View source for List of Classical Greek phrases

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This article lists direct English [[translation]]s of common [[Classical Greek]] phrases. 

==Αα==
[[File:"The School of Athens" by Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino.jpg|thumb|''[[The School of Athens]]''. Fresco by [[Raphael]] (1510–1511)]]
;{{lang|grc|Ἀγεωμέτρητος μηδεὶς εἰσίτω.}}
:''Ageōmétrētos mēdeìs eisítō.''
:"Let no one untrained in [[geometry]] enter."
:Motto over the entrance to [[Platonic Academy|Plato's Academy]] (quoted in [[Elias (commentator)|Elias]]' commentary on Aristotle's ''[[Categories (Aristotle)|Categories]]'': ''Eliae in Porphyrii Isagogen et Aristotelis categorias commentaria'', ''[[Commentaria in Aristotelem Graeca|CAG]]'' XVIII.1, Berlin 1900, p. [https://archive.org/stream/inporphyriiisago00elia#page/118/mode/2up 118].13–19).<ref>[[:fr:Henri Dominique Saffrey|Henri-Dominique Saffrey]], [http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/reg_0035-2039_1968_num_81_384_1013 "Ἀγεωμέτρητος μηδεὶς εἰσίτω. Une inscription légendaire."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924215802/http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/reg_0035-2039_1968_num_81_384_1013 |date=2015-09-24 }} In: ''Revue des études grecques'' '''81''' (1968, pp. 67–87), p. 81.</ref>
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;{{lang|grc|Ἀεὶ Λιβύη φέρει τι καινόν}}.
:''Aeì Libúē phérei ti kainón.''
:"Libya always bears something new", [[Aristotle]], ''[[History of Animals]]''.
:Compare the [[Latin]] proverb ''[[List of Latin phrases (E)#ex Africa semper aliquid novi|ex Africa semper aliquid novi]]'' 'from Africa always something new', based on [[Pliny the Elder]].
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[[File:Corvus monedula3.jpg|thumb|{{lang|grc|Ἀεὶ κολοιὸς παρὰ κολοιῷ ἱζάνει}}<br>"A [[jackdaw]] is always found near a jackdaw"]]
;{{lang|grc|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."
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[[File:Oxyrhynchus papyrus with Euclid's Elements.jpg|thumb|Papyrus, dated 75–125 A.D. describing one of the oldest diagrams of [[Euclid's Elements]]]]
;{{lang|grc|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".<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080815001514/http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/p/plutarch/symposiacs/chapter8.html#section80 Symposiacs Problem VIII, 2], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2008.01.0311%3Astephpage%3D718c&highlight=a)ei/%2Cgewmetrei%3Dn Quaestiones Convivales (718b-)718c at PerseusProject (in Greek)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210606225948/https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:2008.01.0311:stephpage=718c&highlight=a)ei/,gewmetrei=n |date=2021-06-06 }}, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2008.01.0312%3Abook%3D8%3Achapter%3D2%3Asection%3D1 Quaestiones Convivales 8.2.1 at PerseusProject (in English)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210606225955/https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:2008.01.0312:book%3D8:chapter%3D2:section%3D1 |date=2021-06-06 }} Note: All three references, Symposiacs Problem VIII-2, Quaestiones Convivales (718b-)718c and Quaestiones Convivales 8.2.1 point to the same work and passage)</ref> Based on the  phrase of Plato, above, a present-day mnemonic for [[pi|π (pi)]] was derived:
:;{{lang|grc|Ἀεὶ ὁ θεὸς ὁ μέγας γεωμετρεῖ τὸ σύμπαν}}.
:''Aeì ho theòs ho mégas geōmetreî tò súmpan''.<!-- Longer version: "Αεί ο Θεός ο Μέγας γεωμετρεί, το κύκλου μήκος ίνα ορίση διαμέτρω, παρήγαγεν αριθμόν απέραντον, καί όν, φεύ, ουδέποτε όλον θνητοί θα εύρωσι"  -->
: Always the great God applies geometry to the universe.
{| class="wikitable"
|+π = 3.1415926...
|- style="background-color:#f8f8f8" class="polytonic"
! ἀεὶ !! ὁ !! θεὸς !! ὁ !! μέγας !! γεωμετρεῖ !! τὸ !! σύμπαν
|-
| 3 letters || 1 letter|| 4 letters || 1 letter || 5 letters || 9 letters || 2 letters ||6 letters
|}

;{{lang|grc|Ἀετοῦ γῆρας, κορυδοῦ νεότης}}.
:''Aetoû gêras, korydoû neótēs''.
:"An eagle's old age (is worth) a sparrow's youth."

[[File:Bapst engraving of BC motto.jpg|thumb|''Aἰὲν ἀριστεύειν'' motto, Depicted on engraving at the [[Boston College]]]]
;{{lang|grc|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 (soldier)|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.''"

;{{lang|grc|Αἴκα}}.
:''Aíka''.
:"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 [[Laconic phrase|laconically]] responded with "''if''."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Plutarch, De garrulitate, section 17 |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:2008.01.0287:section=17 |access-date=2023-12-17 |website=www.perseus.tufts.edu |archive-date=2024-01-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240116171119/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2008.01.0287%3Asection%3D17 |url-status=live }}</ref>

;{{lang|grc|Ἀνάγκᾳ δ’ οὐδὲ θεοὶ μάχονται}}.
:''Anánkāi d' oudè theoì mákhontai''.
:"Not even the gods fight against necessity." — [[Simonides of Ceos|Simonides]], 8, 20.

;{{lang|grc|Ἀλλὰ τὶ ἦ μοι ταῦτα περὶ δρῦν ἢ περὶ πέτρην;}}
:''Allà tì êi moi taûta perì drûn ḕ perì 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.

;{{lang|grc|Ἀνδρῶν γὰρ ἐπιφανῶν πᾶσα γῆ τάφος}}.
:''Andrôn 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]]'' 2.43.3

[[File:Crossing the Rubicon (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|[[Julius Caesar]] [[crossing the Rubicon]]]]
;{{lang|grc|Ἀνεῤῥίφθω κύβος}}.
:''Anerrhíphthō kúbos''.
:''[[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]].

;{{lang|grc|Ἄνθρωπος μέτρον}}.
:''Ánthrōpos métron''.
:"Man [is] the measure [of all things]"
:Motto of [[Protagoras]] (as quoted in Plato's ''[[Theaetetus (dialogue)|Theaetetus]]'' 152a).

;{{lang|grc|ἅπαξ λεγόμενον}}
:''[[hapax legomenon|hápax legómenon]]''
:"Once said"
:A word that only occurs once.

;{{lang|grc|ἀπὸ μηχανῆς Θεός}}
:''apò mēkhanês Theós''
:''[[Deus 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.

[[File:Beaux-Arts de Carcassonne - Alexandre et Diogène - Jacques Gamelin.jpg|thumb|{{lang|grc|"Ἀπὸ τοῦ ἡλίου μετάστηθι"}} — [[Diogenes the Cynic]] — in a 1763 painting by [[Jacques Gamelin]]]]
;{{lang|grc|Ἀπὸ τοῦ ἡλίου μετάστηθι}}.
:''Apò toû hēlíou metástēthi.''
:"Stand a little out of my sun."
:[[Diogenes and Alexander|Legendary reply]] of [[Diogenes the Cynic]] when [[Alexander the Great]] asked him if he had any wish he desired to fulfil — version recounted by Plutarch<ref>{{Cite web |title=Plutarch, Alexander, chapter 14, section 3 |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:2008.01.0129:chapter=14:section=3 |access-date=2023-12-17 |website=www.perseus.tufts.edu |archive-date=2024-02-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240225035808/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2008.01.0129%3Achapter%3D14%3Asection%3D3 |url-status=live }}</ref>
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[[File:Ariston men hydor 1.jpg|thumb|{{lang|grc|ἄριστον μὲν ὕδωρ}}; Pump Room at [[Bath, Somerset|Bath]]]]
;{{lang|grc|Ἄριστον μὲν ὕδωρ}}.
:''áriston mèn húdōr''.
:"Greatest however [is] water" — [[Pindar]], Olymp. 1, 1
:Used as the inscription over the Pump Room at [[Bath, Somerset|Bath]].

;{{lang|grc|αὐτὸς ἔφα}}
:''[[autòs épha]]''
:''[[Ipse dixit]]''
:"He himself said it"
:[[Argument from authority]] made by the [[Pythagoreans|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 [[Cicero|Marcus Tullius Cicero]] in ''[[De Natura Deorum]]'' (''On the Nature of the Gods'')

== Ββ ==
;{{lang|grc|βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν}}
:''basileía tôn ouranôn''
:"kingdom of the heavens"
:"[[Heaven]]" is a foundational theological concept in Christianity and Judaism.
:"[[Kingdom of God|God's Kingdom]]" (Βασιλεία τοῦ Θεοῦ, ''Basileia tou Theou''), or the "Kingdom of [the] Heaven[s]" was the main point of Jesus Christ's preaching on earth. The phrase occurs more than a hundred times in the [[New Testament]].

[[File:Douris Man with wax tablet.jpg|thumb|From a ca 500 BC vase depicting writing with stylus and folding wax tablet]]
;{{lang|grc|Βελλεροφόντης τὰ γράμματα}}
:''Bellerophóntēs tà grámmata''
:"Bellerophontic letter"
:King [[Proetus (king of Argos and Tiryns)|Proetus]] dared not to kill a guest, so he sent [[Bellerophon]] to King [[Iobates]], his father-in-law, bearing a sealed message in a folded tablet: "Pray remove the bearer from this world: he attempted to violate [[Stheneboea|my wife, your daughter]]."
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;{{lang|grc|βρῶμα θεῶν}}
:''brôma theôn''
:"food of the gods"
:Allegedly said by [[Nero]] of the poisoned [[mushroom]]s with which his mother [[Agrippina the Younger]] murdered [[Claudius]].

== Γγ ==
;{{lang|grc|Γηράσκω δ’ αἰεὶ πολλὰ διδασκόμενος.}}
:''Gēráskō d' aieì pollà didaskómenos.''
:"I grow old always learning many things."
:[[Solon]] the Athenian, one of the [[seven Sages of Greece]], on learning.

[[File:SNGCop 039.jpg|thumb|Athenian [[tetradrachm]] depicting goddess [[Athena]] (obverse) and [[owl]] (reverse); in daily use, [[Athenian]] drachmas were called glaukai, ''"owls"''<ref>{{LSJ|glau/c|γλαύξ}}</ref> ]]
;{{lang|grc|γλαῦκ’ Ἀθήναζε / εἰς Ἀθήνας}}
:''glaûk’ Athēnaze / eis Athḗnas&#769;naze / eis Athē&#769;nas''
:"[[Ancient drachma|Owl]]s (Athenian drachmas) to [[Athens]]" — [[Aristophanes]], [[The Birds (play)|The Birds]], 302,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Aristophanes, Birds, line 267 |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Aristoph.+Birds+301&fromdoc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0025 |access-date=2023-12-17 |website=www.perseus.tufts.edu |archive-date=2024-02-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240220030301/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Aristoph.+Birds+301&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0025 |url-status=live }}</ref> also in 1106<ref>Aristophanes goes on: ''"Firstly, the owls of Laurium (i.e. the Athenian drachmas minted from the silver-mines of Laurium) which every judge desires above all things, shall never be wanting to you"'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Aristoph.+Birds+1106&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0026 The Birds, 1106] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210608071502/https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Aristoph.+Birds+1106&fromdoc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0026 |date=2021-06-08 }}</ref>
:E.g., [[selling coal to Newcastle|coals to Newcastle]], ice to the [[Eskimos]].

;{{lang|grc|Γνῶθι σεαυτόν.}}
:''Gnôthi seautón.''
:"[[Know thyself]]"
:Aphorism inscribed over the entrance to the temple of [[Apollo]] at [[Delphi]].

[[File:Alexander cuts the Gordian Knot.jpg|thumb|''Alexander cuts the Gordian Knot'', ([[Jean-Simon Berthélemy]])]]
;{{lang|grc|Γόρδιος δεσμός}}
:''Górdios desmós''
:"[[Gordian Knot]]"
:The Gordian Knot is a legend associated with [[Alexander the Great]]. It is often used as a metaphor for an intractable problem, solved by a bold stroke
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== Δδ ==
[[File:Phobos Deimos Over Mars.png|thumb|[[Deimos (moon)|Deimos]] and [[Phobos (moon)|Phobos]] <br />Δεῖμος καὶ Φόβος]]
;{{lang|grc|Δεῖμος καὶ Φόβος}}
:''Deîmos kaì Phóbos''
:"Horror and Fear"
:[[Deimos (moon)|Deimos]] and [[Phobos (moon)|Phobos]], the moons of [[Mars]], are named after the sons of the Greek god [[Ares]] (Roman [[Mars (mythology)|Mars]]): [[Deimos (mythology)|Deimos]] "horror"<ref>{{LSJ|deimo/s|δειμός|ref}}</ref> and [[Phobos (mythology)|Phobos]] "fear".<ref>{{LSJ|fo/bos|φόβος|shortref}}</ref>

;{{lang|grc|Δέσποτα, μέμνεο τῶν Ἀθηναίων}}.
:''Déspota, mémneo tôn Athēnaíōn.''
:"Master, remember the Athenians."
:When [[Darius I|Darius]] was informed that [[Sardis]] had been captured and burnt by the Athenians he was furious. He placed an arrow on his bow and shot it into the sky, praying to the deities to grant him vengeance on the Athenians. He then ordered one of his servants to say three times a day the above phrase in order to remind him that he should punish the Athenians.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Herodotus, The Histories, book 5, chapter 105, section 2 |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0125:book=5:chapter=105:section=2 |access-date=2023-12-17 |website=www.perseus.tufts.edu |archive-date=2024-05-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240525095554/https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0125:book=5:chapter=105:section=2 |url-status=live }}</ref>

;{{lang|grc|διαίρει καὶ βασίλευε}}
:''diaírei kaì basíleue''
:"[[divide and rule]]"

[[File:Diploun horosin hoi mathontes grammata.jpg|thumb|ΔΙΠΛΟΥΝ ΟΡΩΣΙΝ ΟΙ ΜΑΘΟΝΤΕΣ ΓΡΑΜΜΑΤΑ]]
;{{lang|grc|Διπλοῦν ὁρῶσιν οἱ μαθόντες γράμματα}}.
:''Diploûn horôsin hoi mathóntes grámmata.''
:"Those who know the letters see double [twice as much as those who don't]."
:Attributed to [[Pythagoras]]. — Inscription in [[Edinburgh]] from 1954: {{lang|grc|Διπλοῦν ὁρῶσιν οἱ μαθόντες γράμματα.}}

;{{lang|grc|Δῶς μοι πᾶ στῶ καὶ τὰν γᾶν κινάσω.}}
:''Dôs moi pâ stô, kaì tàn gân kīnásō.''
:"Give me somewhere to stand, and I will move the earth."
:[[Archimedes]] as quoted by [[Pappus of Alexandria]], ''Synagoge'', Book VIII.

==Εε==
[[File:Crested Serpent Eagle (Spilornis cheela) with a snake in Kinnarsani WS, AP W IMG 6062.jpg|thumb|right|Eagle carrying a snake in its talons]]

;{{lang|grc|Ἐὰν ᾖς φιλομαθής, ἔσει πολυμαθής}}.
:''Eàn êis philomathḗs, ései polumathḗs.''
:"If you are fond of learning, you will soon be full of learning."
: [[Isocrates]], ''To Demonicus'' 18

;{{lang|grc|Εἷς οἰωνὸς ἄριστος, ἀμύνεσθαι περὶ πάτρης}}.
:''Heîs oiōnòs áristos, amúnesthai perì pátrēs.''
:"There is only one [[omen]], to fight for one's country."
:The [[Troy|Trojan]] prince [[Hector]] to his friend and lieutenant [[Polydamas (Iliad)|Polydamas]] when the latter was superstitious about a bird omen. The omen was an eagle that flew with a snake in its talons, still alive and struggling to escape. The snake twisted backward until it struck the bird on the neck, forcing the eagle to let the snake fall.<ref>{{Iliad|en|12|243|ref}}</ref>

;{{lang|grc|ἐκ τῶν ὧν οὐκ ἄνευ}}
:''ek tôn hôn ouk áneu''
:''[[sine qua non]]''
:"without things which [one can]not [be] without"

[[File:Marathon helm.jpg|thumb|Helmet of an Athenian [[hoplite]] uncovered from the tomb at the [[Battle of Marathon]]]]
;{{lang|grc|Ἑλλήνων προμαχοῦντες Ἀθηναῖοι Μαραθῶνι χρυσοφόρων Μήδων ἐστόρεσαν δύναμιν}}.
:''Hellḗnōn promakhoûntes Athēnaîoi Marathôni khrusophóron Mḗdōn estóresan dúnamin.''
:''Fighting in the forefront of the Hellenes, the Athenians at Marathon brought low the [[Medes]]' gilded power''.
:[[Epigram]] by [[Simonides]] on the tomb of the Athenians who died in the [[Battle of Marathon]].
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;{{lang|grc|Ἓν οἶδα ὅτι οὐδὲν οἶδα}}.
:''Hèn oîda hóti oudèn oîda.''
:"[[I know that I know nothing|I know one thing, that I know nothing]]"
:[[Socrates]], [[paraphrase]]d from Plato's ''[[Apology (Plato)|Apology]]''.

;{{lang|grc|Ἔνθεν μὲν Σκύλλη, ἑτέρωθι δὲ δῖα Χάρυβδις}}.
:''Énthen mèn Skúllē, hetérōthi de dîa Khárubdis.''
:"On one side lay Scylla and on the other divine Charybdis."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Homer, Odyssey, Book 12, line 234 |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0135:book=12:card=234 |access-date=2023-12-17 |website=www.perseus.tufts.edu |archive-date=2023-09-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230920184728/https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0135%3Abook%3D12%3Acard%3D234 |url-status=live }}</ref>
:[[Odysseus]] was forced to choose between [[Scylla]] and [[Charybdis]], two mythical [[sea monsters]], an expression commonly known as [[Between Scylla and Charybdis]].

;{{lang|grc|Ἐπεὶ δ' οὖν πάντες ὅσοι τε περιπολοῦσιν φανερῶς καὶ  ὅσοι  φαίνονται καθ' ὅσον ἂν ἐθέλωσιν θεοὶ γένεσιν ἔσχον, λέγει πρὸς αὐτοὺς ὁ τόδε τὸ πᾶν γεννήσας τάδε}}.
:''Epeì d' oûn pántes hósoi te peripoloûsin phanerôs kaì hósoi phaínontai kath' hóson àn ethélōsin theoì génesin éskhon, légei pròs autoùs ho tóde tò pân gennḗsas táde.&#769;sas t''
:"When all of them, those gods who appear in their revolutions, as well as those other gods who appear at will had come into being, the creator of the universe addressed them the following." — [[Plato]], ''[[Timaeus (dialogue)|Timaeus]]'', 41a, on gods and the creator of the universe.
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[[File:Domenico-Fetti Archimedes 1620.jpg|thumb|[[Archimedes]], portrait by [[Domenico Fetti]], (1620)]]
;{{lang|grc|Εὕρηκα!}}
:''[[Eureka (word)|Heúrēka!]]''
:"I have found [it]!"
:While [[Archimedes]] was taking a bath, he noticed that the level of the water rose as he got in, and he realized that the [[volume]] of water [[displacement (fluid)|displaced]] must be equal to the volume of the part of his body he had submerged. This meant that the volume of irregular objects could be measured with precision, a previously intractable problem. He was so excited that he ran through the streets naked and still wet from his bath, crying "I have found it!".
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;{{lang|grc|Ἔτι μίαν μάχην Ῥωμαίους νικήσωμεν, ἀπολούμεϑα παντελῶς}}.
:''Éti mían mákhēn Rhōmaíous nikḗsōmen, apoloúmetha pantelôs.''
:"If we are victorious in one more battle with the Romans, we shall be utterly ruined."
:[[Pyrrhus of Epirus]] commenting [[Pyrrhic victory|his victories]] (according to Plutarch, ''Life of Pyrrhus'').

== Ζζ ==

[[File:Plato Silanion Musei Capitolini MC1377.jpg|thumb|370 BC copy of marble statue of ''[[Plato]]'']]
;{{lang|grc|ζῷον δίπουν ἄπτερον}}
:''zôion dípoun ápteron''
:"two-legged featherless animal"
:[[Plato]]'s definition of humans,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Plato, Statesman, section 266e |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0172:text=Stat.:section=266e |access-date=2023-12-17 |website=www.perseus.tufts.edu |archive-date=2024-02-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240219185156/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0172%3Atext%3DStat.%3Asection%3D266e |url-status=live }}</ref> latinized as "Animal bipes implume"
:To criticize this definition, [[Diogenes the Cynic]] plucked a [[chicken]] and brought it into [[Plato's Academy]] saying:
:;{{lang|grc|Οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ Πλάτωνος ἄνθρωπος}}.
::''Hoûtós estin o Plátōnos ánthrōpos.''
::"Here is Plato's man."
:In response, Plato added to his definition:
:;{{lang|grc|πλατυώνυχον}}
::''platuṓnukhon''
::"Having broad nails"<ref>The word πλατυώνυχον however sounds like πλατωνικόν, i.e. "the platonic thing". See ''The stranger's knowledge: Political knowledge in Plato's statesman'' by Xavier Márquez, University of Notre Dame, 2005, p. 120.</ref>
::As quoted by [[Diogenes Laërtius]], ''Lives of Eminent Philosophers''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, BOOK VI, Chapter 2. DIOGENES (404-323 B.C.) |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0258:book=6:chapter=2 |access-date=2023-12-17 |website=www.perseus.tufts.edu |archive-date=2023-11-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231101055059/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0258%3Abook%3D6%3Achapter%3D2 |url-status=live }}</ref>

;{{lang|grc|ζῷον πολιτικόν}}
:''zôion politikón''
:"Man is by nature a political animal", i.e. animal of the [[polis]] or social being
:[[Aristotle]], ''[[Politics (Aristotle)|Politics]]'', book 1: {{lang|grc|ὁ ἄνθρωπος φύσει πολιτικὸν ζῷον}}

==Ηη==
[[File:Mani Flag (Greece).svg|thumb|[[Mani Peninsula|Maniot]] flag: {{lang|grc|Νίκη ἢ Θάνατος}} — {{lang|grc|ἢ τὰν ἢ ἐπὶ τᾶς}} "Victory or Death : Either With Your Shield or On It"]]
;{{lang|grc|Ἢ τὰν ἢ ἐπὶ τᾶς}}.
:''Ḕ tàn ḕ epì tâs.''
:"Either [with] it [your shield], or on it."
:Meaning "either you will win the battle, or you will die and then be carried back home on your shield; but you will not throw your shield away to flee."
:It was said by Spartan mothers to their sons before they went out to battle to remind them of their bravery and duty to Sparta and Greece.  
A [[hoplite]] could not escape the field of battle unless he tossed away the heavy and cumbersome shield. Therefore, "losing one's shield" meant desertion. ([[Plutarch]], ''[[Moralia]]'', 241)

;{{lang|grc|Ἡ φύσις οὐδὲν ποιεῖ ἅλματα.}}
:''Hē phúsis oudèn poieî hálmata.''
:''[[Natura non facit saltus]]''.
:"Nature does not make [sudden] jumps."
:A principle of natural philosophies since [[Aristotle]]'s time, the exact phrase coming from [[Carl von Linné]].

;{{lang|grc|Ἦλθον, εἶδον, ἐνίκησα.}}
:''Êlthon, eîdon, eníkēsa.''
:''[[Veni, vidi, vici]].''
:"I came, I saw, I conquered."
:With these words, Julius Caesar described his victory against [[Pharnaces II of Pontus|Pharnaces]], according to Plutarch.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Plutarch, Caesar, chapter 50, section 2 |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:2008.01.0130:chapter=50:section=2 |access-date=2023-12-17 |website=www.perseus.tufts.edu |archive-date=2024-02-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240219192517/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2008.01.0130%3Achapter%3D50%3Asection%3D2 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Θθ==
;{{lang|grc|Θάλασσα καὶ πῦρ καὶ γυνή, κακὰ τρία}}.
:''Thálassa kaì pûr kaì gunḗ, kakà tría.''
:"Sea and fire and woman, three evils."

;{{lang|grc|Θάλαττα, θάλαττα.}}
:''Thálatta, thálatta.''
:"The Sea! The Sea!"
:[[Thalatta! Thalatta!]] from [[Xenophon]]'s [[Anabasis (Xenophon)|Anabasis]]. It was the shouting of joy when the roaming [[Ten Thousand (Greek)|10,000 Greeks]] saw Euxeinos Pontos (the Black Sea) from Mount Theches (Θήχης) in Armenia after participating in Cyrus the Younger's failed march against Persian Empire in the year 401 BC.

;{{lang|grc|Θάνατος οὐδὲν διαφέρει τοῦ ζῆν.}}
:''Thánatos oudèn diaphérei toû zên.''
:"Death is no different from life."
:[[Thales]]' philosophical view to the eternal [[philosophical]] question about life and death.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, ΒΙΩΝ ΚΑΙ ΓΝΩΜΩΝ ΤΩΝ ΕΝ ΦΙΛΟΣΟΦΙΑΙ ΕΥΔΟΚΙΜΗΣΑΝΤΩΝ ΤΩΝ ΕΙΣ ΔΕΚΑ ΤΟ ΠΡΩΤΟΝ, Κεφ. α᾽. ΘΑΛΗΣ |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0257:book=1:chapter=1 |access-date=2023-12-17 |website=www.perseus.tufts.edu |archive-date=2024-02-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240220022027/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0257%3Abook%3D1%3Achapter%3D1 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Ιι==
;{{lang|grc|Ἰατρέ, θεράπευσον σεαυτόν.}}
:''Iatré, therápeuson seautón.''
:"Physician, take care of yourself!"
:"[[Cura te ipsum|Medice cura te ipsum.]]"
:An injunction urging physicians to care for and heal themselves first before dealing with patients. It was made famous in the Latin translation of the Bible, the [[Vulgate]]. The proverb was quoted by Jesus, recorded in the [[Gospel of Luke]] chapter 4:23. [[Luke the Evangelist]] was a physician.

[[File:Ephesus Ichthys.jpg|thumb|ΙΧΘΥΣ: {{lang|grc|Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς Θεοῦ Υἱὸς Σωτήρ}}]]
;{{lang|grc|Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς Θεοῦ Υἱὸς Σωτήρ}}
:''Iēsoûs Khristòs Theoû Huiòs Sōtḗr''
:"Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour." As an [[acronym]]: ΙΧΘΥΣ ([[Ichthys]]) — "fish".

;{{lang|grc|ἰσχύς μου ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ λαοῦ.}}
:''Iskhús mou hē agápē toû laoû.''
:"The people's love [is] my strength."
:Motto of the Royal [[House of Glücksburg]].

;{{lang|grc|Ἰχθὺς ἐκ τῆς κεφαλῆς ὄζειν ἄρχεται.}}
:''Ikhthùs ek tês kephalês ózein árkhetai.''
:"A fish starts to stink from the head."
:Greek equivalent of the English phrase "A fish rots from the head down"; attested in fifteenth century CE ''Paroemiae'' of [[Michael Apostolius Paroemiographus]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Corpus Paroemiographorum Graecorum|volume=2|chapter=Μιχαήλου Ἀποστόλου τοῦ Βυζαντίου Συναγωγὴ Παροιμιῶν καὶ Συνθήκη|chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/corpusparoemiog00schngoog#page/n508/mode/1up|page=466|editor=Ernst Ludwig von Leutsch|editor-link=Ernst Ludwig von Leutsch|location=[[Göttingen]]|year=1851|publisher=Vandenhoeck et Ruprecht}}</ref>

==Κκ==
[[File:Röm. Republik- M. Iunius Brutus und L. Plaetorius Cestianus - Münzkabinett, Berlin - 5475441.jpg|thumb|[[Marcus Junius Brutus]]]]
;{{lang|grc|Καὶ σὺ τέκνον;}}
:''Kaì sù téknon?''
:"You too, child?" or "You too, young man?"
:On March 15, 44 BC, Julius Caesar was attacked by a group of [[Roman Senate|senators]], including [[Marcus Junius Brutus]], a senator and Caesar's adopted son. [[Lives of the Twelve Caesars|Suetonius]] (in ''De Vita Caesarum'', LXXXII)<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.splash.it/latino/?path=/svetonio/de_vita_caesarum/!01!divus_iulius |title=''De Vita Caesarum'', LXXXII |access-date=2007-02-01 |archive-date=2007-09-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927235219/http://www.splash.it/latino/?path=/svetonio/de_vita_caesarum/!01!divus_iulius |url-status=dead }}</ref> reported that some people thought that, when Caesar saw Brutus, he spoke those words and resigned himself to his fate. Among English speakers, much better known are the Latin words ''[[Et tu, Brute?]]'', which [[William Shakespeare]] gave to Caesar in his play, ''[[Julius Caesar (play)|Julius Caesar]]'' (act 3, scene 1,85). This means simply "You too, Brutus?"

;{{lang|grc|κακοδαιμονισταί}}
:''[[Kakodaimonistai|kakodaimonistaí]]''
:"Worshippers of the evil demon"
:The name of a dining club in ancient Athens ridiculing Athenian tradition and the gods.

;{{lang|grc|Κακοῦ κόρακος κακὸν ᾠόν}}.
:''Kakoû kórakos kakòn ōión''.
:"From a bad [[crow]], a bad egg"
:I.e. like father, like son.

;{{lang|grc|Κακὸς ἀνὴρ μακρόβιος}}.
:''Kakòs anḕr makróbios.''
:"A bad man lives long."

;{{lang|grc|καλλίστῃ}}
:''kallístēi''
:"for the prettiest one", "to the most beautiful"
:From the myth of the Golden [[Apple of Discord]].

[[File:Diagoras of Rodes.jpg|thumb|[[Diagoras of Rhodes]] carried in the stadium by his two sons]]
;{{lang|grc|Κάτθανε, Διαγόρα, οὐ καὶ ἐς Ὄλυμπον ἀναβήσῃ}}
:''Kátthane, Diagóra, ou kaì es Ólumpon anabḗsēi.''
:"Die, [[Diagoras of Rhodes|Diagoras]] — you will certainly not ascend [[Mount Olympus|Olympus]]."
:A Spartan spectator to Diagoras of Rhodes, a former Olympic champion himself, during the 79th [[Ancient Olympic Games|Olympiad]], when his two sons became Olympic champions and carried him around the stadium on their shoulders. <!-- What is this supposed to mean? That Diagoras had reached the utter pinnacle of achievement and nothing further was possible? — In the opinion of the Spartan spectator, yes -->

;{{lang|grc|Κοινὰ τὰ φίλων}}.
:''Koinà tà phílōn.''
:"The things of friends are common"
:The proverb is mentioned in the ''[[Republic (Plato)|Republic]]'' of [[Plato]] (424A and 449C) as a principle to be applied to marriage and procreation.  [[Diogenes Laertius]] (VIII.10) reports the assertion of [[Timaeus (historian)|Timaeus]] that [[Pythagoras]] was first to use the saying, along with {{lang|grc|φιλία ἰσότης}} (''filía isótēs'') "Friendship is equality."

;{{lang|grc|Κρῆτες ἀεὶ ψεῦσται}}.
:''Krêtes aeì pseûstai.''
:"Cretans always lie" — One of the earliest [[logical]] paradoxes attributed to [[Epimenides]] of [[Knossos]] known as the [[Epimenides paradox]].  As Epimenides is a Cretan himself, it leads to the conclusion that the above statement is not true, hence the [[paradox]].

;{{lang|grc|κτῆμα ἐς ἀεί}}
:''ktêma es aeí''
:"possession for eternity" ([[Thucydides]], ''[[History of the Peloponnesian War]]'' 1.22; "κτῆμά τε ἐς αἰεὶ [''ktêma te es aieí'']" in the original).

;{{lang|grc|Κύριε ἐλέησον}}
:''[[Kyrie|Kúrie eléēson]]''
:"Lord have mercy" — a very common phrase in [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Greek Orthodox]] liturgies, and also used in Greek in the [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] [[Mass (liturgy)|Mass]].

==Λλ==
;{{lang|grc|Λάθε βιώσας}}.
:''[[Lathe biosas|Láthe biō&#769;sas]]''
:"Live hidden."
:An [[Epicurean]] phrase, because of his belief that politics troubles men and doesn't allow them to reach inner peace. So Epicurus suggested that everybody should live "Hidden" far from cities, not even considering a political career. [[Cicero]] criticized this idea because, as a [[Stoicism|stoic]], he had a completely different opinion of politics, but the sentiment is echoed by [[Ovid]]'s statement ''bene qui latuit bene vixit'' ("he has lived well who has stayed well hidden", [[Tristia]] 3.4.25). Plutarch elaborated in his essay ''Is the Saying "Live in Obscurity" Right?'' ({{lang|grc|Εἰ καλῶς εἴρηται τὸ λάθε βιώσας}}) 1128c.

;{{lang|grc|Λέγειν τὰ λεγόμενα}}.
:''Légein tà legómena.''
:''Prodenda, quia prodita'' or ''Relata refero.''
:"I tell as I was told" or "I report reports"
:From [[Herodotus]] (7,152 etc.):
:{{lang|grc|Ἐγὼ δὲ ὀφείλω λέγειν τὰ λεγόμενα, πείθεσθαί γε μὲν οὐ παντάπασι ὀφείλω.}}
:''Egō&#768; dè opheílō légein tà legómena, peíthesthaí ge mèn ou pantápasi opheílō.''

:And I must tell what I am told, since I don't have to be persuaded completely.

==Μμ==
;{{lang|grc|Ματαιότης ματαιοτήτων, τὰ πάντα ματαιότης.}}
:''Mataiótēs mataiotḗtōn, tà pánta mataiótes.''
:"[[Vanity]] of vanities, and everything is vanity."
:{{Bibleverse|Ecclesiastes|1:2|}}

[[File:Verso da medalha de prata dos Jogos Olímpicos de Atenas, 2004, Acervo do Museu do Futebol.jpg|thumb|Silver medal from the [[2004 Summer Olympics]], with a quote from [[Pindar]]]]
;{{lang|grc|Μᾶτερ ὦ χρυσοστεφάνων ἀέθλων, Οὐλυμπία, δέσποιν᾽ ἀλαθείας.}}
:''Mater ō chrysostephanōn aethlōn, Oulympia, despoin' alatheias''
:"O mother of the golden-crowned games, Olympia, mistress of truth."<ref name="tcw-2013">{{cite journal|last1=Eckerman|first1=Christopher|title=The Landscape and Heritage of Pindar’s Olympia|journal=The Classical World|date=Fall 2013|volume=107|issue=1|pages=14–15|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24699861|access-date=6 February 2025|publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press|location=Baltimore|language=en-US|issn=0009-8418|oclc=243426026}}</ref>
:This verse, written by [[Pindar]],<ref name="lcl-56">{{cite book|author1=Pindar|editor1-last=Race|editor1-first=William H.|title=Olympian Odes|series=Loeb Classical Library|volume=56|date=1997|publisher=Harvard University Press|location=Cambridge|isbn=0674995643|pages=136-137|language=grc,en|chapter=Olympian Odes 8}}</ref> was used on the reverse of the winners' medals for the [[2004 Summer Olympics]] in Athens.

;{{lang|grc|Μέτρον ἄριστον.}}
:''Métron áriston.''
:"Moderation is best"
:On occasions where neither too much nor too little is a good choice, as when eating or celebrating. [[Cleobulus]], according to Diogenes Laërtius.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, ΒΙΩΝ ΚΑΙ ΓΝΩΜΩΝ ΤΩΝ ΕΝ ΦΙΛΟΣΟΦΙΑΙ ΕΥΔΟΚΙΜΗΣΑΝΤΩΝ ΤΩΝ ΕΙΣ ΔΕΚΑ ΤΟ ΠΡΩΤΟΝ, Κεφ. σ᾽. ΚΛΕΟΒΟΥΛΟΣ |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0257:book=1:chapter=6 |access-date=2023-12-17 |website=www.perseus.tufts.edu |archive-date=2024-02-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240219195546/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0257%3Abook%3D1%3Achapter%3D6 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Gerhard Thieme Archimedes.jpg|thumb|[[Archimedes]]: {{lang|grc|Μὴ μοῦ τοὺς κύκλους τάραττε}}]]
;{{lang|grc|Μὴ μοῦ τοὺς κύκλους τάραττε.}}
:''Mē&#768; moû toùs kúklous táratte.''
:"[[Noli turbare circulos meos!|Do not disturb my circles]]."
:The last words attributed to [[Archimedes]] ([[paraphrase]]d from [[Valerius Maximus]]' ''Memorable Doings and Sayings''). During the raid of [[Syracuse, Sicily|Syracuse]] by the Romans, Archimedes was busy drawing mathematical circles. He was eventually attacked and killed by a Roman soldier as he was too engrossed in thought to obey the soldier's orders.

;{{lang|grc|Μὴ χεῖρον βέλτιστον.}}
:''Mḕ kheîron béltiston.''
:"The least bad [choice] is the best."
:The [[lesser of two evils principle]] known from the Platonean times.<!--When there is no good option, one should pick the one that does the least harm.-->

;{{lang|grc|Μηδὲν ἄγαν.}}
:''Mēdèn ágan.''
:"Nothing in excess."
:Inscription from the temple of [[Apollo]] at [[Delphi]]

;{{lang|grc|Μῆλον τῆς Ἔριδος}}
:''Mêlon tês Éridos''
:"Apple of Discord"
:goddess [[Eris (mythology)|Eris]] tossed the [[Apple of Discord]] "to the fairest". [[Paris (mythology)|Paris]] was the judge of the prettiest one.

;{{lang|grc|Μηκέτι ὑδροπότει, ἀλλ’ οἴνῳ ὀλίγῳ χρῶ διὰ τὸν στόμαχον καὶ τὰς πυκνάς σου ἀσθενείας.}}
:''Mēkéti hudropótei, all' oínōi olígōi khrô dià tòn stómakhon kaì tàs puknás sou astheneías.''
:Stop drinking only water, but take a little wine for your stomach and your frequent illnesses.
:From [[Pastoral epistles|I Timothy]] 5:23

;{{lang|grc|Μολὼν λαβέ!}}
:''[[Molon labe|Molō&#768;n labé!]]''
:"Come take [them]!"
:King [[Leonidas]] of Sparta, in response to King [[Xerxes I of Persia|Xerxes]] of Persia's demand that the Greek army lay down their arms before the [[Battle of Thermopylae]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Plutarch, Apophthegmata Laconica, *lewnidou tou= *)anacandri/da, section 11 |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:2008.01.0195:chapter=51:section=11 |access-date=2023-12-17 |website=www.perseus.tufts.edu |archive-date=2023-09-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230920185126/https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2008.01.0195%3Achapter%3D51%3Asection%3D11 |url-status=live }}</ref>

;{{lang|grc|μυστήριον τῆς πίστεως}}
:''mustḗrion tês písteōs''
:"mystery of faith", from [[Pastoral epistles|I Timothy]] 3:9.
:Latinized as [[The mystery of faith|Mysterium Fidei]] is a Christian theological term.

== Νν ==
;{{lang|grc|ναὶ ναί, οὒ οὔ·}}
:''naì naí, où oú;''
:"Yes yes, no no;"
:[[Gospel of Matthew]], Chapter 5
:"33 Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.' 34 But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne; 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37 Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one."

[[File:Phidippides.jpg|thumb|Painting of Pheidippides as he gave word of the Greek victory over [[Persia]] at the [[Battle of Marathon]] to the people of Athens, by ''Luc-Olivier Merson, 1869'' ]]
;{{lang|grc|Νενικήκαμεν.}}
:''Nenikē&#769;kamen.''
:"We have won."
:The traditional story relates that the Athenian herald [[Pheidippides]] ran the {{convert|40|km|mi|abbr=on}} from the battlefield near the town of [[Marathon, Greece|Marathon]] to [[Athens]] to announce the Greek victory over [[Persian Empire|Persia]] in the [[Battle of Marathon]] (490 BC) with the word 'We have won' and collapsed and died on the spot because of exhaustion.

;{{lang|grc|Νίψον ἀνομήματα μὴ μόναν ὄψιν}}.
:''[[Nipson anomemata me monan opsin|Nípson anomē&#769;mata mē&#768; mónan ópsin]].''
:"Wash the sins, not only the face."
:A [[palindrome|palindromic]] inscription attributed to [[Gregory of Nazianzus]],<ref name="EPP">Alex Preminger, Terry V.F. Brogan, and Frank J. Warnke, ''The New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics'', 3rd ed., Princeton University Press, 1993, {{ISBN|0-691-02123-6}}, p. 874.</ref> inscribed in [[Hagia Sophia]] and on many church [[Baptismal font|fonts]]. In the [[Greek alphabet]], the /ps/ sound is rendered by the single letter ψ (''psi'').

== Ξξ ==
[[File:Model of a greek trireme.jpg|thumb|[[Trireme]] during the [[Persian Wars]]]]

;{{lang|grc|Ξένος ὢν ἀκολούθει τοῖς ἐπιχωρίοις νόμοις.}}
:''Xénos ō&#768;n akoloúthei toîs epikhōríois nómois.''
:"As a foreigner, follow the laws of that country."
:Loosely, "Do in Rome as Rome does." Quotation from the works of [[Menander]].

;{{lang|grc|ξύλινον τεῖχος}}
:''xúlinon teîkhos''
:"wooden defensive wall"
:The [[Naval warfare#Mediterranean Sea|"walls" of ships]] during the [[Persian Wars]].

==Οο==
[[File:Wine-dark-sea.jpg|thumb|{{lang|grc|οἶνοψ πόντος}} — {{lang|grc-Latn|wine dark sea}}]]
;{{lang|grc|οἶνοψ πόντος}}
:''oînops póntos''
:"[[Wine-dark sea (Homer)|Wine dark sea]]"
:A common [[Epithets in Homer|Homeric epithet]] of the [[sea]], on which many articles have been written. (''Further: [[Sea in culture]]'')

;{{lang|grc|ὅπερ ἔδει δεῖξαι}} (ΟΕΔ)
:''hóper édei deîxai'' (abbreviated as ''OED'')
:"[[Q.E.D.|quod erat demonstrandum]]"
:"what was required to be proved"
:Used by early mathematicians including [[Euclid]] (Elements, 1.4), [[Aristotle]] (APo.90b34), and [[Archimedes]], written at the end of a mathematical [[Proof (mathematics)|proof]] or philosophical [[Logical argument|argument]], to signify the proof as complete. Later it was latinized as "QED" or the [[Halmos tombstone]] box symbol.

;{{lang|grc|Ὁ σῴζων ἑαυτὸν σωθήτω}}.
:''Ho sṓizōn heautòn sōthḗtō''. 
:"he who saves himself may be saved."
:Used in cases of destruction or calamity, such as an unorderly evacuation. Each one is responsible for himself and is not to wait for any help.

;{{lang|grc|Οὐ φροντὶς Ἱπποκλείδῃ}}.
:''Ou phrontìs Hippokleídēi''.
:"Hippocleides doesn't care."
:From a story in [[Herodotus]] (6.129), in which [[Hippocleides]] loses the chance to marry [[Cleisthenes of Sicyon|Cleisthenes]]' daughter after getting drunk and dancing on his head. Herodotus says the phrase was a common expression in his own day.
{{clear right}}
[[File:Charon-obol2.jpg|thumb|[[Charon's obol]]. 5th-1st century BC.  All of these pseudo-coins have no sign of attachment, are too thin for normal use, and are often found in burial sites.]]
;{{lang|grc|Οὐκ ἂν λάβοις παρὰ τοῦ μὴ ἔχοντος}}.
:''Ouk àn labois parà toû mḕ ékhontos''.
:"You can't get blood out of a stone." (Literally, "You can't take from one who doesn't have.")
:Menippus to [[Charon (mythology)|Charon]] when the latter asked Menippus to give him an [[Charon's obol|obol]] to convey him across the river to the [[Greek underworld|underworld]].<ref>[[Lucian]], Dialogs of the dead, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text;jsessionid=60FB9A77D361E04FA6D02885EA1415B4?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2008.01.0524%3Abook%3D22%3Asection%3D1  22.1] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210608071505/https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text;jsessionid=60FB9A77D361E04FA6D02885EA1415B4?doc=Perseus:text:2008.01.0524:book%3D22:section%3D1 |date=2021-06-08 }}</ref>
{{clear right}}
[[File:Head Odysseus MAR Sperlonga.jpg|thumb|[[Odysseus]], [[Sperlonga sculptures]]]]
;{{lang|grc|Οὖτις ἐμοί γ' ὄνομα}}.
:''[[Outis|Oûtis]] emoí g' ónoma''.
:"My name is Nobody".
:[[Odysseus]] to [[Polyphemus]] when asked what his name was. ([[Homer]], [[Odyssey]], ix, 366).

==Ππ==
;{{lang|grc|Πάντα ῥεῖ}}.
:''[[Panta rhei (Heraclitus)|Pánta rheî]].''
:"All is flux; everything flows" – This phrase was either not spoken by [[Heraclitus]] or did not survive as a quotation of his. This famous aphorism used to characterize Heraclitus' thought comes from [[Simplicius of Cilicia|Simplicius]], a [[Neoplatonist]], and from [[Plato]]'s ''[[Cratylus (dialogue)|Cratylus]]''. The word ''rhei'' (ρέι, cf. [[rheology]]) is the Greek word for "to stream"; according to Plato's ''Cratylus'', it is related to the etymology of [[Rhea (mythology)|Rhea]].

;{{lang|grc|πάντοτε ζητεῖν τὴν ἀλήθειαν}}
:''pántote zeteῖn tḕn alḗtheian''
:"ever seeking the truth" — [[Diogenes Laërtius]], ''Lives of Eminent Philosophers''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, BOOK IX, Chapter 11. PYRRHO (c. 360-270 b.c.) |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=D.+L.+9.11&fromdoc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0258 |access-date=2023-12-17 |website=www.perseus.tufts.edu |archive-date=2024-02-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240222050505/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=D.+L.+9.11&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0258 |url-status=live }}</ref> — a characteristic of [[Pyrrhonism]]. An abbreviated form, {{lang|grc|ζητεῖν τὴν ἀλήθειαν}} ("seek the truth").

[[File:Olive-wreath-10.jpg|thumb|[[Kotinos]], the prize for the winner at the [[Ancient Olympic Games]]]]
;{{lang|grc|Παπαί, Μαρδόνιε, κοίους ἐπ' ἄνδρας ἤγαγες μαχησομένους ἡμέας, οἳ οὐ περὶ χρημάτων τὸν ἀγῶνα ποιεῦνται ἀλλὰ περὶ ἀρετῆς.}}
:''Papaí, Mardónie, koíous ep' ándras ē&#769;gages makhēsoménous hēméas, hoì ou perì khrēmátōn tòn agôna poieûntai allà perì aretês.''
:"Good heavens! [[Mardonius (general)|Mardonius]], what kind of men have you brought us to fight against? Men who do not compete for possessions, but for honour."
:Spontaneous response of [[Tigranes]], a Persian general while [[Xerxes I of Persia|Xerxes]] was interrogating some [[Regions of ancient Greece#Arcadia|Arcadian]]s after the [[Battle of Thermopylae]]. Xerxes asked why there were so few Greek men defending the Thermopylae. The answer was "All the other men are participating in the [[Ancient Olympic Games|Olympic Games]]". And when asked "What is the prize for the winner?", "An olive-wreath" came the answer. — Herodotus, ''The Histories''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Herodotus, The Histories, Book 8, chapter 26 |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hdt.+8.26&fromdoc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0126 |access-date=2023-12-17 |website=www.perseus.tufts.edu |archive-date=2023-09-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230920185256/https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hdt.+8.26&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0126 |url-status=live }}</ref>

;{{lang|grc|Πάθει μάθος}}.
:''Páthei máthos.''
:"(There is) learning in suffering/experience", or "Knowledge/knowing, or wisdom, or learning, through suffering."<ref>{{Cite web |title="πάθει μάθος" Aeschylus Agamemnon 177 suffering - Google Search |url=https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=%22%CF%80%CE%AC%CE%B8%CE%B5%CE%B9+%CE%BC%CE%AC%CE%B8%CE%BF%CF%82%22+Aeschylus+Agamemnon+177+suffering |access-date=2023-12-17 |website=www.google.com |archive-date=2024-05-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240525095554/https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=%22%CF%80%CE%AC%CE%B8%CE%B5%CE%B9+%CE%BC%CE%AC%CE%B8%CE%BF%CF%82%22+Aeschylus+Agamemnon+177+suffering |url-status=live }}</ref>
: [[Aeschylus]], ''[[Oresteia#Agamemnon|Agamemnon]]'', 177<ref>{{Cite web |title="páthei máthos" Aeschylus Agamemnon - Google Search |url=https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=%22p%C3%A1thei+m%C3%A1thos%22+Aeschylus+Agamemnon |access-date=2023-12-17 |website=www.google.com |archive-date=2024-05-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240525095554/https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=%22p%C3%A1thei+m%C3%A1thos%22+Aeschylus+Agamemnon |url-status=live }}</ref>
:The variant πάθος μάθος means "suffering is learning/learning is suffering."

;{{lang|grc|Πῆμα κακὸς γείτων, ὅσσον τ’ ἀγαθὸς μέγ’ ὄνειαρ}}.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ae-lib.org.ua/texts-c/hesiod__opera_et_dies__gr.htm|title=ΗΣΙΟΔΟΥ ΕΡΓΑ ΚΑΙ ΗΜΕΡΑΙ - Hesiod. Works and Days|access-date=2013-06-30|archive-date=2013-07-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130703044358/http://www.ae-lib.org.ua/texts-c/hesiod__opera_et_dies__gr.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>
:''Pêma kakòs geítōn, hósson t' agathòs még' óneiar.''
:"A bad neighbor is a calamity as much as a good one is a great advantage."

;{{lang|grc|πίστις, ἐλπίς, ἀγάπη}}
:''pístis, elpís, agápē''
:"faith, hope, (and) love" ([[First Epistle to the Corinthians|1 Corinthians]] 13:13.)

;{{lang|grc|Πόλεμος πάντων μὲν πατήρ ἐστι}}.
:''Pólemos pántōn mèn patḗr esti.''
:"War is the father of all" — [[Heraclitus]]
:The complete text of this fragment by Heraclitus is: {{lang|grc|πόλεμος πάντων μὲν πατήρ ἐστι, πάντων δὲ βασιλεύς, καὶ τοὺς μὲν θεοὺς ἔδειξε τοὺς δὲ ἀνθρώπους, τοὺς μὲν δούλους ἐποίησε τοὺς δὲ ἐλευθέρους}} (War is the father of all and the king of all; and some he has made gods and some men, some bond and some free).

;{{lang|grc|Πύξ, λάξ, δάξ}}.
:''Púx, láx, dáx.''
:"With fists, kicks, and bites"
:{{lang|grc|Πύξ}} "with fists", {{lang|grc|λάξ}} "with kicks", {{lang|grc|δάξ}} "with bites"
:Epigram describing how laypersons were chased away from the [[Eleusinian Mysteries]].

== Ρρ ==
[[File:Dawn in the Naples gulf.jpg|thumb|Rosy-fingered Dawn]]
;{{lang|grc|ῥοδοδάκτυλος Ἠώς}}
:''rhododáktulos Ēṓs''
:"rosy-fingered Dawn"
:This phrase occurs frequently in the [[Homer]]ic poems referring to [[Eos]], the Titanic goddess of the [[dawn]]. Eos opened the gates of heaven so that [[Helios]] could ride his chariot across the sky every day.

==Σσ==
;{{lang|grc|Σπεῦδε βραδέως.}}
:''Speûde bradéōs''.
:"Hasten slowly" (cf. Latin ''[[festina lente]]''), "make haste slowly".
:According to [[Suetonius]] the phrase "σπεῦδε βραδέως, ἀσφαλὴς γάρ ἐστ᾽ ἀμείνων ἢ θρασὺς στρατηλάτης" was a favorite of [[Augustus]] as he often quoted it.

;{{lang|grc|Σὺν Ἀθηνᾷ καὶ χεῖρα κίνει.}}
:''Sùn Athēnâi kaì kheîra kínei''.
:"Along with [[Athena]], move also your hand" — predecessor to the English "[[God helps those who help themselves]]."
:Appears in Aesop's fable "The Shipwrecked Man" ([https://el.wikisource.org/wiki/Αισώπου_Μύθοι/Ανήρ_ναυαγός Ἀνὴρ ναυαγός], Perry 30, Chambry 53).

==Ττ==
[[File:Aristarchus working.jpg|thumb|right|[[Aristarchus of Samos|Aristarchus's]] third century BC calculations on the relative sizes of the Earth, Sun, and Moon, from a tenth-century CE Greek copy]]
;{{lang|grc|Τὰ μὲν ἀπλανέα τῶν ἄστρων καὶ τὸν ἅλιον μένειν ἀκίνητον, τὰν δὲ γᾶν περιφέρεσθαι περὶ τὸν ἅλιον.}}
:''Tà mèn aplanéa tôn ástrōn kaì tòn hálion ménein akínēton, tàn dè gân periphéresthai perì tòn hálion''.
:"The fixed stars and the Sun remain unmoved, while the Earth revolves about the Sun." — Archimedes' description of  the [[heliocentric model]] in his work ''[[The Sand Reckoner]]'', based on the work by [[Aristarchus of Samos]].

;{{lang|grc|Τὰ πάντα ῥεῖ καὶ οὐδὲν μένει.}}
:''Tà pánta rheî kaì oudèn ménei.''
:"Everything flows, nothing stands still."
:Attributed to [[Heraclitus]] — Plato, in his dialogue ''[[Cratylus (dialogue)|Cratylus]]'', recounts Heraclitus' saying:
:;{{lang|grc|Τὰ ὄντα ἰέναι τε πάντα καὶ μένειν οὐδέν}}.
::''Tà ónta iénai te pánta kaì ménein oudén.''
::"[That] things that exist move and nothing remains still",<ref>{{Cite web |title=Plato, Cratylus, section 401d |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0171:text=Crat.:section=401d |access-date=2023-12-17 |website=www.perseus.tufts.edu |archive-date=2023-09-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230920191711/https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0171%3Atext%3DCrat.%3Asection%3D401d |url-status=live }}</ref> which he expands:
:;{{lang|grc|Πάντα χωρεῖ καὶ οὐδὲν μένει καὶ δὶς ἐς τὸν αὐτὸν ποταμὸν οὐκ ἂν ἐμβαίης}}.
::''Pánta khōreî kaì oudèn ménei kaì dìs es tòn autòn potamòn ouk àn embaíēs.''
::"All things move and nothing remains still, and you cannot step twice into the same stream".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Plato, Cratylus, section 402a |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0171:text=Crat.:section=402a |access-date=2023-12-17 |website=www.perseus.tufts.edu |archive-date=2024-02-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240219184846/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0171%3Atext%3DCrat.%3Asection%3D402a |url-status=live }}</ref>

;{{lang|grc|Τάδ' ἐστὶ Πελοπόννησος, οὐκ Ἰωνία.}}
:''Tád' estì Pelopónnēsos, ouk Iōnía''.
:"Here is Peloponnesus, not Ionia" — Inscription written on a pillar erected by [[Theseus]] on the [[Isthmus of Corinth]] facing toward the West, i.e. toward the [[Peloponnese]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Plutarch, Theseus, chapter 25 |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:2008.01.0075:chapter=25 |access-date=2023-12-17 |website=www.perseus.tufts.edu |archive-date=2024-02-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240219192149/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:2008.01.0075:chapter=25 |url-status=live }}</ref>

;{{lang|grc|Τάδ' οὐχὶ Πελοπόννησος, ἀλλ' Ἰωνία.}}
:''Tád' oukhì Pelopónnēsos, all' Iōnía''.
:"Here is not Peloponnesus, but Ionia" — inscription as per above, but toward East, i.e. toward [[Attica]].

;{{lang|grc|Τῆς παιδείας ἔφη τὰς μὲν ῥίζας εἶναι πικράς, τὸν δὲ καρπὸν γλυκύν.}}
:''Tês paideías éphē tàs mèn rhízas eînai pikrás, tòn dè karpòn glukún.''
:"The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet." - [[Aristotle]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, Ε, Κεφ. α᾽. ΑΡΙΣΤΟΤΕΛΗΣ |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0004.tlg001.perseus-grc1:5.1 |access-date=2023-12-17 |website=www.perseus.tufts.edu |archive-date=2023-09-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230920185526/https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0004.tlg001.perseus-grc1:5.1 |url-status=live }}</ref>

;{{lang|grc|Τὶ δύσκολον; Τὸ ἑαυτὸν γνῶναι.}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, ΒΙΩΝ ΚΑΙ ΓΝΩΜΩΝ ΤΩΝ ΕΝ ΦΙΛΟΣΟΦΙΑΙ ΕΥΔΟΚΙΜΗΣΑΝΤΩΝ ΤΩΝ ΕΙΣ ΔΕΚΑ ΤΟ ΠΡΩΤΟΝ, Κεφ. α᾽. ΘΑΛΗΣ |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0257:book=1:chapter=1 |access-date=2023-12-17 |website=www.perseus.tufts.edu |archive-date=2024-02-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240220022027/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0257%3Abook%3D1%3Achapter%3D1 |url-status=live }}</ref>
:''Tì dúskolon? Tò heautòn gnônai.''
:"What is hard? To [[know thyself]]." — attributed (among other [[seven Sages of Greece|sages]]) to [[Thales]], according to [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pausanias, Description of Greece, *fwkika/, *lokrw=n *)ozo/lwn, chapter 24 |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0159:book=10:chapter=24 |access-date=2023-12-17 |website=www.perseus.tufts.edu |archive-date=2024-02-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240220010630/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0159%3Abook%3D10%3Achapter%3D24 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Reconst Kilyx Edipo y la Esfinge.svg|thumb|[[Oedipus]] and the [[sphinx]], on an Attic red-figure [[Kylix (drinking cup)|kylix]]]]
;{{lang|grc|Τί ἐστιν ὃ μίαν ἔχον φωνὴν τετράπουν καὶ δίπουν καὶ τρίπουν γίνεται;}}
:''Tí estin hò mían ékhon phōnḕn tetrápoun kaì dípoun kaì trípoun gínetai?''
:"What is that which has one voice and yet becomes four-footed and two-footed and three-footed?" — The famous [[Sphinx#Riddle of the Sphinx|riddle of the Sphinx]]. [[Oedipus]] solved the riddle correctly by answering: "Man: as an infant, he crawls on fours; as an adult, he walks on two legs and; in old age, he uses a walking stick".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Apollodorus, Library, book 3, chapter 5, section 8 |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0022:text=Library:book=3:chapter=5:section=8 |access-date=2023-12-17 |website=www.perseus.tufts.edu |archive-date=2023-09-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230924022720/https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0022:text=Library:book=3:chapter=5:section=8 |url-status=live }}</ref>

;{{lang|grc|Τὶ εὔκολον; Τὸ ἄλλῳ ὑποτίθεσθαι.}}
:''Tì eúkolon? Tò állōi hupotíthesthai.''
:"What is easy? To advise another." — Thales

;{{lang|grc|Τὶ καινὸν εἴη τεθεαμένος; Γέροντα τύραννον.}}
:''Tì kainòn eíē tetheaménos? Géronta túrannon.''
:"What is the strangest thing to see? "An aged [[tyrant]]." — Thales<ref>{{Cite web |title=Plutarch, De genio Socratis, section 6 |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:2008.01.0306:section=6 |access-date=2023-12-17 |website=www.perseus.tufts.edu |archive-date=2023-09-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230920185256/https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2008.01.0306%3Asection%3D6 |url-status=live }}</ref>

;{{lang|grc|Τὶ κοινότατον; Ἐλπίς. Καὶ γὰρ οἷς ἄλλο μηδέν, αὔτη παρέστη.}}
:''Tì koinótaton? Elpís. Kaì gàr hoîs állo mēdén, aútē paréstē.''
:"What is quite common? Hope. When all is gone, there is still hope. Literally: "Because even to those who have nothing else, it is still nearby." — Thales

;{{lang|grc|Τὶ τάχιστον; Νοῦς. Διὰ παντὸς γὰρ τρέχει.}}
:''Tì tákhiston? [[nous|Noûs]]. Dià pantòs gàr trékhei.''
:"What is the fastest? The mind. It travels through everything." — Thales

;{{lang|grc|Τὶ πρότερον γεγόνοι, νὺξ ἢ ἡμέρα; "νύξ, μιᾷ ἡμέρᾳ πρότερον.}}
:''Tì próteron gegónoi, nùx ḕ hēméra? núx, miâi hēmérāi próteron.''
:"Which is older, day or night? "Night is the older, by one day." — Thales

;{{lang|grc|Τὸ γὰρ ἡδύ, ἐὰν πολύ, οὐ τί γε ἡδύ.}}
:''Tò gàr hēdú, eàn polú, ou tí ge hēdú''.
:"A sweet thing tasted too often is no longer sweet."

;{{lang|grc|Τὸ δὶς ἐξαμαρτεῖν οὐκ ἀνδρὸς σοφοῦ.}}
:''Tò dìs examarteîn ouk andròs sophoû.''
:"To make the same mistake twice [is] not [a sign] of a wise man."

;{{lang|grc|Τὸ πεπρωμένον φυγεῖν ἀδύνατον.}}
:''Tò peprōménon phugeîn adúnaton.''
:"It's impossible to escape from what is destined."

== Υυ ==
;{{lang|grc|υἱὸς μονογενής}}
:''huiòs monogenḗs''
:"Only-begotten son" From John 3:16: Οὕτως γὰρ ἠγάπησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν κόσμον, ὥστε '''τὸν υἱὸν τὸν μονογενῆ''' ἔδωκεν. [Oútōs gàr ēgápēsen ho Theòs tòn kósmon, hṓste '''tòn huiòn tòn monogenê''' édōken.] "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son" and see John 1:14
:The expression later appears in the [[Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed]]: Καὶ εἰς ἕνα Κύριον Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν, '''τὸν Υἱὸν''' τοῦ Θεοῦ '''τὸν μονογενῆ''' [Kaì eis éna Kúrion Iēsoun Christón, '''tòn Huiòn''' toû Theoû '''tòn monogenê''']; ''Et in unum Dominum Iesum Christum, '''Filium''' Dei '''Unigenitum'''''; And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the '''only-begotten Son''' of God.
:[[Unigenitus]] (named for its Latin opening words ''Unigenitus dei filius'', or "''Only-begotten Son of God''") is an apostolic constitution in the form of a papal bull promulgated by Pope [[Clement XI]] in 1713.

;{{lang|grc|ὕστερον πρότερον}}
:''[[hysteron proteron|hústeron próteron]]''
:"The latter one first"
:Rhetorical device in which the most important action is placed first, even though it happens after the other action. The standard example comes from the [[Aeneid]] of [[Virgil]] (2.353):
:''Moriamur, et in media arma ruamus'' "Let us die, and charge into the thick of the fight".

== Φφ ==
[[File:Phoenician alphabet.svg|thumb|The Phoenician alphabet as used on the [[Mesha Stele]] (the Moabite Stone)]]
;{{lang|grc|Φοινικήϊα γράμματα}}
:''Phoinikē&#769;ïa grámmata''
:"Phoenician letters"
:The Phoenician prince [[Cadmus]] was generally accredited by Greeks such as [[Herodotus]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Herodotus, The Histories, Book 1, chapter 1, section 0 |url=http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0126&redirect=true |access-date=2023-12-17 |website=www.perseus.tufts.edu |archive-date=2008-02-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080203191234/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0126&layout=&loc=5.22 |url-status=live }}</ref> with the introduction of the [[Phoenician alphabet]] several centuries before the [[Trojan war]], circa 2000 BC.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Herodotus, The Histories, Book 2, chapter 145 |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hdt.+2.145&fromdoc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0126 |access-date=2023-12-17 |website=www.perseus.tufts.edu |archive-date=2023-09-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230920190107/https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hdt.+2.145&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0126 |url-status=live }}</ref>

;{{lang|grc|Φρονεῖν γὰρ οἱ ταχεῖς οὐκ ἀσφαλεῖς}}.<ref>[[Sophocles]], ''[[Oedipus Rex]]'', 617</ref>
:''Phroneîn gàr hoi takheîs ouk asphaleîs.''
:"Those who make quick decisions are not safe."

==Χχ==

;{{lang|grc|Χαλεπὰ τὰ καλά}}.
:''Khalepà tà [[kalos kagathos|kalá]].''
:"The good/beautiful things [are] difficult [to attain]."
:"Naught without labor."
:"[What is] good/beautiful [is] troublesome."
:Cf. [[Plato]], ''[[The Republic (Plato)|Republic]]'' 4, 435c; ''[[Hippias Major]]'', 304e

==Ψψ==
[[File:ancientlibraryalex.jpg|thumb|The Ancient Library of Alexandria]]
'''ψυχῆς ἰατρεῖον'''
:''psukhês iatreîon''
:"hospital of the soul"
:Refers to the [[Library of Alexandria]], also known as the Great Library in [[Alexandria]], Egypt, which was once the largest library in the world.
:The phrase is used in reverse as ἰατρεῖον ψυχῆς as a motto for [[Carolina Rediviva]], a university library in [[Uppsala]], and is echoed in the motto of the [[American Philological Association]], "ψυχῆς ἰατρὸς τὰ γράμματα" ("literature is the soul's physician"). The phrase "ΨΥΧΗΣ ΙΑΤΡΕΙΟΝ" is above the entrance door of the [[Abbey library of Saint Gall]].

== Ωω ==
[[File:Thermopiles memorial epitaph.jpg|thumb|Epitaph at the Thermopylae]]
;{{lang|grc|Ὦ ξεῖν’, ἀγγέλλειν Λακεδαιμονίοις ὅτι τῇδε / κείμεθα τοῖς κείνων ῥήμασι πειθόμενοι.}}
:''Ô xeîn’, angéllein Lakedaimoníois hóti têide'' / ''keímetha toîs keínōn rhē&#769;masi peithómenoi.''
:"Stranger, tell the Spartans that here we lie, obedient to their laws."
:[[Epitaph]], a single [[elegiac couplet]] by [[Simonides of Ceos|Simonides]] on the dead of [[Battle of Thermopylae|Thermopylae]].
:Translated by [[Cicero]] in his ''[[Tusculan Disputations]]'' (1.42.101) as «Dic, hospes, Spartae nos te hic vidisse iacentis / dum sanctis patriae legibus obsequimur» (often quoted with the form ''iacentes'').

==See also==
* {{anl|Delphic maxims}}
* [[English words of Greek origin]]
* {{anl|Epithets in Homer}}
* {{anl|Greek language}}
* [[List of Latin phrases]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Wikiquote-inline|Greek proverbs}}
* [http://users.uoa.gr/~nektar/history/1antiquity/seven_wise.htm Quotations of the Seven Sages of Ancient Greece] {{in lang|el}}

{{Greek language}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Classical Greek Phrases}}
[[Category:Quotations|Greek Phrases, List of]]
[[Category:Greek words and phrases| ]]
[[Category:Lists of phrases|Greek Phrases, List of]]