# data[].attributes.headline
Ἰσχύς μου ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ λαοῦ.

# data[].attributes.subject
Ἰσχύς μου ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ λαοῦ.

# data[].attributes.body
Ἰσχύς μου ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ λαοῦ.

The people's love is my strength.

This was the royal motto of the Kingdom of Greece in the 19th and 20th centuries, appearing in the coat of arms; you can find out more at Wikipedia: Coat of arms of Greece. See the image page at Wikipedia.

# data[].attributes.headline
Νόμος ὁ πάντων βασιλεύς.

# data[].attributes.subject
Νόμος ὁ πάντων βασιλεύς.

# data[].attributes.body
Law is the king of all.

The words are from the poet Pindar and are quoted in Plato's Gorgias. The word πάντων could refer to things or to people (so I chose the ambiguous "all" in English), but the next line of Pindar's ode makes it clear that he referring to "everyone," not "everything" — θνατῶν τε καὶ ἀθανάτων, "both mortals and immortals." From the Greek root of βασιλ- we get English words like basil and basilica.

# data[].attributes.headline
Αἰσώπειον αἷμα.

# data[].attributes.subject
Αἰσώπειον αἷμα.

# data[].attributes.body
The blood of Aesop.

This refers to someone who is unjustly accused, as Aesop was unjustly accused and executed by the Delphians; the story is told in the "Life of Aesop," an ancient Greek novel about the storyteller Aesop. When Aesop went to Delphi, he insulted the inhabitants, and they got their revenge on him by planting a sacred object from the temple in his baggage and then accusing him of theft. Greek αἷμα gives us the hemo- words in English medicine like hemoglobin and hemorrhage.

# data[].attributes.headline
Βοιώτιος νοῦς.

# data[].attributes.subject
Βοιώτιος νοῦς.

# data[].attributes.body
The mind of a Boeotian.

This proverbial saying referred to someone who was ignorant or stupid; such was the reputation of people from Boeotia, a region in central Greece. You could also find the sentiment expressed in this form: Ἡ Βοιωτία ὗς, a Boeotian pig. The Greek phrase lives on in French, where the insulting term béotien means someone who is a country bumpkin, unsophisticated (compare the English use of "philistine," lower-case p).

# data[].attributes.body
Use your skill.

The word χρῶ is a middle imperative from the contract verb χράομαι, which takes a dative complement: τέχνῃ. This is another of the maxims Stobaeus attributes to the Seven Sages. The Greek root τέχν- gives us all the English tech- words. It is related to the word for weaving in Latin, texo (which gives us English words like textile and text).

# data[].attributes.headline
Ἅπας μὲν αἰθὴρ αἰετῷ περάσιμος.

# data[].attributes.subject
Ἅπας μὲν αἰθὴρ αἰετῷ περάσιμος.

# data[].attributes.body
All the sky is open to the eagle.

This is a fragment from the Phaethon of Euripides, and the following line of the fragment reads: ἅπασα δὲ χθὼν ἀνδρὶ γενναίῳ πατρίς, "all the earth is a fatherland for a noble man," which is a saying discussed in an earlier blog post. These lines are also in iambic meter:

Ἅπας | μὲν αἰ||θὴρ αἰ|ετῷ || περά|σιμος,

ἅπα|σα δὲ || χθὼν ἀν|δρὶ γεν||ναίῳ | πατρίς.

# data[].attributes.headline
Ἅπαντα τοῖς σοφοῖσιν εὔκολα.

# data[].attributes.subject
Ἅπαντα τοῖς σοφοῖσιν εὔκολα.

# data[].attributes.body
All things are easy for those who are wise.

The adjective εὔκολα is a compound: εὔ-κολα. It is clear that εὔ means "well" or "good," but it is not clear what the κολ- part of the adjective refers to. In any case, the word means easy: easy-going, easily satisfied, easy to understand, etc. Erasmus points out that if you add " Ἔστιν δ᾿" to the beginning, the result is an iambic senarius:

Ἔστιν | δ᾿ ἅπαν||τα τοῖς | σοφοῖ||σιν εὔ|κολα.

# data[].attributes.headline
Δωδωναῖον χαλκεῖον.

# data[].attributes.subject
Δωδωναῖον χαλκεῖον.

# data[].attributes.body
A bronze (bell) of Dodona.

This saying referred to a noisy person, as if they were as loud as the famous bronze bell or cymbal of Dodona (an oracle site in northern Greece) that rang out whenever the wind blew; another source tells us that the oracle spoke through a series of interconnected kettle drums made of bronze, such that when any one of them was struck, they all resounded. In any case, something noisy was going on at the oracle of Dodona! Find out more at Wikipedia: Dodona.

# data[].attributes.headline
Δεύτερος πλοῦς.

# data[].attributes.subject
Δεύτερος πλοῦς.

# data[].attributes.body
The second (way of) sailing.

This referred to sailing by the power of rowing, rather than with the wind. Obviously, it's more work — but you still get there, so the saying refers to a next-best route to success, one that might take more effort on your part. You can see the Greek root of δεύτερος in Deuteronomy, the "second book of the law" in the Hebrew Bible; see Wikipedia: Deuteronomy.

# data[].attributes.headline
Φρόνει θνητά.

# data[].attributes.subject
Φρόνει θνητά.

# data[].attributes.body
Think mortal thoughts.

This is a kind of "memento mori" but in Greek, the idea being that you should think in mortal terms, taking the certainty of your own death into account. It is another one of the maxims recorded by Stobaeus; more at Wikipedia: Delphic maxims. You can see the root of Greek θνητ- in the verb θνῄσκω and the noun θάνατος. The root also shows up in the English word euthanasia.

# data[].attributes.headline
Ἀπώλεσας τὸν οἶνον ἐπιχέας ὕδωρ.

# data[].attributes.subject
Ἀπώλεσας τὸν οἶνον ἐπιχέας ὕδωρ.

# data[].attributes.body
By adding water, you've wrecked the wine.

This refers to a situation that was going well until something went wrong; in particular, it refers to someone who does something deceptive or furtive, hoping no one would notice... but they do! The wine doesn't taste right after it's been watered down. This is a fragment from Aristias, a writer of satyr plays; you can find out more about this tradition at Wikipedia: Satyr plays.

# data[].attributes.headline
Οὐκ ἔστιν εὖ ἄρξειν μὴ ἀρχθέντα.

# data[].attributes.subject
Οὐκ ἔστιν εὖ ἄρξειν μὴ ἀρχθέντα.

# data[].attributes.body
Someone who has not been ruled will not be able to rule well.

This saying depends on the contrast between the act of ruling (ἄρξειν is a future active infinitive) and the act of being ruled (ἀρχθέντα is an an aorist passive participle; in the accusative, it provides the subject of the infinitive). For a discussion, see Erasmus, who cites this and similar sayings from a variety of Greek and Romans sources. The root ἀρχ- gives us roots relating to the basic meaning of "beginning, original" as in English archaic and also the meaning of "rule" as in English monarchy.

# data[].attributes.headline
Ἀρχὴ ἄνδρα δείκνυσιν. 

# data[].attributes.subject
Ἀρχὴ ἄνδρα δείκνυσιν. 

# data[].attributes.body
Rule reveals the man.

In other words, when you put someone in charge of something (ἀρχή is the notion of being "first" and then, by extension, it means the power that comes from being at the head of something, being in charge; see next saying), you see what kind of man he is. This is one of the sayings attributed to Pittacus, who was one of the Seven Sages; you can find out more at Wikipedia: Pittacus of Mytilene.

# data[].attributes.headline
Εἰς ὕδωρ σπείρεις.

# data[].attributes.subject
Εἰς ὕδωρ σπείρεις.

# data[].attributes.body
You're sowing in water.

This is a fool's errand: seed should be planted in the earth, not water. In particular, this refers to someone doing favors for a person who is not going to ever return the favor. Compare a version in Theognis where someone is foolishly sowing seed in the hoar-salt sea: σπείρειν πόντον ἁλὸς πολιῆς.

# data[].attributes.headline
Γλῶτταν ἴσχε.

# data[].attributes.subject
Γλῶτταν ἴσχε.

# data[].attributes.body
Control your tongue.

This is another one of the sayings Stobaeus attributes to the Seven Sages; see more at Wikipedia: Delphic maxims. The spelling γλῶτταν is Attic; you also see γλῶσσαν. We get English words from both Greek spellings, including glottal stops and glossary. (But beware: English gloss and glossy are from a Germanic root meaning "glow.")

# data[].attributes.headline
Καὶ ἐγὼ αὐτὸς ἄνθρωπός εἰμι.

# data[].attributes.subject
Καὶ ἐγὼ αὐτὸς ἄνθρωπός εἰμι.

# data[].attributes.body
I too am human.

The words come from the Book of Acts when Cornelius has had a vision of an angel; then, when he meets Peter, he reacts as if Peter were an angel likewise, and Peter corrects his misunderstanding with these words. You can find out more at Wikipedia: Acts 10. The word καί is being used adverbially here: I too (like you) am a human (not an angel).

# data[].attributes.headline
Οὐδεὶς φίλος ᾧ πολλοὶ φίλοι.

# data[].attributes.subject
Οὐδεὶς φίλος ᾧ πολλοὶ φίλοι.

# data[].attributes.body
The one who has many friends has no friend.

The words are from Aristotle's Eudemian Ethics. He worried about the nature of real friendship long before the advent of "Facebook friends" who might be many in number but not in reality. In English we "have" friends, but in Greek, this kind of possession is expressed with the dative — ᾧ — literally: to whom there are many friends, ᾧ πολλοὶ φίλοι, there is no friend, οὐδεὶς φίλος.

# data[].attributes.headline
Ὃ ποιεῖς ποίησον τάχιον.

# data[].attributes.subject
Ὃ ποιεῖς ποίησον τάχιον.

# data[].attributes.body
That which you do, do (very) quickly.

The adverb τάχιον is the comparative form of ταχύ; as often, the neuter adjective is being used as an adverb. The words come from the Gospel of John, when Jesus dismisses Judas from the Last Supper, knowing that Judas will betray him.

# data[].attributes.headline
Κινδύνευε φρονίμως.

# data[].attributes.subject
Κινδύνευε φρονίμως.

# data[].attributes.body
Take risks wisely.

This is one of those maxims attributed by Stobaeus to the Seven Sages. The adverb φρονίμως is from the adjective φρόνιμος, which is in turn from the noun φρήν, often found in the plural φρένες, which gives rise to a range of important words in Greek; you can see a list of derived words at the Wiktionary.

# data[].attributes.headline
Παρ᾿ ὄνῳ λυρίζεις.

# data[].attributes.subject
Παρ᾿ ὄνῳ λυρίζεις.

# data[].attributes.body
You're making music for a donkey.

This is yet another Greek proverb about the mismatch between donkeys and the music of the lyre. To have a donkey for your audience means, metaphorically, that you are wasting your time; the person you are speaking to cannot appreciate what you are saying. See this earlier post: Ὄνος λύρας ἀκούων κινεῖ τὰ ὦτα — and also this one: Τί γὰρ κοινὸν λύρᾳ καὶ ὄνῳ;

# data[].attributes.headline
Τῷ μὲν κλέος, ἄμμι δὲ πένθος.

# data[].attributes.subject
Τῷ μὲν κλέος, ἄμμι δὲ πένθος.

# data[].attributes.body
For him, glory; for us, grief.

The words are from Homer's Iliad. Agamemnon is speaking about the wound his brother Menelaus has suffered in battle: that wound brought glory on the Trojan warrior Pandarus, but grief to the Greeks.

# data[].attributes.headline
Πρὸς κέντρα λακτίζεις.

# data[].attributes.subject
Πρὸς κέντρα λακτίζεις.

# data[].attributes.body
You are kicking against the goads.

This refers to recalcitrant animals, and metaphorically to recalcitrant humans. You can see the phrase in Euripides' Bacchae, when Dionysus is speaking to Pentheus, admonishing a mortal not to struggle against the power of a god. This classical Greek phrase also appears in the Biblical Book of Acts: "it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks."

# data[].attributes.headline
Ἀτρέως ὄμματα.

# data[].attributes.subject
Ἀτρέως ὄμματα.

# data[].attributes.body
The eyes of Atreus.

This refers to someone with a cruel look, like the wicked Atreus who tricked his twin brother, Thyestes, into eating his own sons in a stew. When Thyestes was done eating, Atreus then brought out the dead boys' hands and feet to reveal their identities (see medieval illustration below). Agamemnon and Thyestes are the sons of Atreus, i.e. Atreides. Find out more at Wikipedia: Atreus.

# data[].attributes.headline
Διὸς ἐγκέφαλος.

# data[].attributes.subject
Διὸς ἐγκέφαλος.

# data[].attributes.body
Zeus's brains.

This Greek phrase was used to refer to rare and costly food; it appears in Athenaeus' Deipnosophistae, and it actually shows up in the LSJ entry for ἐγκέφαλος. From the Greek ἐγκέφαλος we get English encephalitis, inflammation of the brain.

# data[].attributes.headline
Πρόνοιαν τίμα.

# data[].attributes.subject
Πρόνοιαν τίμα.

# data[].attributes.body
Honor foresight.

The Greek πρόνοια is from the verb προνοέω. You can see a wide range of νοέω derivatives at Wiktionary. This is another one of the maxims attributed by Stobaeus to the Seven Sages.

# data[].attributes.body
Link to this Padlet. The posts are re-ordered at random each time you refresh the page.

Link to Slideshow view. You'll start at a random point in the slideshow each time too!

Link to the blog posts for this week.

You can get a Padlet app for your phone too, or save the browser version as a widget.

Go back to Week 34. Go ahead to Week 36.

See all the Greek Proverb Padlets.