good or a force for evil. Here is the saying in full: γλῶσσα, ποῖ πορεύῃ; πόλιν ἀνορθώσουσα καὶ πόλιν καταστρέψουσα; "Tongue, where are you going? To build the city up or to tear it down?"

Πίθηκος ἐν πορφύραι.

A monkey in royal robes.

The saying refers to someone putting on airs and making a ridiculous impression. Literally, the robes are purple, referring to Tyrian purple, a dye that was extremely expensive and eventually became associated with royalty, so much so that "the purple" could refer to the kingship itself, and the word "porphyrogeniture" referred to the way that sons born after their father became king would inherit the throne, even over the claims of older siblings. You can find out more at Wikipedia: Born in the purple.

Ἔχεται δ' ὥσπερ πολύπους πέτρας.

He's grabbing hold like an octopus grabbing the rocks.

You can tell ἔχεται is a middle verb here because it takes a direct object: Ἔχεται δ' ὥσπερ πολύπους (ἔχεται) πέτρας. The idea is that the octopus is strong, and the rock is strong too; if you are going to grab onto something, this is the way to do it. The octopus is πολύ-πους, "many-foot," and gives us English "polyp."

Ἀεὶ κολοιὸς παρὰ κολοιῷ ἰζάνει.

A jackdaw always sits next to a jackdaw.

Compare the English saying, "Birds of a feather flock together." The Greek preposition παρά shows up in all kinds of English words, both those borrowed from Greek, like parasite, but also newly coined English words, like "parasail."

Φιλήκοον εἶναι μᾶλλον ἢ πολύλαλον.

It's better to be a lover-of-listening than a much-talker.

The idea is that it is better to keep quiet and listen instead of babbling on and on. The infinitive εἶναι takes predicate accusatives: φιλήκοον and πολύλαλον. This is one of the sayings attributed to Cleobulus, one of the Seven Sages; more at Wikipedia: Cleobulus.

(Minoan bottle)

And here's a random proverb and a random LOLCat too :

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