Tuesday, August 4, 2026

Greek Proverbs: August 4

Here are today's Greek proverbs with LOLCats! These are repeats of previous proverbs, but now with illustrations... and with a quiz too! See how you do on the questions up top, and then try them again down below after you've read through the proverbs (the quiz results display only at the blog, not in the email):

_______ οὐ δωροδοκεῖται.
reveal/hide answerἈλώπηξ οὐ δωροδοκεῖται.

_______ κρεῶν ἐπιθυμεῖ.
reveal/hide answerΔασύπους κρεῶν ἐπιθυμεῖ.

Ἄλλος _______, ἄλλη δίαιτα.
reveal/hide answerἌλλος βίος, ἄλλη δίαιτα.

Ἄρτι _______ πίττης γεύεται.
reveal/hide answerἌρτι μῦς πίττης γεύεται.

_______ τυράννων χεῖρες.
reveal/hide answerΜακραὶ τυράννων χεῖρες.


Ἀλώπηξ οὐ δωροδοκεῖται.
A fox cannot be bribed.
The idea here is that foxes are sneaky. They would no doubt gladly accept your gifts, but that does not mean they will change their behavior. If you offer the fox a chicken to stay away from the henhouse, the fox will take the chicken... and still raid the henhouse! So, be careful if you are going to bribe someone: you don't want to bribe someone who is like the fox.



Δασύπους κρεῶν ἐπιθυμεῖ.
The rabbit craves meat.
On one level, the saying refers to something absurd and inappropriate: rabbits are herbivores, not carnivores. In a more subtle way, however, the saying refers a different absurdity: asking someone else for something that you already possess in abundance. Rabbits are hunted for meat; rabbits are meat, so a rabbit does not need to seek meat elsewhere! The word δασύπους is a nickname for the rabbit or hare: δασυ-πους, hairy-foot.



Ἄλλος βίος, ἄλλη δίαιτα.
A different life, a different lifestyle.
This has a simple literal meaning: different people have different lifestyles. In addition, as Erasmus explains, this saying applies to people whose life circumstances have changed (suddenly prosperous, or the opposite), and whose lifestyle then changes accordingly. The word δίαιτα is the origin of the English word diet.



Ἄρτι μῦς πίττης γεύεται.
The mouse is now tasting the pitch.
The verb γεύεται takes a genitive complement (have a taste "of"): πίττης. The saying is used by Demosthenes, and it alludes to a mousetrap in which the mouse is lured and trapped in sticky pitch. In other words: someone has just made a fatal mistake, one from which they cannot escape. The proverb appears in the LSJ entry for μῦς.



Μακραὶ τυράννων χεῖρες.
Long (are) the hands of tyrants.
Compare the English proverb, "Kings have long arms." In other words, kings, tyrants, etc. can exert their dangerous power at a distance. And yes, the English word "tyrant" comes from the Greek. Compare an expanded version in Benjamin Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanac: "Kings have long Arms, but Misfortune longer: Let none think themselves out of her Reach."




_______ οὐ δωροδοκεῖται.
reveal/hide answerἈλώπηξ οὐ δωροδοκεῖται.

_______ κρεῶν ἐπιθυμεῖ.
reveal/hide answerΔασύπους κρεῶν ἐπιθυμεῖ.

Ἄλλος _______, ἄλλη δίαιτα.
reveal/hide answerἌλλος βίος, ἄλλη δίαιτα.

Ἄρτι _______ πίττης γεύεται.
reveal/hide answerἌρτι μῦς πίττης γεύεται.

_______ τυράννων χεῖρες.
reveal/hide answerΜακραὶ τυράννων χεῖρες.


And to finish up, here's a random proverb and a random LOLCat too:




Click here to subscribe/unsubscribe to the email list.



No comments:

Post a Comment