Week 24: Proverb and Vocabulary Review

Review Padlet. Here's the Proverb Padlet that contains the contents of the week's posts... and it displays at random each time you load the Padlet! That way you can use it as a randomizing-reviewer for the week. Here's a screenshot of this week's Padlet: Greek Proverbs Week 24.

And remember: you can put a Padlet on your phone so you can pop up a proverb at random whenever. There's a free Padlet app you can download if you want, but you don't need the app; you can just save the URL to your phone home screen (that's what I do). 

I hope you will enjoy this review option; random is a great way to review!

Audio. I've now added audio to all the posts for the past week; see the playlist below, and the audio is also embedded in each post: #76 - #77 - #78 - #79 - #80.

Below is a playlist with all the audio, but that playlist won't appear in the email; to access the playlist from the email, use this link: Proverbs Audio.

Laura Gibbs · Greek Vocabulary with Proverbs

Alphabetical Index. Finally, here is the list of all of this week's proverbs, alphabetized and linked back to the blog post so that you can access the English translation and commentary as needed. I've also updated the complete list of proverbs (400 total so far!).

• Ἁ δὲ χεὶρ την χεῖρα νίζει.
  
• Αἱ Ἰβύκου γέρανοι.
  
• Ἀνέμους γεωργεῖν.
  
• Ἄρκτου παρούσης, ἴχνη μὴ ζήτει.
  
• Ἀρχὴ σοφίας φόβος θεοῦ.
  
• Αὐτοὶ χελώνας ἐσθίετε.
  
• Βασιλεῖ νόμος ἄγραφος.
  
• Βοῶν ὦτα ἔχετε.
  
• Γλυκὺς ὕπνος τοῦ δούλου.
  
• Διομήδειος ἀνάγκη.
  
• Ἔργα νέων, βουλαὶ δὲ μέσων, εὐχαὶ δὲ γερόντων.
  
• Ζήνωνος ἐγκρατέστερος.
  
• Θεὸς διὰ πάντα τελευτᾷ.
  
• Κάθαμμα λύειν.
  
• Κακὸς ἀνὴρ μακρόβιος.
  
• Κοινὰ πάθη πάντων.
  
• Λύκος περὶ φρέαρ χορεύει.
  
• Λύχνον ἐν μεσημβρίᾳ ἅπτειν.
  
• Μήτηρ ἁπάντων γαῖα καὶ κοινὴ τροφός.
  
• Μυὸς ὄλεθρος.
  
• Ὁ Καρπάθιος τὸν λαγών.
  
• Ὄνος ἐν πιθήκοις.
  
• Ὅπου γὰρ ἡ λεοντῆ μὴ ἐφικνεῖται προσραπτέον ἐκεῖ τὴν ἀλωπεκῆν.
  
• Οὐκ ἐκπειράσεις κύριον τὸν θεόν σου.
  
• Σιγᾶν ἄμεινον ἢ λαλεῖν ἃ μὴ πρέπει.
  

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Daily Greek Vocabulary Challenge: Sept. 20

Here are today's vocabulary words; it's Group 80. Click on the word to learn more at Logeion:

ἐν (prep.+dat.): in, at

ἡ ~ τῆς (article f.): the

ὁ ~ τοῦ (article m.): the

περί (prep.+acc.): around, upon

ὅπου (adverb): where, wherever

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

Ὄνος ἐν πιθήκοις.

Αἱ Ἰβύκου γέρανοι.

Ὁ Καρπάθιος τὸν λαγών.

Λύκος περὶ φρέαρ χορεύει.

Ὅπου γὰρ ἡ λεοντῆ μὴ ἐφικνεῖται προσραπτέον ἐκεῖ τὴν ἀλωπεκῆν.

Laura Gibbs · Greek Proverbs: 080

And now, some commentary:

Ὄνος ἐν πιθήκοις.

A donkey among the monkeys.

The saying appears in a long fragment of Menander quoted by Aulus Gellius. It refers to someone, not very bright, who is being mocked and insulted by those around him, as the donkey is regularly an object of ridicule, while monkeys are proverbially rude. 

Αἱ Ἰβύκου γέρανοι.

The cranes of Ibycus.

This refers to a story about the lyric poet, Ibycus, whose murder was avenged by cranes. You can read the story in the Wikipedia article about Ibycus, which cites this proverb. The poet Schiller made this story the subject of a poem; here is an English translation. Note that the cranes, γέρανοι, are feminine (like many animal names, γέρανος is common gender). 

Ὁ Καρπάθιος τὸν λαγών.

The Carpathian (brought) the rabbit.

This is mentioned as a proverb in Aristotle's Rhetoric, and it was already known to Archilochus. The story goes that a Carpathian unwittingly imported a pair of rabbits onto the island (Κάρπαθος), and the rabbits multiplied, devastating the crops. Compare the rabbits in Australia.

Λύκος περὶ φρέαρ χορεύει.

The wolf is dancing around the well.

This saying actually made it into the LSJ Greek dictionary in the entry for the word λύκος, where they explain that it refers to someone doing something foolish, useless, etc. A wolf will not accomplish anything by dancing around a well; he might be thirsty, but he is not going to get anything to drink by dancing. Or, in another interpretation, if his prey has jumped into the well, he's not going to catch it now.

Ὅπου γὰρ ἡ λεοντῆ μὴ ἐφικνεῖται προσραπτέον ἐκεῖ τὴν ἀλωπεκῆν.

Where the lion skin cannot reach, apply there the skin of the fox.

In other words, when the lion's strength will not succeed, use the fox's cunning. Plutarch attributes the saying to the Spartan general Lysander, and the words are especially apt, because Lysander was rebuking those who said that the "descendants of Heracles" (Heracleidae) should not stoop to cunning, and the lion-skin was emblematic of Heracles. For more about Lysander, see Wikipedia (which cites this saying).

The Cranes of Ibycus

And here's a random proverb too:

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Daily Greek Vocabulary Challenge: Sept. 19

Here are today's vocabulary words; it's Group 79. Click on the word to learn more at Logeion:

λύω ~ λύσω ~ ἔλυσα: untie, release 

ἔχω ~ ἕξω ~ ἔσχον: have, hold 

τελευτάω ~ τελευτήσω ~ ἐτελεύτησα: fulfill, finish 

ἅπτω ~ ἅψω ~ ἧψα: light, kindle 

σιγάω ~ σιγήσω ~ ἐσίγησα: keep silent 

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

Κάθαμμα λύειν.

Βοῶν ὦτα ἔχετε.

Θεὸς διὰ πάντα τελευτᾷ.

Λύχνον ἐν μεσημβρίᾳ ἅπτειν.

Σιγᾶν ἄμεινον ἢ λαλεῖν ἃ μὴ πρέπει.

Laura Gibbs · Greek Proverbs: 079

And now, some commentary:

Κάθαμμα λύειν.

To loosen the knot.

As Erasmus explains, this is a reference to the legend of the Gordian knot, which you can read about also at Wikipedia. Alexander the Great famously cut the knot with his sword rather than figuring out how to untie it (see below). Compare this saying from an earlier blog post (in fact, the very first Greek proverb post at this blog!): Γόρδιος δεσμός.

Βοῶν ὦτα ἔχετε.

You have the ears of oxen.

The ox was proverbially slow-witted, so to have the "oxen ears" meant that someone did not understand what was being said. This proverb was used as a pun to make fun of Boeotians since "βοῶν ὦτα" sounds like Βοιωτοί, Boeotians. (The name Boeotia does come from "ox" βοῦς, but it has nothing to do with ears.)

This ancient joke appears in the ancient commentary on Horace's Epistles, "Boetians were considered to be slow-witted, as if βοῶν ὦτα ἔχοντες."

Θεὸς διὰ πάντα τελευτᾷ.

God brings all things to completion.

The words come from Homer's Iliad, when Agamemnon is basically blaming Zeus for his quarrel with Achilles. The word διὰ is not a preposition here; instead, it is functioning as an adverb; later, these adverbs attached themselves to the verbs as prefixes (δια-τελευτάω), but they were more free-floating in Homer. This is called tmesis, "cutting" of the verb; you can read more at Wikipedia: Tmesis. The root of the verb is τέλος, meaning the end or outcome, and you can see that Greek root in English teleology.

Λύχνον ἐν μεσημβρίᾳ ἅπτειν.

To light the lamp at midday.

This is a proverbially foolish and/or wasteful thing to do; compare the English saying "to burn daylight." You don't need a lamp when the sun is shining! There is an Aesop's fable based on this saying; you can read more about that fable here: The Lamp in Daylight.

Σιγᾶν ἄμεινον ἢ λαλεῖν ἃ μὴ πρέπει.

To be silent is better than to say things that are not appropriate.

The Greek infinitive, σιγᾶν, is a neuter noun, hence the neuter adjective, ἄμεινον (the masculine form is ἀμείνων). This is another one of Menander's monostichs; here is the iambic meter marked:

Σιγᾶν ἄμει|νον ἢ λαλεῖν | ἃ μὴ πρέπει.

Alexander cuts the knot

And here's a random proverb too:

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Daily Greek Vocabulary Challenge: Sept. 18

Here are today's vocabulary words; it's Group 78. Click on the word to learn more at Logeion:

ἀνάγκη ~ ἀνάγκης (noun f.): necessity

ἀρχή ~ ἀρχῆς (noun f.): beginning

χείρ ~ χειρὸς (noun f.): hand

ἄρκτος ~ ἄρκτου (noun f.): bear (animal)

γαῖα ~ γαίας (noun f.): earth, land

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

Διομήδειος ἀνάγκη.

Ἀρχὴ σοφίας φόβος θεοῦ.

Ἁ δὲ χεὶρ την χεῖρα νίζει.

Ἄρκτου παρούσης, ἴχνη μὴ ζήτει.

Μήτηρ ἁπάντων γαῖα καὶ κοινὴ τροφός.

Laura Gibbs · Greek Proverbs: 078

And now, some commentary:

Διομήδειος ἀνάγκη.

A Diomedian necessity.

This proverb is used for when people do things out of necessity, under compulsion as opposed to acting of their own free will. According to one interpretation, Diomedes of Thrace compelled his guests to sleep with his daughters who were, so the story goes, very unattractive. But some say instead that the saying refers to Diomedes, the son of Tydeus; according to fragments from the so-called Little Iliad,  Odysseus attempted to kill Diomedes on their night raid to steal the Palladium so that he could get all the glory for himself but Diomedes thwarted his plan and then bound Odysseus, compelling him to walk back to the Greek camp by hitting him with the flat of his sword. More details at Wikipedia: Diomedes and the Palladium.

Ἀρχὴ σοφίας φόβος θεοῦ.

The beginning of wisdom is the fear of God.

The saying comes from the Biblical Book of Proverbs. The Greek word ἀρχὴ has a wide range of meaning: it can mean first in terms of time (as in English "archaic") and it can also refer to first in status, hence authority, command, etc. (as in English words like archangel and other arch- words).

Ἁ δὲ χεὶρ την χεῖρα νίζει.

The hand washes the hand.

Compare the English saying, "One hand washes the other." The saying appears in a fragment of the comic writer Epicharmus. The complete verse line explains the meaning of the saying: Ἡ δὲ χεὶρ τὴν χεῖρα κνίζει, δός τι καὶ λάβοις τι, "give something and you'll get something." Another version of the saying in Greek cited by Erasmus is Χεὶρ χεῖρα νίπτει, δάκτυλός τε δάκτυλον, "Hand washes hand, and finger (washes) finger." From the Greek word χείρ we get the English word "chiropractor."

Ἄρκτου παρούσης, ἴχνη μὴ ζήτει.

The bear's right here; don't look for the tracks.

This is one of the fragments of the lyric poet Bacchylides.The fragment is preserved in the proverb collection of Zenobius; this bilingual Loeb edition has the rest of the fragments of Bacchylides if you are curious. The phrase ἅρκτου παρούσης is a genitive absolute, and you can see from the participle παρούσης that ἄρκτος is a feminine noun.

Μήτηρ ἁπάντων γαῖα καὶ κοινὴ τροφός.

Earth is the mother of all and (our) common nurturer.

This is another of the iambic monostichs of Menander; here's the meter marked:

Μήτηρ ἁπάν|των γαῖ-α καὶ | κοινὴ τροφός.
The word γαῖα is also the name of the Earth Goddess, Gaia: Wikipedia. The root gives us all the geo- words in English, like geology and geography, etc.

Diomedes and Odysseus stealing the Palladium

And here's a random proverb too:

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Daily Greek Vocabulary Challenge: Sept. 17

Here are today's vocabulary words; it's Group 77. Click on the word to learn more at Logeion:

ὄλεθρος ~ ὀλέθρου (noun m.): death, destruction

ἄνεμος ~ ἀνέμου (noun m.): wind, gale

αὐτός ~ αὐτοῦ (adj./pron. m.): he, himself

νόμος ~ νόμου (noun m.): custom, law

κύριος ~ κυρίου (noun m.): lord, master

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

Μυὸς ὄλεθρος.

Ἀνέμους γεωργεῖν.

Αὐτοὶ χελώνας ἐσθίετε.

Βασιλεῖ νόμος ἄγραφος.

Οὐκ ἐκπειράσεις κύριον τὸν θεόν σου.

Laura Gibbs · Greek Proverbs: 077

And now, some commentary:

Μυὸς ὄλεθρος.

The death of the mouse.

The mouse was proverbial for having an easy death, provided it dies of natural causes (and not in the claws of a cat or the talons of a bird). The proverbial saying is reported by Aelian in On the Nature of Animals, and the phrase also appears in the comic poet Menander. The Greek noun ὄλεθρος is related to the verb ὄλλυμι, and in Homer, the noun appears in the formulaic expression αἰπὺς ὄλεθρος, usually translated as "sheer destruction." For more about the origin and meaning of the Homeric phrase see the discussion in Simon Pulleyn's essay, A Linguistic Approach to Classics.

Ἀνέμους γεωργεῖν.

To farm the winds.

This is another proverbial fool's errand. You are supposed to farm the earth, which is literally what the word means: the γεωργός, "farmer," is someone does work ἔργον on the earth γεω-. Nothing will come of farming the winds. Of course, now in the 21st century we do have wind-farms! From the Greek word ἄνεμος we get English "anemometer" which measures the speed of the wind. And from Greek farming, we get the name George in English.

Αὐτοὶ χελώνας ἐσθίετε.

Eat the turtles yourselves!

A fuller form of the saying is Αὐτοὶ χελώνας ἐσθίεθ᾿ οἵπερ εἵλετε, "Eat the turtles yourselves, you who caught them." This is from a story about Hermes and some fishermen, as Erasmus explains: the fishermen had caught more turtles than they could eat, so when Hermes came by, they offered him some turtles to eat, but he realized their hospitality was not sincere, just convenient, so he told them to eat the turtles themselves. 

Βασιλεῖ νόμος ἄγραφος.

For the king, the law (is) not written.

In other words, the law does not apply to the king. There is a fuller form of this proverb also: Μωρῷ καὶ βασιλεῖ νόμος ἄγραφος, in which the fool, μωρός, like the king, is outside the rule of the written law. The Greek word νόμος gives us the English words with -mony as a suffix, like economy, astronomy, etc. And, yes, the plant "basil" does get its name from Greek βασιλεύς; it is βασιλικόν φυτόν, the royal plant.

Οὐκ ἐκπειράσεις κύριον τὸν θεόν σου.

You will not tempt the LORD your god.

The words come from the Gospel of Luke and the Gospel of Matthew, when Jesus rebuked the devil who tempted him during his 40 days in the desert. Both Gospel writers are quoting from the Book of Deuteronomy. The use in Greek of κύριος without a definite article is a signal that the word is being ritually substituted for the sacred name of God, the tetragrammaton; that's why I have followed the convention of printing LORD in all-caps. In this, Greek Christians (and presumably Greek Jews before them) were following the Hebrew convention of substituting "Adonai" for the tetragrammaton in their reading of the scriptures; more about Adonai. (And yes, the Greek name Adonis, Ἄδωνις, comes from the same Semitic root.)

Temptation of Christ

And here's a random proverb too:

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Daily Greek Vocabulary Challenge: Sept. 16

Here are today's vocabulary words; it's Group 76. Click on the word to learn more at Logeion:

πᾶς ~ παντός (adj. masc.): all, every

κακός ~ κακοῦ (adj. masc.): bad, evil

ἐγκρατής ~ ἐγκρατοῦς (adj. masc.): having mastery, self-controlled

γλυκὺς ~ γλυκέος (adj. masc.): sweet, pleasant

μέσος  ~ μέσου (adj. masc.): middle, middle age

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

Κοινὰ πάθη πάντων.

Κακὸς ἀνὴρ μακρόβιος.

Ζήνωνος ἐγκρατέστερος.

Γλυκὺς ὕπνος τοῦ δούλου.

Ἔργα νέων, βουλαὶ δὲ μέσων, εὐχαὶ δὲ γερόντων.

Laura Gibbs · Greek Proverbs: 076

And now, some commentary:

Κοινὰ πάθη πάντων.

Suffering is common to all.

These words come from the "gnomai" supposedly composed by Phocylides, the 6th-century B.C.E. poet, although the work is now usually attributed to a pseudo-Phocylides, and perhaps composed as late as the 1st century C.E. by a Jewish writer. Here are the complete "gnomai" of pseudo-Phocylides if you are curious.

Κακὸς ἀνὴρ μακρόβιος.

The wicked man lives a long time.

Compare the English saying, "Only the good die young." (Or the less well-known English saying, "A creaking door hangs long on its hinges.") You can see the Greek root κακ- in the English word "cacophony," and English "macrobiotic" is from μακρό-βιος.

Ζήνωνος ἐγκρατέστερος.

More self-controlled than Zeno.

The Zeno in this saying is not the Zeno famous for his paradoxes (that's Zeno of Elea), but instead Zeno the Stoic philosopher, called Zeno of Citium. This proverbial saying about the Stoic Zeno is reported by Diogenes Laertius. The word ἐγκρατέστερος is the comparative form of  ἐγκρατής, hence the genitive complement: Ζήνωνος. From Greek ἐγκρατής comes the English word Encratites, which referred to early ascetic Christians who practiced sexual abstinence and did not eat meat.

Γλυκὺς ὕπνος τοῦ δούλου.

Sweet is the sleep of the slave.

The words come from the Biblical Book of Ecclesiastes. Here is the full verse in the King James version: The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep. From the Greek root γλυκ- we get all the scientific terms formed with glyc- in English like hypoglycemia or nitroglycerin.

Ἔργα νέων, βουλαὶ δὲ μέσων, εὐχαὶ δὲ γερόντων.

Deeds (are) for the young, plans for the middle-aged, and prayers for the old.

This is one of the fragments of Hesiod, and there is a hilarious story in Strabo about Athenodorus Cananites which features a parody of this saying: ἔργα νέων, βουλαὶ δὲ μέσων, πορδαὶ δὲ γερόντων — the word πορδή means "fart" (and, yes, the Greek and English words are both from the same Indo-European root!). You can read the whole story in Strabo here; just click on "load" to see the English translation side by side with Strabo in Greek.

Zeno of Citium

And here's a random proverb too:

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