List of Greek phrases

rdf:langString List of Greek phrases

rdf:langString (h)a ἀγεωμέτρητος μηδεὶς εἰσίτω.Ageōmétrētos mēdeìs eisítō."Let no one untrained in geometry enter."Motto over the entrance to Plato's Academy (quoted in Elias' commentary on Aristotle's Categories: Eliae in Porphyrii Isagogen et Aristotelis categorias commentaria, CAG XVIII.1, Berlin 1900, p. 118.13–19).ἀεὶ Λιβύη φέρει τι καινόνAeì Libýē phérei ti kainón."Libya always bears something new", Aristotle, Historia Animalium.Compare Latin Ex Africa semper aliquid novi "From Africa always something new", Pliny.ἀεὶ κολοιὸς παρὰ κολοιῷ ἱζάνειAeì koloiòs parà koloiôi hizánei."A jackdaw is always found near a jackdaw"Similar to English "birds of a feather flock together."ἀεὶ ὁ θεὸς γεωμετρεῖAei ho theos geōmetreî."God always geometrizes" — PlatoPlutarch elaborated on this phrase in his essay Πῶς Πλάτων ἔλεγε τὸν θεὸν ἀεί γεωμετρεῖν "What is Plato’s meaning when he says that God always applies geometry". Based on the phrase of Plato, above, a present-day mnemonic for π (pi) was derived:ἀεὶ ὁ θεὸς ὁ μέγας γεωμετρεῖ τὸ σύμπανAeì ho theòs ho mégas geōmetreî tò sýmpan.Always the great God applies geometry to the universe ἀετοῦ γῆρας, κορυδοῦ νεότηςAetoû gêras, korydoû neótēs."An eagle's old age (is worth) a sparrow's youth".αἰὲν ἀριστεύεινaièn aristeúein“Ever to Excel“Motto of the University of St Andrews (founded 1410), the Edinburgh Academy (founded 1824), and Boston College (founded 1863). The source is the sixth book of Homer's Iliad, (Iliad 6. 208) in a speech Glaucus delivers to Diomedes:"Hippolocus begat me. I claim to be his son, and he sent me to Troy with strict instructions: Ever to excel, to do better than others, and to bring glory to your forebears, who indeed were very great ... This is my ancestry; this is the blood I am proud to inherit."αἴκαaika."If."Plutarch reports that Philip II of Macedon sent word to the Spartans, saying that "if I should invade Laconia, I shall drive you out" (ἂν ἐμβάλω εἰς τὴν Λακωνικήν, ἀναστάτους ὑμᾶς ποιήσω). The Spartans laconically responded with "if."ἀνάγκᾳ δ’ οὐδὲ θεοὶ μάχονταιAnánkāi d'oudè theoì mákhontai."Not even the gods fight necessity" — Simonides, 8, 20.ἀλλὰ τί ἦ μοι ταῦτα περὶ δρῦν ἢ περὶ πέτρην;allá ti ēi moi taúta perí drun ē perí pétrēn."But why all this about oak or stone?"English : Why waste time on trivial subjects, or "Why make a mountain out of a mole hill?"Hesiod, Theogony, 35.ἀνδρῶν γὰρ ἐπιφανῶν πᾶσα γῆ τάφοςAndrôn gàr epiphanôn pâsa gê táphos.For illustrious men have the whole earth for their tomb. Pericles' Funeral Oration from Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War 2.43.3ἀνερρίφθω κύβοςAnerrhíphthō kýbos.Alea iacta est.Latin: "The die has been cast"; Greek: "Let the die be cast."Julius Caesar as reported by Plutarch, when he entered Italy with his army in 49 BC. Translated into Latin by Suetonius as alea iacta est.ἄνθρωπος μέτρονÁnthrōpos métron."Man [is] the measure [of all things]"Motto of Protagoras (as quoted in Plato's Theaetetus 152a).ἅπαξ λεγόμενονHápax legómenon."Once said"A word that only occurs once.ἀπὸ μηχανῆς ΘεόςApò mēkhanês TheósDeus ex machina"God from the machine"The phrase originates from the way deity figures appeared in ancient Greek theaters, held high up by a machine, to solve a problem in the plot.ἀπὸ τοῦ ἡλίου μετάστηθιApò toû hēlíou metástēthi"Stand a little out of my sun"Legendary reply of Diogenes the Cynic when Alexander the Great asked him if he had any wish he desired to fulfil — version recounted by Plutarchἄριστον μὲν ὕδωρÁriston mèn hýdōr."Greatest however [is] water" — Pindar, Olymp. 1, 1Used as the inscription over the Pump Room at Bath.αὐτὸς ἔφαautòs éphaIpse dixit"He himself said it"Argument from authority made by the disciples of Pythagoras when appealing to the pronouncements of the master rather than to reason or evidence. The Latin translation of the phrase comes from Marcus Tullius Cicero in De Natura Deorum (On the Nature of the Gods)