It's all Greek to me
October 2020
It is difficult to exaggerate the impact that ancient Greece has had on western civilisation. This can be seen in many fields such as philosophy, politics, medicine, science, literature and art to name but a few.
One of the most visible areas in which the Greeks have influenced us is in architecture. When you walk around the city centres of Britain you can see grand buildings such as Victorian banks and town halls which are mini-forests of Doric, Ionic or Corinthian columns. Many civic buildings and church fronts resemble Roman temples which the Romans themselves copied from the Greek originals especially The Parthenon.
However, it is also in words that Greece has impacted upon our daily lives and still does today. Below is a collection of words and phrases that originate from ancient Greece. Some will be recognised by every adult and school child such as democracy, the Olympics, theatre, Odyssey, Nike, Helen of Troy and “This is Sparta!”. These form part of our almost everyday language and if you would like to see more of how Greece has influenced us and continues to do so then read on…
Popular words and phrases
It’s all Greek to me This is a quote from Shakespeare’s play “Julius Caesar”. The actual quote is “It was Greek to me” (Act 1, Scene 2), and this is often misquoted (including by me) today as “It’s all Greek to me”.
Alphabet – this word comes from alpha and beta which are the first two characters in the Greek alphabet.
You can usually spot words derived from ancient Greece if they end in the following ways -
-osophy, -phobia, -ology, -ophile.
Below are examples with their meanings.
Philosophy – in Greek, philos means “loving” and sophia means “wisdom” so a philosopher is a lover of wisdom.
Agoraphobia – the agora was an “open place or market” in ancient Greece and phobos means “fear of” so agoraphobia is the fear of open places.
Acrophobia – the Greek word acro means “high” and phobos means “fear of” so fear of high places.
Astrology – astron means "star" and -logia (-logy), means "study of" or "account of”.
Astronomy - astron means "star" and nomos, "law" or "culture" so astronomy means "law of the stars".
Many constellations, stars and planetary bodies are named after Greek mythological figures such as Andromeda, Pleiades, Orion, Cassiopeia, Pegasus and Perseus,
Anthropology - ánthrōpos means “human" and -logia (-logy) means "study of" or "account of” so study of humans.
Biology - bio means "life" and logía (-logy) means "study of".
Archaeology – archae means “ancient” and -logia (-logy), means "study of".
Geology geo means "earth" and logía (-logy) means " study of".
Bibliophile – biblion is Greek for “paper” or ”scroll” and phile is “lover” so a lover of books.
Acropolis – the Greek word acro means “high” and polis means “city”.
The Acropolis – Stephen Fry (who is a great fan of Greek myths) eventually reveals an interesting fact about the Acropolis on QI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdvD4Fhc_K8
Democracy – the Greek system of government in 5th century BCE Athens derives from the Greek words demos which means “people” and kratos which means “rule”.
Politics – comes from the Greek ta politika which means “the affairs of the city”
Theatre from the Greek word Theatron – the seated area in a Greek theatre.
Orchestra – The orchestra was a circular piece of ground at the bottom of the theatron where the chorus and actors performed.
Tragedy – Greek tragedy as we know it was created in Athens around 532 BCE. Tragedies were part of a festival called the Dionysia, which honoured the god Dionysus. The origins of the word come from the Greek words tragos meaning "goat" and ode meaning "song",
Comedy - comedy seems to have originated in songs or recitations at fertility festivals or gatherings, or also in making fun at other people or stereotypes.
Thespis was the name of the earliest ancient Greek actor hence actors are thespians.
Olympic Games – these are named after the athletic games started in 776 BCE and held every 4 years at ancient Olympia in Greece.
Gymnasium The word gymnasion was first used in ancient Greece for the place for both physical and intellectual education of young men.
Marathon – this is the name of the battle which the Greeks won in 490 BCE against the Persians. After the battle a runner ran the 26 miles to Athens to announce the victory to the Athenians.
Oracle – a place where people consulted the gods to learn about the future. The most famous oracle was at Delphi.
Photograph is a combination of two Greek words: photo meaning “light,” and graph meaning “write,” “draw,” or “record.”
Telescope is a combination of two Greek words: tele meaning “far away” or “distant,” and skopos meaning “target” or the “object of attention.” In the same way, micro meaning “small” is used in the same fashion in “microscope” to describe an instrument for observing small things.
The Gods
The main Greek Gods were the 12 Olympians who lived on Mount Olympus. Below is a list of these along with their Roman equivalents. The Greek name is given first.
Zeus = Jupiter. King of the gods, ruler of Mount Olympus, and god of the sky, thunder and lightning.
Hera = Juno. Queen of the gods, and goddess of marriage, kings, and empires.
Poseidon = Neptune. God of the sea, rivers and earthquakes.
Demeter = Ceres. Goddess of grain (hence cereals), agriculture and the harvest.
Athena = Athena. Goddess of reason, wisdom, skill, peace, warfare and handicrafts.
Apollo = Apollo. God of music, arts, healing, plague, prophecy, poetry and archery.
Aphrodite = Venus. Goddess of beauty and love.
Dionysus = Bacchus. God of wine, drunkeness and the theatre.
Ares = Mars. God of war, bloodshed, and violence.
Artemis = Diana. Virgin goddess of the hunt and young girls.
Hermes = Mercury. God of travel, communication, trade, thieves and writing.
Hephaestus = Vulcan. God of fire, metalworking, and crafts.
Other gods and goddesses are: -
Nemesis - goddess of retribution.
Nike - goddess of victory.
Hades = Pluto. King of the underworld and the dead.
Persephone = Prosperina. Queen of the underworld and wife of Hades.
Gaia - Personification of the Earth (Mother Earth) and mother of the Titans.
Helios – Titan of the sun.
Hestia = Vesta. Virgin goddess of the hearth, home, and chastity.
Olympus – the highest mountain in Greece where the gods lived.
Nectar – the drink of the gods.
Ambrosia – the food of the gods.
The heroes and myths
The main myths of the heroes include the tales of the Trojan War, Odysseus, Jason and the Argonauts, Heracles and Theseus.
Achilles’ heel – the Greek hero Achilles had one weak point which was his heel. His mother, Thetis, dipped Achilles into the river Styx when he was a baby to make him invulnerable. In order to do this, she held him by the foot and so that part of him remained vulnerable.
Trojan Horse – from the Greek myth where the Greeks hid in a wooden horse in order to trick and defeat the Trojans.
Helen of Troy – the most beautiful woman in the world.
Odyssey – a long voyage or journey from the tale of the travels of the Greek hero, Odysseus.
Siren – This was a creature half bird and half woman who lured sailors to destruction by the sweetness of her song. In Homer’s Odyssey, the Greek hero Odysseus escapes the danger of the Sirens’ song by stopping the ears of his crew with wax and having himself tied to the mast so he could still listen to them.
Odysseus on his ship tied to the mast
Cyclops – One eyed giant from The Odyssey who traps Odysseus and his men in a cave. Odysseus escapes by blinding the Cyclops.
Jason and the Argonauts – Jason put together a band of heroes and adventurers who set sail in the boat Argo in search of the Golden Fleece.
Herculean – from the Greek hero Heracles who was known as Hercules by the Romans.
Labours of Heracles/Hercules – 12 dangerous tasks that Heracles/Hercules had to perform.
Theseus and the Minotaur – Theseus had to enter the labyrinth to kill the minotaur who was a half man and half bull creature. He was helped by the Princess Ariadne who gave him a sword and a piece of string so he could find his way back out of the maze.
Labyrinth – a maze which Theseus had to enter the labyrinth to kill the minotaur.
Narcissistic – from the Greek myth of Narcissus who fell in love with his own reflection.
Echo – was the name of a nymph who could only repeat what had last been said to her.
Atlas – a giant Titan who was punished by Zeus and had to support heaven on his shoulders for all eternity. The mountain range in Morocco is named after him.
Medusa – one of the Gorgons who was transformed by Athena into a hideous monster with snakes for hair. The sight of her turned men to stone.
Midas – was a King who literally had the “golden touch” as everything he touched turned to gold.
Scientists and philosophers
Pythagoras – lived in the 6th century BCE and was famous for his theorem on triangles that the square of the length of the hypotenuse (the side opposite the right angle) is equal to the square of the length of the other two sides so if a and b are the lengths of the 2 sides and c is the length of the hypotenuse then a²+b²=c².
Democritus - was an ancient Greek philosopher primarily remembered today for his formulation of an atomic theory of the universe in about 400 BCE.
Thales - used geometry to calculate the heights of pyramids and the distance of ships from the shore.
Aristarchus of Samos was an ancient Greek astronomer and mathematician who in about 260 BCE presented the first known heliocentric model that placed the Sun at the centre of the known universe with the Earth revolving around it.
Eratosthenes calculated the circumference of the earth to be about 25,000 miles using geometry. This measurement is almost correct and astonishingly accurate when you consider it was done about 240 BCE.
Archimedes of Syracuse was a Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, inventor, and astronomer who lived in the 3rd century BCE.
Eureka! The exclamation Eureka is used to celebrate a discovery, and it can be translated to “I have found!”. It is attributed to Archimedes. While taking a bath, he suddenly realized that the water displaced must be equal to the volume of the part of his body he had submerged. He got so excited with the discovery that he left his home and started to run and shout “Eureka!” through the streets of Syracuse.
Hero of Alexandria (10 - 70 AD) invented a steam machine called an aeolipile or “Hero’s engine” centuries before the Industrial Revolution in England. Why didn’t the ancients make use of this steam power? Basically, they had slaves and it was cheap to use them so they never desired to make machines that could be powered by steam.
Hippocrates (460 – 370 BCE) was a famous Greek physician and healer who is known as the “Father of medicine”. The Hippocratic oath is an oath of ethics historically taken by doctors to prescribe only beneficial treatments, to refrain from doing harm to any one and to maintain medical confidentiality.
Socrates was a Greek philosopher from Athens who lived in the 5th century BCE. He is credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy, and as being the first moral philosopher of the Western ethical tradition of thought. The Oracle of Delphi pronounced Socrates the wisest of all Greeks.
Plato was an Athenian philosopher in ancient Greece. He was a pupil of Socrates, founder of the Platonist school of thought and the Academy which was the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. He wrote a number of dialogues featuring Socrates.
Aristotle was a philosopher who was taught by Plato and founded a school of philosophy The Lyceum. He also taught Alexander the Great.
Christianity
Christos is Greek for the “anointed one” hence Jesus Christ(os).
Gospel means “Goods news” in Greek.
ICHTHYS (ΙΧΘΥΣ) means “fish” in Greek and was an early symbol for Christians. This is because the first letters of ICHTHYS are taken from Iēsoûs Khristòs Theoû Yiòs Sōtḗr which means "Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour."
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Iota (i) is the first letter of Iesous, Greek for "Jesus".
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Chi (ch) is the first letter of Christos (Χριστός), Greek for anointed" (of the Lord).
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Theta (th) is the first letter of Theou (Θεοῦ), Greek for "God's".
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Upsilon (y) is the first letter of Yἱός, Greek for "Son".
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Sigma (Σ) is the first letter of sōtēr, Greek for "Saviour".
Alpha (Α or α) and omega (Ω or ω) are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, and a title of Christ and God in the Book of Revelation. This pair of letters is used as a Christian symbol, and is often combined with the Cross, Chi-rho, or other Christian symbols.
The Chi Rho is one of the earliest forms of christogram, formed by superimposing the first two (capital) letters—chi and rho (Χ and Ρ)—of the Greek word ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ (Christos) in such a way that the vertical stroke of the rho intersects the centre of the chi.
The Chi-Rho symbol was used by Constantine I - the Roman Emperor from 306–337 AD.
Kyrie eleison means "Lord have mercy".
Nipson anomemate me monanopsin means "Wash the sins not only the face". This is a palindrome (attributed to Gregory of Nazianzus). It has been inscribed in the Hagia Sophia (Greek for the church of Holy Wisdom) in Istanbul and on many church fonts.
Apocalypse is a Greek word literally meaning “an uncovering” and so is a revelation of knowledge in the religious sense. It is thought by many Christians that the biblical Book of Revelation depicts as an "apocalypse" - the complete and final destruction of the world in which the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse ( Pestilence, War, Famine and Death) are unleashed upon the planet.
The Four Horsemen of the Acropolis
General
The Seven wonders of the ancient world – this was a list of wonders compiled by Philo of Byzantium. The list comprised of the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Lighthouse of Alexandria, the Colossus of Rhodes, the statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
The Gordian Knot is a legend associated with Alexander the Great. In the story, Gordius, the ancient king of Phrygia, tied a knot (the Gordian knot) which was so complicated that, according to a prophecy, it would only be undone by the person who was to rule Asia. Rather than try to untie it Alexander the Great cut it with his sword. It is often used as a metaphor for an intractable problem, solved by a bold stroke
Tantalus was the king of Anatolia who butchered his son Pelops and served him as a meal to the gods. He was punished with the torment of starvation and “tantalised” with food and drink which was dangled just out of his reach.
Asclepius – was a son of Apollo who was taught the arts of medicine and healing by Cheiron the centaur. His symbol was a snake. This is why you will often see a sign on a pharmacy of a snake wrapped around a staff or a mortar or pestle which were used to mix medicines. Talking of pharmacy, the Greek word “pharmakia” literally means “drugs”.
Arachne was a skilled weaver who offended Athena and was transformed into a spider (an Arrachnid) for her blasphemy.
Lesbian or Sapphic - Sappho was a woman poet who lived on the island of Lesbos. Some of her love poetry is directed towards women. The love that a woman can have for another woman is therefore called Lesbian or Sapphic.
Titanic – from Titan. The Titans were gigantic creatures who ruled Greece before the Olympic gods and goddesses.
Mnemonic – a reminder. The Greek hero, Achilles, had been warned not to kill a certain son of Apollo when he set sail for the Trojan War because if he did then Achilles would die early at the hands of Apollo. Achilles instructed a Greek called Mnemon to remind him of this throughout the war. Achilles did kill the son of Apollo and so died early himself, but not before Achilles had Mnemon put to death for failing to remind him.
Riddle of the Sphinx. Oedipus was a mythical Greek king of Thebes who solved the riddle "What is that which has one voice and yet becomes four-footed and two-footed and three-footed?" Oedipus replied 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”.
Oedipus complex – Oedipus was fated to kill his father and marry his own mother. The Oedipus complex is the name given by psychologist Sigmund Freud for the fixation that sons can have for their mothers.
Electra complex – Electra was the daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. Electra aided her brother Orestes in plotting revenge against their mother for the murder of their father. The Electra complex is the name given by psychologist Sigmund Freud for the fixation that daughters can have for their fathers.
Pegasus was the winged horse who sprang out of the blood of the severed head of Medusa.
Icarus and Daedalus – Daedalus was a famous mythical inventor and very clever man. He and his son, Icarus, were imprisoned by King Minos in Crete. Daedalus made a pair of wings for himself and Icarus from bird feathers which were held in place by wax. These wings enabled the pair of them to escape by flying away. Daedalus warned Icarus not to fly too high or the sun would melt the wax on his wings. In his excitement at being able to fly, Icarus forgot his father’s advice and flew too close to the sun which melted the wax. Icarus fell into the sea and was drowned.
Laconic – meaning of few words or concise speech comes from the city of Laconia, a region in ancient Greece that included the city-state of Sparta. Spartans famously lacked pomposity and employed a dry wit. Examples of this include: -
If - Plutarch reports that Phillip II of Macedon sent word to the Spartans, saying that "if I should invade Laconia, I shall drive you out." The Spartans laconically responded with "If."
"Come take them!" - At the Battle of Thermopylae, King Xerses of Persia had about 100,000 men at his disposal compared to 7,000 Greeks led by the 300 Spartans. Xerses demanded that the Greek army lay down their arms and he would spare them their lives. King Leonidas of Sparta answered by saying “Molon labe” meaning “Come take them!”.
Fight you in the shade - On the eve of the Battle of Thermopylae, a Spartan called Dieneces learned from an informer that the Persian arrows were so numerous they would blot out the sun. His reply was “Then we shall fight you in the shade”.
And finally, a wedding greeting from Homer’s Odyssey. When taking his leave of Nausicaa, the young princess who has helped him, Odysseus says this to her:-
“May the gods grant you everything your heart desires. May they grant you a home and a husband and sweet contentment in all things. For nothing is better than this, than when a man and a woman set up a house and live together in harmony, a thing that brings great joy to their friends and grief to their foes.”
I have written this on many wedding cards as it seems to me to be a very appropriate message for a newly married couple and it is better than anything I could make up myself.
Finding out about ancient Greece has been one of the most rewarding as well as entertaining things I have done in my life. The architecture, the philosophers, the historical characters and the myths are all fascinating. Greece itself is also a beautiful place to visit for a holiday or to go and see the places where the history or myths took place.
If you would like to learn more about ancient Greek myths then I would recommend reading “The Iliad” and “The Odyssey” by Homer (these are sometimes affectionately referred to by scholars as “The Idiot” and “The Oddity”) and “The Greek Myths” by Robert Graves.
To find out more about the history of Greece, the Greco-Persian Wars and the battles of Thermopylae, Marathon and Salamis then read “The Histories” by Herodotus.
Giásas,
Brian Madican
September 2020
