Greek Animal Vocabulary: Aug. 19

Here are today's animal names; it's Group 189. Click on the word to learn more at Logeion:

ὄρνις ~ ὄρνιθος (noun c.): bird 

δελφίς ~ δελφῖνος (noun m.): dolphin 

πίθηκος ~ πιθήκου (noun m.): ape 

χελιδών ~ χελιδόνος (noun f.): swallow 

κάμηλος ~ καμήλου (noun c.): camel 

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

Φέρει καὶ ὄρνις γάλα.

Δελφῖνα πρὸς τὸ οὐραῖον δεῖς.

Πίθηκος ὁ πίθηκος κἂν χρύσεα ἔχῃ σύμβολα.

Μία χελιδὼν ἔαρ οὐ ποιεῖ οὐδὲ μία μέλισσα μέλι.

Ἡ κάμηλος ἐπιθυμήσασα κεράτων καὶ τὰ ὦτα προσαπώλεσε.

And now, some commentary:

Φέρει καὶ ὄρνις γάλα.

Even a chicken gives milk.

This refers to a land of supernatural abundance: in that magical land, even a chicken gives milk, not just eggs. Compare the English saying, "Rare as hens' teeth." You can also find this idea expressed simply as ὀρνίθων γάλα, "hens' milk," referring to something implausible or even absurd.

Δελφῖνα πρὸς τὸ οὐραῖον δεῖς.

You're tying a dolphin by the tail.

Because dolphin tails are slippery, and also because dolphin tails are strong (Erasmus reports that dolphins used their tails to overturn boats!), you are not going to keep hold of the dolphin; it's going to slip away. 

Πίθηκος ὁ πίθηκος κἂν χρύσεα ἔχῃ σύμβολα.

An ape's an ape even if he has gold insignia.

Compare the English rhyming proverb, "An ape's an ape, a varlet's a varlet, though they be clad in silk or scarlet." The Greek saying appears in Lucian who marks it as a παροιμία, a proverb: πίθηκος γὰρ ὁ πίθηκος, ἡ παροιμία φησί, κἂν χρύσεα ἔχῃ σύμβολα. 

Μία χελιδὼν ἔαρ οὐ ποιεῖ οὐδὲ μία μέλισσα μέλι.

One swallow does not make a spring, not does one bee make honey.

Compare the English saying, "One swallow doesn't make a summer." I don't know of an English saying that pairs up the single swallow and the single bee as this Greek saying does.

Ἡ κάμηλος ἐπιθυμήσασα κεράτων καὶ τὰ ὦτα προσαπώλεσε.

The camel, wanting horns, lost her ears as well.

This saying comes from an Aesop's fable where the camel, envious of the horned animals, asks Zeus to give her horns, but he gets angry and crops her ears instead. Here is Barlow's illustration of that fable:

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

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