List of Greek phrases / Ypsilon

Ὕβριν χρὴ σβεννύναι μᾶλλον ἢ πυρκαϊήν.

Ὕβριν χρὴ σβεννύναι μᾶλλον ἢ πυρκαϊήν.: Hybrin chrē sbennynai māllon ē pyrakaiēn.; "You have to quench the arrogance more than the conflagration."

Testimony of the philosopher Heraclitus directed against hubris , as handed down by the late antique philosopher Diogenes Laertios . Hubris is self- arrogance that is avenged by a just divine wrath, the nemesis . She is the catalyst for the fall of many of the main characters in Greek tragedies . The main character ignores the gods, which leads to their fall.

A well-known example is Tantalus , who wanted to test the omniscience of the gods at a banquet by killing his youngest son Pelops and having the gods prepared as a meal.

The American author Roger van Oech writes in his book What Would Heraclitus Do? to this ancient Greek expression for arrogance :

“In ancient times, hubris was always seen as a harbinger of doom. Anyone who takes pride in challenging the gods will be burned by the gods. Annihilation follows arrogance, as night follows day. "

In the opinion of Walter Arnold Kaufmann , hubris is not to be understood as pride in one's own achievement or one's own worth, not even as highlighting one's own merit. Hubris is mixed up with an action. The verb hybrizein means to become unrestrained or let off steam in Homer and is also applied to rivers, overgrown plants and overfed donkeys. Hubris therefore means cheek (for example used in the Odyssey for Penelope's suitors). It also means greed. Hybrism summarizes everything that is seriously wronged to a person.

Ὑγρὸν Πῦρ

Greek fire in a contemporary depiction from the 12th century.

Ὑγρὸν Πῦρ: Igron Pir ( Middle Greek ); "Liquid fire"

The Greek fire was a military incendiary weapon used in the Byzantine Empire. A burning petroleum-based liquid was sprayed against the target with a syringe, which could hardly be extinguished with water.

The details were secret. This also explains why the information mostly comes from non-Byzantine sources. Nevertheless - despite captured weapon systems - neither the Arabs nor the Bulgarians managed to use Greek fire themselves. Those involved in the production only had the knowledge required for their part of the task. However, after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453, the knowledge was lost.

Ὕες βορβόρῳ ἥδονται μᾶλλον ἢ καθαρῷ ὕδατι.

Ὕες βορβόρῳ ἥδονται μᾶλλον ἢ καθαρῷ ὕδατι.: Hyes borborō hēdontai mallon ē katharō hydati.; "Pigs enjoy mud more than pure water."

Statement of the early Christian theologian Clemens von Alexandria , who rejected pigs and also compared non-believers with pigs:

“ ² But if knowledge is not everything, ³ then the scriptures are the same for the masses as the sounds are for a donkey, to use the proverb to speak. ⁴ The pigs are more pleased with the mud than with pure water. "

Clemens denigrates the " godless sanctuaries " and the " worthless oracle sites ". As food, Clemens preferred food that could be enjoyed directly without fire. In this context, Clemens mentions that the apostles Matthew and John lived as vegetarians and gives his opinion that the bloody sacrifices were only invented so that people had an excuse to eat meat.

The philosopher Heraclitus commented on the same subject in one of his fragments as follows:

"Sows bathe in excrement, poultry in dust or ashes."

υἱὸς μονογενής

υἱὸς μονογενής: hyios monogenes; "Only born son"

Native son is an outdated translation of the Greek expression ( Latin unigenitus ) by Martin Luther . The exact translation is " only born son ". Its meaning depends on the answer to the question of what " unique " refers to. If one relates him to God, it is said that the Son comes from God as the Father alone. If one relates him to the son, it would be said that the son is the only son. An understanding in the sense of "born into" is in any case incorrect.

The formulation Only born son was also included in the main creeds of the Christian churches, the Nicene Creed and the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed :

“We believe in one God, the Almighty Father, who created everything, heaven and earth, the creator of everything visible and invisible. And to the one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was begotten from the Father as the onlyborn before all time, light from light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one being with the Father; "

The Latin Apostles' Creed has a different wording: " filium eius unicum " - " his only son ".

υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου

υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου: hyios tou anthropou; "Son of Man"

The term Son of Man , which comes from the Bible, is used in the New Testament by Jesus in such a way that he appears one with him. The book of Daniel describes him, "who looked like the son of a man", as the future representative of mankind, to whom YHWH after his final judgment his rule over the kingdom of God would be conferred:

“… There came one [who looked] like a Son of Man with the clouds of heaven. He got as far as the very old man and was brought before him. He was given rule, dignity, and kingship. All peoples, nations and languages must serve him. His rule is an eternal, imperishable rule. His kingdom never goes under ... "

In the New Testament it always appears as a self-statement of Jesus in the third person, never as a statement about him or others (e.g. Gospel according to Mark , 2.10 EU ):

" ¹⁰ ἵνα δὲ εἰδῆτε ὅτι ἐξουσίαν ἔχει ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἀφιέναι ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἁμαρτίας ... "

" ¹⁰ So that you may know that the Son of Man has power to forgive sins on earth ..."

Son of man is a title that Jesus only applies to himself and presumably to Dan 7,13f. EU is falling. There the heavenly Son of Man is described. who rules as king and world judge. Opinions differ widely about the exact meaning of this title. Most interpreters, however, agree that this title is to be understood messianically .

υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ

υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ: hyios tou Theou; "Son of god"

In Judaism, the Son of God can designate every pious and righteous person on the one hand, and the entire chosen people of Israel on the other . In Christianity , the Son of God is understood to mean the person Jesus of Nazareth , whom God chooses at baptism like his people Israel. Jesus Christ was already referred to as God by the apostles Paul and John.

As a rule of thumb, the evangelists portray Jesus as:

as servant of God ( Gospel according to Mark )
as king ( Gospel according to Matthew )
as a person ( Gospel according to Luke )
as Son of God ( Gospel according to John )

Ὑμεῖς ἐστε τὸ ἅλας τῆς γῆς ·

" You are the salt of the earth " was the motto of the Evangelical Church Congress in Stuttgart in 1999 and was symbolized by a mountain of salt on Schlossplatz .

Ὑμεῖς ἐστε τὸ ἅλας τῆς γῆς ·: Hymeis este to halas tēs gēs.; "You are the salt of the earth".

Quote from the Sermon on the Mount . The whole sentence is:

" Ὑμεῖς ἐστε τὸ ἅλας τῆς γῆς · ἐὰν δὲ τὸ ἅλας μωρανθῇ, ἐν τίνι ἁλισθήσεται; εἰς οὐδὲν ἰσχύει ἔτι εἰ μὴ βληθὲν ἔξω καταπατεῖσθαι ὑπὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων . "

“ You are the salt of the earth. If the salt is no longer salting, what should you use to salt? It is no longer of any use than to be thrown away and let people crush it. "

Jesus wanted to emphasize the importance of his disciples for missionary work. Just as people can not live without salt , its followers play an essential role in teaching the faith. Salt is used as the only preservative, and for the rabbis it signified wisdom. Salt was precious.

Ὑμεῖς ἐστε τὸ φῶς τοῦ κόσμου.

Light of the world in the Bremen Cathedral

Ὑμεῖς ἐστε τὸ φῶς τοῦ κόσμου.: Hymeis este to phōs tou kosmou; "You are the light of the world."

This sentence also comes from the Gospel according to Matthew and follows on from the previous one .

According to the rabbis, the light of the world was God, Adam, Israel, the Torah , the Temple or Jerusalem . Both the Jews and the Christians are addressed by Paul as the light of the world , but in the New Testament, above all, Jesus is the light of the world.

Ὕπαγε εἰς εἰρήνην.

Ὕπαγε εἰς εἰρήνην.: Hypage ice cream.; "Go in peace."

In the Gospel according to Mark and the Gospel according to Luke

This is what Jesus said to a frightened woman who was healed after merely touching Jesus' clothes in a crowd. ( Healing of the bloody woman ) But Jesus noticed this and addressed her:

" Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν αὐτῇ · θύγατερ, ἡ πίστις σου σέσωκέ σε · ὕπαγε εἰς εἰρήνην, καὶ ἴσθι ὑγιὴς ἀπὸ σους μάτς σπὸ τους μάτς "

“But he spoke to her; My daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be well from your plague! "

The Latin formula “ Ite missa est. “(“ Go! You have been sent! ”) Became the priest's dismissal formula at the end of the service called “ Mass ” afterwards .

Ὕπαγε, σατανᾶ.

Duccio : temptation of Jesus

Ὕπαγε, σατανᾶ.: Hypage, satanā.; "Give way to Satan!"

Words that Jesus , according to the gospel according to Matthew, addressed to the devil who wanted to tempt him in the desert (see temptation of Jesus ):

“ ⁸ Again the devil takes him up a very high mountain and shows him all the kingdoms of the world and its glory ⁹ and says to him: I will give you all this if you will fall down and worship me. For what good will it be to a person if he gains the whole world but forfeits his soul? Or what will a person give in ransom for his soul? ¹⁰ Jesus said to him, “Get away, Satan! for it is written: 'You shall worship the Lord your God and serve him only.' "

In ancient Greek it was Ὕπαγε. an angry exclamation: “ Away with you! "Or as a phrase" ᾿Άπαγε ἐς μακαρίαν ἐκποδών "-" Shear the devil! ".

In the Middle Ages, the Latin form of Apage Satanas became a fixed formula for banishing a diabolical phenomenon that still occurs today in the Catholic expulsion of the devil .

ὑπὲρ ὑμᾶς - πρὸς ὑμᾶς

ὑπὲρ ὑμᾶς - πρὸς ὑμᾶς: hyper hymas - pros hymas; "About us - about us"

The juxtaposition of natural science as "going beyond us" (Latin: supra nos ) and ethics as "coming to us" (Latin: ad nos ) goes back to Ariston von Chios , a student of Zeno von Kition .

The Latin formula “ Quod supra nos, nihil ad nos ” (“What goes beyond us means nothing to us.”) Is intended to mean that what goes beyond our human cognitive faculties has no meaning for our way of life, and is a maxim of the philosopher Socrates .

The humanist Erasmus von Rotterdam writes in his collection of proverbs Adagia :

“What is above us does not concern us: A Socratic word that warns of curious speculations about the cosmos and the secrets of nature [...] But you can also turn it around: What is below us is nothing for us, with which we to express that some things are far too insignificant for us to deal with. "

Ὕπνε ἄναξ.

Hypnos , the god of sleep

Ὕπνε ἄναξ.: Hypne anax.; "Holy Sleep!"

Beginning of the Orphic Hymn To Sleep :

" Ὕπνε ἄναξ πάντων τε θεῶν πάντων τ 'ἀνθρώπων "

Holy sleep, you King of the blessed gods and men,
Lord of all living things, that populates the wide earth!
You alone meet us all, you are enthroned above all of them,
you surround the bodies with gently knitting ties. Solve
worries, you bring us refreshment from burdensome work,
give soothing holy consolation in all grief,
save life by doing the work of death.
Death and oblivion are your siblings.
But in adoration I beg you, O blessed one, will you approach me kindly.
Bow down to me and receive the consecrated by the divine word!

Hypnos is the god of sleep, the brother of death personified, Thanatos , his children are Morpheus , Phobetor and Phantasos . Anax ( ἄναξ , originally ϝάναξ wánax ) was the name for the king in archaic Greece.

In the second hymn to the night , published in 1799 , the poet Novalis takes up the above motif:

Holy sleep!
To seldom make happy those who are not
consecrated to the night -
in this earthly day's work.
Only the fools misjudge you
And know of no sleep Other than
the shadow that
you pitifully cast upon us
In that twilight of
the true night.

Ὑπὸ σκιῇ.

Badge of the XX. Armored Division

Ὑπὸ σκιῇ.: Ηypó skié; "In the shade."; What is meant is: "We will fight in the shadows."

Answer of the Spartan Dienekes before the battle of Thermopylae , as the historian Herodotus tells in his histories :

“Of the Lacedaemonians and Thespians who proved so brave, the most heroic of the Spartiates is said to have been Dienekes. It is said that he heard from one of the people from Trachis that when the barbarians shoot their bows, they will darken the sun with the multitude of their arrows - they are so big. Before the fight with the Medes, without being frightened by it and without paying attention to the superior power of the Medes, he exclaimed that everything was very good what the friend from Trachis was saying. If the Medes darkened the sun, then they would fight in the shade and not in the sun. "

These laconic words are the motto of the XX. Armored Division of the Greek Armed Forces .

See also: Μολὼν λαβέ. (" Come and get it! ")

Ὗς τὴν Ἀθηνᾶν

Ὗς τὴν Ἀθηνᾶν: Hys tēn Athēnan; "A pig (teaches) Athena."

Quote from the collection of proverbs Adagia by Erasmus of Rotterdam . The phrase goes back to the Moralia of Plutarch back. This phrase was used when a simple-minded wanted to teach a wiser. It stands for the arrogance of a fool like the pig who starts a quarrel with the goddess Athena and wants to teach her.

German: “The egg wants to be smarter than the hen.” This saying was also common in Latin: Sus Minervam (docet) wrote, for example, B. Cicero .

Ὕστερον πρότερον

Ὕστερον πρότερον: Hysteron proteron; "The later first"

Hysteron proteron is a rhetorical figure in which the order of a statement is reversed.

The most famous example comes from Virgil :

" Moriamur, et in media arma ruamus. “-“ Let us die and throw ourselves into the enemy! "

Another well-known example can be found in Goethe's Faust I :

“ Your husband is dead and sends his regards. "

In the book Der Coup, die Kuh, das Q (subtitle: The most amazing German book of all time ) this term is counted - alongside katexochen ( κατ 'ἐξοχήν ) - among the ten ugliest terms in the German language.

Individual evidence

↑ Roger van Oech: What would Heraclitus do? Greek wisdom for everyday life . Bern, Munich, Vienna: Scherz Verlag, 2001. p. 199
^ Walter Arnold Kaufmann: Tragedy and Philosophy. Tübingen: JCB Mohr (Paul Siebeck), 1980, p. 74. ISBN 3-16-942682-6
^ Clement of Alexandria : Stromateis I 1,2
↑ http://www.unifr.ch/bkv/kapitel147-1.htm
↑ Heraclitus : On Nature , 37
↑ http://www.bibel-online.net/buch/41.markus/2.html#20
↑ Hosea , June 11
^ Gospel according to Mark , 1.11
↑ Gospel according to Luke , 7.50 EU
↑ Gospel according to Mark , 5.34 EU
↑ http://www.bibel-online.net/buch/41.markus/5.html#34
↑ http://www.bibel-online.net/buch/40.matthaeus/4.html#14
↑ Aristophanes , The Knights 1151
↑ Stobaios : Anthology 2, 1, 24
↑ Erasmus of Rotterdam : Selected Writings . Volume 7. Scientific Book Society. 1972
^ Greek poetry
↑ Novalis - Hymns to the Night ( Memento of November 12, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
↑ Herodotus , Histories 7,226. Translation by Walther Sontheimer , quoted from Manfred Hiebl: Der Heldentod des Leonidas. Retrieved November 3, 2018 .
↑ Epistulae ad familiares 9,18,3
↑ CUS : Der Coup, die Kuh, das Q. The most amazing German book of all time . Eichborn, Frankfurt / M. 2007, ISBN 978-3-8218-6015-2 .

[1] Roger van Oech: What would Heraclitus do? Greek wisdom for everyday life . Bern, Munich, Vienna: Scherz Verlag, 2001. p. 199

[2] Walter Arnold Kaufmann: Tragedy and Philosophy. Tübingen: JCB Mohr (Paul Siebeck), 1980, p. 74. ISBN 3-16-942682-6

[3] Clement of Alexandria : Stromateis I 1,2

[4] ttp://www.unifr.ch/bkv/kapitel147-1.htm

[5] Heraclitus : On Nature , 37

[6] ttp://www.bibel-online.net/buch/41.markus/2.html#20

[7] Hosea , June 11

[8] Gospel according to Mark , 1.11

[9] Gospel according to Luke , 7.50 EU

[10] Gospel according to Mark , 5.34 EU

[11] ttp://www.bibel-online.net/buch/41.markus/5.html#34

[12] ttp://www.bibel-online.net/buch/40.matthaeus/4.html#14

[13] Aristophanes , The Knights 1151

[14] Stobaios : Anthology 2, 1, 24

[15] Erasmus of Rotterdam : Selected Writings . Volume 7. Scientific Book Society. 1972

[16] Greek poetry

[17] Novalis - Hymns to the Night ( Memento of November 12, 2008 in the Internet Archive )

[18] Herodotus , Histories 7,226. Translation by Walther Sontheimer , quoted from Manfred Hiebl: Der Heldentod des Leonidas. Retrieved November 3, 2018 .

[19] Epistulae ad familiares 9,18,3

[20] CUS : Der Coup, die Kuh, das Q. The most amazing German book of all time . Eichborn, Frankfurt / M. 2007, ISBN 978-3-8218-6015-2 .