Greek proverbs

Proverbs from all Greek speaking parts of the world.

Δ

• Δώσε τόπο στην οργή.
  • Shove anger aside.
  • "Two things a Man should never be angry at; what he can help, and what he cannot help."
  • Thomas Fuler, Gnomologia (1732)
  • Nea hestia. I. D. Kollaros \& Sa.. 1996. 

• Don't hear one and judge two.
  • Alexander Negris (1831). A Dictionary of Modern Greek Proverbs: With an English Translation, Explanatory Remarks, and Philological Illustrations. T. Clark. pp. 79–. 

A

• "Αγάλι-αγάλι γίνεται η αγουρίδα μέλι."
  • 'A green fruit gets ripe slowly.
  • English equivalent: Patience is a virtue, and a little will not hurt you.
  • Proverbium. 23. Ohio State University. 2006. p. 129. 

Ε

• "Είπε ο γάιδαρος τον πετεινό κεφάλα."
  • "The donkey called the rooster bigheaded."
  • Similar to "The pot calling the kettle black" or "Look who's talking".
  • Aravantinos, Panagiotis (1863). "294". Paroimiasterion. (Epirotische Sprüchwörter.) (neogr.). p. 38. 

• Ἐν οἴνῳ ἀλήθεια
  • There is truth in wine.
  • English equivalent: In wine there is truth.
  • Latin equivalentː In vino veritas.
  • "Alcohol consumed removes the inhibition against telling the truth that occasionally one would like to keep secret."
  • European Proverbs in 55 languages. DeProverbio.com. 1997. p. 272. ISBN 1-875943-44-7. 

H

• Η καλύτερη άμυνα είναι η επίθεση.
  • English equivalent: The best defence is a good offense.
  • Source for meaning: Maira Papathanasopoulou (1 January 1998). Ho Ioudas philouse hyperocha: mythistorēma. Ekdoseis Patakē. p. 23. ISBN 978-960-600-451-3. Retrieved on 21 June 2013. 

• Η φτήνια τρώει τον παρά.
  • English equivalent: If you buy cheaply, you pay dearly.
  • Spoudōn (1998). Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής. Αριστοτέλειο Πανεπιστήμιο Θεσσαλονίκης. p. 1027. 

• Η γλώσσα κόκαλα δεν έχει, αλλά κόκαλα τσακίζει.
  • English equivalent: The pen is mightier than the sword.
  • "The play's the thing,
    Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king."
  • William Shakespeare, Hamlet (1600–1), Act II, scene ii
  • Venizelos (1867). Paroimiai dēmōdeis. Ek tou typographeiou tēs Patridos. p. 95. 

Κ

• Και οι τοίχοι έχουν αυτιά.
  • English equivalent: The walls have ears.
  • "What you say may be overheard; used as a warning."
  • Martin H. Manser (2007). The Facts on File Dictionary of Proverbs. Infobase Publishing. p. 287. ISBN 978-0-8160-6673-5. Retrieved on 27 September 2013. 

• Κάλλιο γαϊδουρόδενε, παρά γαϊδουρογύρευε.
  • English equivalent: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
  • Βασιλειάδης. ΈγκλημαστοΚΕΛΥΦΩΣ Αστυνομικόμυθιστόρημα. Dimitri Vasileiadis. p. 105. 

• Kάλλιο πέντε και στο χέρι, παρά δέκα και καρτέρι.
  • English equivalent: A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
  • "Laugh and be fat."
  • John Taylor, title of a tract (1615)
  • Berettas (1863). Syllogēparoimiōn tōn neōterōn Hellēnōn meta parallēlismou pros tas tōn archaiōn. Ek tou typ. ho Hellēnopelasgos. p. 37. ISBN 1 . 

• Κόρακας κοράκου μάτι δε βγάζει.
  • English equivalent: Hawks will not pick out Hawk's eyes.
  • "One belonging to a group having common interests is not likely to act against or find fault with another member of the same group. Solidarity may prevail over law, justice or truth."
  • Paczolay, Gyula (1997). "X". European proverbs: in 55 languages, with equivalents in Arabic, Persian, Sanskrit, Chinese and Japanese. Veszprémi Nyomda. p. 96. ISBN 1-875943-44-7. 
  • Shqiptaro-Greke (1999). Albanohellenica. Albanian-Greek Philological Association. p. 22. 

• Καλή ζωή, κακή διαθήκη.
  • English equivalent: Fools live poor to die rich.
  • Chakkas (1978). Hapanta. Kedros. 

Μ

• Μία χελιδὼν ἔαρ οὐ ποιεῖ.
  • English equivalent: One swallow does not a summer make.
  • Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, (1098a18)

Ο

• Ο χρόνος είναι ακριβός
  • English equivalent: Time is precious.
  • Paczolay, Gyula (1997). European Proverbs in 55 languages. DeProverbio.com. p. 428. ISBN 1-875943-44-7. 

• Όποιος γίνεται πρόβατο τον τρώει ο λύκος.
  • He who becomes a sheep is eaten by the wolf.
  • English equivalent: He that makes himself a sheep shall be eaten by the wolf.
  • Dostoyevsky, Koteliansky (2010). Dostoevsky: Letters and Reminiscences. Kessinger Publishing. pp. 304. ISBN 1163449024. 

• Όφις ην μη φάγη όφιν, δράκων ου γενήσεται.
  • Alternatively: Όφις ει μη φάγοι όφιν, δράκων ου γενήσεται. (see Robert Nares)
  • A serpent, unless it devours a serpent, will not become a dragon. (Erasmus, translated by Barker)
  • Quoted by Erasmus, Michael Apostolius, and in Suda (according to Robert Nares)
  • Translated into Latin by Apostolius, Erasmus, and Francis Bacon.
  • Paraphrased in English by John Dryden (Oedipus III.1): "A serpent ne'er becomes a flying dragon, / Till he has eat a serpent." (see Robert Nares)
  • Sources:
    • Robert Nares, A Glossary, p. 781. (Nares's "φύγοι" emended to "φάγοι" based on Apostolius's text.)
    • Erasmus III iii 61, translated in William Watson Barker, ed. The Adages of Erasmus, p. 271.
    • Michael Apostolius, Paroemiae [Proverbs]. Ed. Daniel Heinsius. Leiden, 1619. p. 187.
    • A search of the Suda does not return this proverb.

• Ο πνιγμένος, από τα μαλλιά του πιάνεται.
  • English equivalent: A drowning man will clutch at a straw.
  • Κριαρας (2007). Αλλελωγραφιαδυο:. ΕκδοσειςΠολυτυπο. p. 33. 

Σ

• Συν Αθηνά και χείρα κίνει.
  • Move your hand along with Athena (Minerva)
  • English equivalent: Heaven help those who help themselves.
  • "When in trouble first of all every one himself should do his best to improve his condition."
  • Paczolay, Gyula (1997). European Proverbs in 55 languages. DeProverbio.com. p. 150. ISBN 1-875943-44-7. 
  • Karagiōrgos, Panos (1999). Greek and English proverbs. P. Karagiorgos. p. 99. 

Τ

• Τα εν οίκω μη εν δήμω.
  • English equivalent: Don't wash your dirty linen in public; It is an ill bird that fouls its own nest.
  • "Why wantonly proclaim one's own disgrace, or expose the faults or weaknesses of one's kindred or people?"
  • "It is considered contemptible to defy the rule of solidarity by revealing facts harmful to the group one belongs to."
  • Proverbs of All Nations. W. Kent & Company (late D. Bogue). 1859. p. 109. 
  • Paczolay, Gyula (1997). "106". European proverbs: in 55 languages, with equivalents in Arabic, Persian, Sanskrit, Chinese and Japanese. Veszprémi Nyomda. p. 466. ISBN 1-875943-44-7. 
  • Karagiōrgos, Panos (1999). Greek and English proverbs. P. Karagiorgos. p. 99. 

• Τα μεγάλα πνεύματα συναντώνται
  • English equivalent: Great minds think alike.
  • Karagiōrgos, Panos (1999). Greek and English proverbs. P. Karagiorgos. p. 138. 

• Άγιος που δε θαυματουργεί, μηδέ δοξολογιέται.
  • The saint who works no miracles isn't glorified.
  • "I think that sex is necessary and bankers are not."
  • Lancelot Hogben, in Twentieth Century Authors, A Biographical Dictionary of Modern Literature, Edited by Stanley J. Kunitz, and Howard Haycraft. New York, The H.W. Wilson Company, 1950, (pp. 658-59)
  • Kyriakos Simopoulos. Pōs eidan hoi xenoi tēn Hellada tou 21: apomnēmoneumata, chronika, hēmerologia, hypomnēmata, allēlographia ethelontōn, diplōmatōn, eidikōn apestalmenōn, periēgētōn, praktorōn k.a. p. 167. 

• Τυφλός... ο "Έρως
  • English equivalentː Love is blind.
  • "That is, it renders those blind who are under its influence by making that appear beautiful which is often the reverse."
  • Negris, Alexander (1831). A Dictionary of Modern Greek Proverbs: With an English Translation, Explanatory Remarks, and Philological Illustrations. p. 137. 

Disputed

• A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit.
  • Quoted in several English sources as a Greek proverb or aphorism, without citation. Compare the Latin of Caecilius Statius: Serit arbores, quae saeclo prosint alteri. ("He sows the seed of trees that they may be a profit to another age.")

See also

• Laconic phrases