ἀεί (adverb): always
γράμμα ~ γράμματος (noun n.): letter, writing
κύων ~ κυνός (noun c.): dog
μανθάνω ~ μαθήσομαι ~ ἔμαθον (verb): learn, understand
ἐλέφας ~ ἐλέφαντος (noun m.): elephant
Ἀεὶ Ἰλίῳ κακά.
Φοινικήϊα γράμματα.
Κύων τευτλία οὐκ ἐσθίει.
Ἐν πίθῳ τὴν κεραμείαν μανθάνω.
Κώνωπος ἐλέφας Ἰνδικὸς οὐ ἀλεγίζει.
And now, some commentary:
Ἀεὶ Ἰλίῳ κακά.
Troy always has troubles.
The words come from an anecdote about the musician Stratonicus of Athens in Athenaeus's Deipnosophistae, and it is one of the sayings that Erasmus wrote about in his Adagia.
Φοινικήϊα γράμματα.
Phoenician letters.
The ancient Greeks called writing "Phoenician letters," but they did not necessarily attribute the invention of writing to the people we call Phoenicians. For example, some said the letters were invented by Phoenix, the son of Agenor; others said the alphabet was so named in honor of Phoenice, the daughter of Actaeon. You can read about the actual Phoenician and Greek alphabets at Wikipedia.
Κύων τευτλία οὐκ ἐσθίει.
A dog doesn't eat little beets.
The words are pronounced by Diogenes the Cynic, referring to himself as the dog; the story is from Diogenes Laertius: When some boys clustered round him and said, "Take care he doesn't bite us," he answered, "Never fear, boys, a dog does not eat beetroot."
Ἐν πίθῳ τὴν κεραμείαν μανθάνω.
I'm learning the art of pottery with a very big pot.
The πίθος was a large storage jar. In other words, I'm trying to run before I can walk — which is a foolish thing to do. To learn the art of pottery, you need to start with a little pot and work your way up. You can also find the saying in this form: ἐν τῷ πίθῳ τὴν κεραμείαν ἐπιχειρεῖν μανθάνειν.
Κώνωπος ἐλέφας Ἰνδικὸς οὐ ἀλεγίζει.
An Indian elephant doesn't trouble himself with a gnat. Compare two similar sayings you saw earlier about the elephant and the mouse: Ἐλέφας μῦν οὐχ ἁλίσκει and Ἐλέφας μῦν οὐ δάκνει.
And here's a random proverb and a random LOLCat too:
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