List of Classical Greek phrases
This article lists direct English translations of common Classical Greek phrases.
Αα
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- 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).[1]
- Ἀεὶ Λιβύη φέρει τι καινόν.
- Aeì Libúē phérei ti kainón.
- "Libya always bears something new", Aristotle, History of Animals.
- Compare the Latin proverb ex Africa semper aliquid novi 'from Africa always something new', based on Pliny the Elder.
"A jackdaw is always found near a jackdaw"
- Ἀεὶ κολοιὸς παρὰ κολοιῷ ἱζάνει.
- Aeì koloiòs parà koloiôi hizánei.
- "A jackdaw is always found near a jackdaw"
- Similar to English "birds of a feather flock together."
- Ἀεὶ ὁ θεὸς γεωμετρεῖ.
- Aeì ho theòs geōmetreî.
- "God always geometrizes." — Plato
- Plutarch 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".[2] Based on the phrase of Plato, above, a present-day mnemonic for π (pi) was derived:
- Ἀεὶ ὁ θεὸς ὁ μέγας γεωμετρεῖ τὸ σύμπαν.
- Aeì ho theòs ho mégas geōmetreî tò súmpan.
- Always the great God applies geometry to the universe.
| ἀεὶ | ὁ | θεὸς | ὁ | μέγας | γεωμετρεῖ | τὸ | σύμπαν |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 letters | 1 letter | 4 letters | 1 letter | 5 letters | 9 letters | 2 letters | 6 letters |
- Ἀετοῦ γῆρας, κορυδοῦ νεότης.
- Aetoû gêras, korydoû neótēs.
- "An eagle's old age (is worth) a sparrow's youth."
- αἰὲν ἀριστεύειν
- aièn 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."