Greek Proverbs

Here are today's Greek proverbs; it's Group 205. Click on the word to learn more at Logeion:

βίος ~ βίου (noun m.): life 

τύραννος ~ τυράννου (noun m.): tyrant, despot 

κακή ~ κακῆς (adj. fem.): bad, evil 

γιγνώσκω ~ γνώσομαι ~ ἔγνων (verb): know 

φέρω ~ οἴσω ~ ἤνεγκον (verb): carry, bring 

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

Ἅβρωνος βίος.

Τύραννος τυράννῳ συγκατεργάζεται.

Κακῆς ἀπ' ἀρχῆς γίγνεται τέλος κακόν.

Ἔγνω δὲ φώρ τε φῶρα, καὶ λύκος λύκον.

Λύκος ἐν αἰτίᾳ γίνεται, κἂν φέφῃ κἂν μὴ φέρῃ.

And now, some commentary:

Ἅβρωνος βίος.

The life of Abron.

Abron was an extremely wealthy citizen of Argos, so much so that he became a proverbial saying for wealth, especially excessive wealth. You can read about this Abron and other ancient Greeks named Abron at Wikipedia.

Τύραννος τυράννῳ συγκατεργάζεται.

One tyrant is coming to the aid of another.

The saying is found in Herodotus, put into the mouths of Spartan envoys who are disparaging Alexander I of Macedon, an ally of Xerxes, tyrant and tyrant.

Κακῆς ἀπ' ἀρχῆς γίγνεται τέλος κακόν.

A bad ending comes from a bad beginning.

Notice how the adjectives κακῆς and κακόν wrap around the saying. The saying is a fragment from Euripides' Aeolus, and it is thus iambic:

Κακῆς | ἀπ' ἀρ||χῆς γίγ|νεται || τέλος κακόν.

Ἔγνω δὲ φώρ τε φῶρα, καὶ λύκος λύκον.

A thief knows a thief, and a wolf knows a wolf.

This is another example of the so-called "gnomic" aroist, which I've rendered here in the English saying with present tense. Aristotle cites the saying in his discussion of friends in the Eudemian Ethics.

Λύκος ἐν αἰτίᾳ γίνεται, κἂν φέφῃ κἂν μὴ φέρῃ.

The wolf is to blame whether he takes (the sheep) or not.

Of course, the reason the wolf gets blamed is because he has, on many occasions, taken the sheep!

silver coin from the reign of Alexander I, circa 450 BCE

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

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