List of Greek phrases
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List of Greek Phrases/Proverbs
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Αα
(h)a
- Ageōmetrētos mēdeis eisitō.
- "Let no-one without knowledge of geometry enter". Motto over the entrance to Plato's Academy (quoted in Elias' coommentary on Aristotle's Categories.
- Aei Libyē pherei ti kakon / kainon.
- "Libya always bears something evil / new", Aristotle, Historia Animailum. (Cf. Latin Ex Africa semper aliquid novi, "From Africa always something new".)
- Aei koloios para koloiōi hizanei.
- "A jackdaw is always found near a jackdaw", i.e. birds of a kind flock together.
- Aëtou gēras, korudou neotēs.
- "An eagle's old age (is worth) a sparrow's youth".
- Anankāi d'oude theoi makhontai.
- "Even the Gods do not fight necessity", Simonides, 8, 20.
- Anthrōpos metron.
- "Man the measure (of all things)", motto of Protagoras.
- "Once said", i.e. a word that only occurs once in a text or body of literature.
- Ariston men hydōr.
- "Greatest however is water", Pindar, Olymp. 1, 1. Used as the insription over the Pump Room at Bath.
Ββ
b
- Brōma theōn.
- "Food of the gods" — allegedly said by Nero of the poisoned mushrooms with which his mother Agrippina the younger murdered Claudius.
Γγ
g
- Glauk’ Athēnazde / Glauk’ eis Athēnas.
- Gnōthi seauton.
Δδ
d
Εε
(h)e
- Hen oida hoti ouden oida
Ζζ
z
Ηη
(h)ē
Θθ
th
- Thalassa kai pūr kai gunē, kaka tria.
- "Sea and fire and woman, three evils."
Ιι
(h)i
- Iēsous Christos Theou Huios Sōtēr
- "Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour." As an acronym: ΙΧΘΥΣ (Ichthys) — "fish".
Κκ
k, c
- Kakou korakos kakon ōön.
- "From a bad crow, a bad egg", i.e. like father, like son.
- Kakos anêr makrobios
- "A bad man lives long"
- Kallistēi
- "For the prettiest one", "To the most beautiful", from the myth of the golden apple.
- Kurie eleēson.
- "Lord have mercy" — a very common phrase in Greek Orthodox liturgies, and also used in Greek (but transliterated as kyrie eleison) in the Roman Catholic Mass.
Λλ
l
Λάθε βιώσας
- Lathe biosas
- "Live in obscurity", an Epicurean phrase.
Μμ
m
- Mē genoito.
- "Let it not be!" / "Heaven forfend!" — phrase used frequently by St Paul.
Νν
n
Ξξ
x
Οο
(h)o
- Ou phrontis Hippokleidēi.
- "Hippocleides doesn't care." From a story in Herodotus (6.129), in which Hippocleides loses the chance to marry Cleisthenes' daughter after getting drunk and dancing on his head. Herodotus says the phrase was a common expression in his own day.
Ππ
p
- Pistis, elpis, agapē
- "Faith, hope, (and) charity." (1 Corinthians, 13, 13.)
Ρρ
r(h)
- Rhododaktylos Ēōs
- "Rosy-fingered dawn." Occurs frequently in the Homeric poems.
Σσ
s
- Speude bradeōs.
- "Hasten slowly" (cf. Latin festina lente), "less haste, more speed".
Ττ
t
- To gar hēdu, ean polu, ou ti ge hēdu.
- "A sweet thing tasted too often is no longer sweet."
Υυ
(h)u, (h)y
- Hysteron proteron
- "The latter one first".
Φφ
ph
Χχ
kh, ch
Ψψ
ps
Ωω
(h)ō