List of Greek Phrases / Zeta

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Ζεί.

Ζεί.
Room
"He lives."

What is meant by this is that the left-wing Greek opposition politician Grigoris Lambrakis is alive. This sentence is shortened to “ Ζ ”. Lambrakis was murdered in Salonika on May 22, 1963 , and the subsequent trial dragged on until 1966.

Z is a Franco-Algerian fictional film by Constantin Costa-Gavras from 1969 based on the novel by Vassilis Vassilikos , which is considered a genre-building classic in politically active cinema.

The plot is based on the Lambrakis murder: In an unnamed state, in which the military and royal family rule, opposition is only reluctantly tolerated as “communist powdery mildew”.

When an opposition politician is murdered in front of the police, the police and the military try to portray the murder as an accident. A young examining magistrate is commissioned with the investigation, but contrary to expectations, he investigates meticulously and persistently. However, charges against various respected persons from the military do not lead to their conviction, as several witnesses are killed under strange circumstances.

Ζεί και βασιλεύει.

Ζεί και βασιλεύει.
Zi ke vasilevi.
"He lives and rules as a king."

Modern Greek proverb for: “ He is still doing well. "

According to the more recent Greek folk tradition, after her death , the sister of Alexander the Great was transformed into a gorgon , a kind of mermaid who lives in the water and every passing boat asks whether Alexander was still alive:

Is King Alexander still alive? "(" Ζεί ὁ βασιλιάς Αλέξανδρος; ")

If the answer is “ no ”, then she pulls the ship and the entire crew down to her. The " correct " answer that saves the skipper his life is:

He lives and rules as a king. "(" Ζεί και βασιλεύει. ")

Ζεὺς πάνδημος

Ζεὺς πάνδημος
Zeus pandēmos
"Zeus admired by the whole people"

Honorary name for the supreme god Zeus , who is depicted enthroned on coins in the himation with a scepter in his left hand.

Zeus has other nicknames depending on the type of worship:

  • Ζεὺς μειλίχιος ( Zeus meilichios - "the gentle one") as God who is benevolent through atonement
  • Ζεὺς ξένιος ( Zeus xenios - "the hospitable") as protector of hospitality
  • Ζεὺς ἑταιρεῖος ( Zeus hetaireios - "the companion") as the originator of friendship
  • Ζεὺς ὕψιστος ( Zeus hypsistos - "the highest") as supreme god

Besides Zeus, the term “ worshiped by the whole people ” was only applied to the goddess of love Aphrodite , whose worship Theseus is said to have introduced in Athens. Later the term pandemos was also used disparagingly, e.g. B. for women who gave themselves to everyone (Latin: " Venus vulgivaga "). The German adjective common is comparable in meaning and concept development.

Ζῇ πῦρ τὸν γῆς θάνατον ...

medieval illustration of the four-element theory
Ζῇ πῦρ τὸν γῆς θάνατον καὶ αὴρ ζῇ τὸν πυρὸς θάνατον, ὕδωρ ζῇ τὸν ἀέρος θάνατον, γῆ τὸν ὕδατος.
Zē pyr ton gēs thanaton kai aēr zē ton pyros thanaton, hydōr zē ton aeros thanaton, gē ton hydatos.
"The fire of the earth lives death and the air lives fire death, the water lives the air death, the earth that of the water."

Description of the four-element theory :

πῦρ pyr = fire
ἀήρ aēr = air
ὕδωρ hydōr = water
γῆ = earth

The philosopher Thales von Milet held the view that all substances only represent different aspects of the primary substance water. Anaximenes from Miletus came to the conclusion that the air is the original substance and is compressed towards the center of the universe, whereby the other elements water and earth are created. Heraclitus from the neighboring city of Ephesus was of the opinion that the constantly changing and changing fire must be the original substance, since everything changes in the universe.

The formulation of the natural philosopher Empedocles , however, had the broadest effect. He assumed that the four elements were eternally existing and unchangeable basic substances which, when mixed, form the diversity of substances. It should not be overlooked, however, that Empedocles first introduced the four elements as gods. Fire was assigned to Zeus , the air to Hera , the earth to Aidoneus ( Hades ) and the water to Nestis ( Persephone ).

Empedocles assumes that the four elements ( ῥιζώματα ) produce all things through constant mixing and unmixing :

"The universe takes place under the unifying power of love ( Φιλότης ) and the separating force of hate ( Νεῖκος ) in a pulsating alternation of expansion ( διαστολή ) and contraction ( συστολή )."

Ζήτει σεαυτῷ βασιλείαν ίσην.

Alexander and Bucephalus on one coin
Ζήτει σεαυτῷ βασιλείαν ίσην.
Zētei seautō basileian isēn.
"Find a kingdom worthy of you!"

King Philip II addressed these words to his son Alexander after he had tamed the horse Bucephalus .

Bukephalas (Macedonian Βουκεφάλας , Common Greek Βουκέφαλος "ox head") is considered the most famous horse in ancient times. Alexander got it when he was ten or twelve years old. It is said that this horse was offered for sale to Philip II, Alexander's father, but that no one was able to ride it. The twelve year old Alexander, however, observed that the horse was afraid of its own shadow. He placed it so that it couldn't see its shadow, and that enabled him to ride the horse.

Philip's whole sentence read, according to Plutarch :

Ὦ παῖ, ζήτει σεαυτῷ βασιλείαν ἴσην, Μακεδονία γὰρ σ 'οὐ χωρεῖ.
Ō pai, zētei seautō basileian isēn, Makedonia gar s' ou chōrei.
My son, look for an empire worthy of you, because Macedonia is not big enough for you. "

ζήτησις τῆς ἀληθείας

ζήτησις τῆς ἀληθείας
zētēsis tēs alētheias
"Search for the Truth"

Search for historical truth through the historian Thucydides , as he attempted in his History of the Peloponnesian War .

In a clear demarcation from Herodotus , who did not strictly distinguish between myths and realities, Thucydides only wanted to report what actually happened.

Ζούμε μόνοι ...

Ζούμε μόνοι, πεθαίνουμε μόνοι, το ενδιάμεσο φωτεινό σημείο το λέμε ζωή.
To moni, pethenume moni, to endiameso fotino simio to leme zoi.
"We live alone, we die alone, we call the bright point in between life."

Pessimistic statement by the poet Nikos Kazantzakis , which corresponds to the book title " Everyone dies for himself " by Hans Fallada .

In Kazantzaki's Odyssey , old Odysseus , ready to die, says calmly:

The end of the festival has come, the amusement is over,
the wind wrote my name on the sand as it blows by.

Ζω σαν πασάς στα Γιάννενα.

Ali Pasha's monument in Tepelena
Ζω σαν πασάς στα Γιάννενα.
Zo san pasas sta Jiannena.
"I live like the Pasha in Ioannina."

This expression, which means “ how the maggots live in bacon ”, refers to Ali Pascha Tepelena , the governor of Epirus with the capital Ioannina . Ali Pascha cared little about the directives of the Sublime Porte and built up an autonomous sphere of power. He made pacts with France and Great Britain. From 1807 Ali Pasha, who was also called the lion of Janina , ruled over large parts of Albania and Greece. The English poet Lord Byron , who was a guest at Ali Pasha's court for some time in 1809, left a colorful portrayal of life in Ioannina, a flourishing city with 35,000 inhabitants. In 1820 Sultan Mahmud II sent troops against the renegade Pasha. Ioannina was besieged for over 15 months, until Ali Pasha was lured out of his fortress in February 1822 and murdered.

Ζωῆς πονηρᾶς θάνατος αἱρετώτερος.

Nicolas Loir: Kleobis and Biton
Ζωῆς πονηρᾶς θάνατος αἱρετώτερος.
Zōēs ponēras thanatos hairetōteros.
"Death is preferable to a bad life."

Sentence from the Monosticha of the poet Menander , which summarizes a basic idea of Greek pessimism in one sentence.

An example of this attitude is the story of the brothers Kleobis and Biton , who, at the request of their mother, a priestess of heroes, received from the god the best that can happen to a person: They were allowed to die together on the same night.

In this, as in the case of the Olympic champion Diagoras of Rhodes , glorious death is the ultimate for mortals.

The philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche also mentions the complaints of the ancient Greeks about the " short-lived Achilles ", " about the leaf-like change and change of the human race " and about the fall of the heroic age. He comes to the conclusion:

"It is not unworthy of the greatest hero to long for life, even as a day laborer."

See also: Θνατοῖσι μὴ φῦναι φέριστον. (" For mortals, not being born is best. ")

ζώνην λύειν

ζώνην λύειν
zōnēn lyein
"Loosen the belt"

Loosening the bridal belt was a symbolic act performed by the groom when he led his bride into the bridal bed. He undid the belt, which was consecrated to either Pallas Athene or Artemis . Meanwhile, a doorkeeper stopped the women who apparently wanted to rush to the bride's aid. After that, the wedding party withdrew and continued celebrating elsewhere.

The belt of the goddess of love Aphrodite was considered the insignia of her love charm. The humanist Erasmus von Rotterdam writes in his collection of proverbs Adagia :

“The belt of Venus is owned by someone who surprisingly wins everyone's affection. The expression comes from Homer's Iliad, Book 54, where Hera, with the intention of luring Zeus into her bed, goes to Aphrodite and borrows the belt from her that makes them lovable and desirable. "

Married women called the belt of Artemis to ask for fertility and an easy birth. Women tied braided mugwort belts around themselves to increase fertility . The girls worshiped the virgin goddess as the protector of their chastity and before their wedding brought her a lock of hair, a belt and her maiden dress as sacrifices.

In the story of Enipeus and Poseidon , the sea god says:

“Your jealousy is now too late, my good Enipeus; you shouldn't have acted so harshly beforehand. By the way, nothing bad happened to the tyro because she thought the one who loosened her belt was you. "

Poseidon had assumed the form of Enipeus and begat the twins Pelias and Neleus with Tyro .

ζῷον δίπουν ἄπτερον

ζῷον δίπουν ἄπτερον
zōon dipoun apteron
"Featherless biped"
Latin " Animal bipes implume "

Plato had defined man as a " two-legged creature without feathers " because he belongs to the animal kingdom, walks on two legs, but has neither fur nor feathers. When he had found the approval of his students, the Cynic Diogenes felt provoked to joke. He plucked a chicken and presented it as a human being to Plato's students:

" Οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ Πλάτωνος ἄνθρωπος. "
Houtos estin ho Platōnos anthrōpos.
That is the person of Plato! "

Plato then expanded the definition to include “ broad claws ” (claws, nails) because birds have nothing of the kind. It is a play on words, since πλατυώνυχον platyōnychon ( "with broad nails" ) sounds similar in Greek as πλατωνικόν platōnikon ( "platonic" ).

ζῷον λόγον ἔχον

ζῷον λόγον ἔχον
zōon logon echon
"Living being with language" or "rational living being"

It was already established in ancient philosophy that the human being is evidently the only known linguistically gifted reason and understanding being that can demonstrate the prerequisites for a reflection of meaning. As a rational being ( zoon logon echon ) and as a social being ( zoon politikon ), humans are realized through their life practice.

According to Aristotle , humans should first realize themselves as humans through language ( logos ) and in community with other people ( politikos ) ( Politics 1253a, 7-10) before they can achieve a divine life ( bios theios ). The translation into Latin as animal rationale can be found in various Roman scripts, e.g. B. in Seneca in Epistulae morales ad Lucilium ( rationale enim animal est homo - “because man is a reasonable living being”; 41.8).

Boethius defined: " Person is the individual substance of a rational nature" ( persona est rationabilis naturae individua substantia ) and pointed out that the use of reason is subject to individual arbitrariness. Immanuel Kant modified the terminology in a similar way and stated that man “has a character that he creates for himself by being able to perfect himself according to the purposes he has taken from himself; whereby, as an animal endowed with the power of reason ( animal rationabile ), he can turn himself into a reasonable animal ( animal rationale ) ”.

ζῷον πολιτικόν

ζῷον πολιτικόν
Zōon politikon
"Sociable creature"

In Plato and Aristotle , Zoon politikon is originally called " πολιτικὸν ζῷον ".

The whole quote in the politics of Aristotle reads :

" Ἐκ τούτων οὖν φανερὸν ὅτι τῶν φύσει ἡ πόλις ἐστί, καὶ ὅτι ὁ ἄνθρωπος φύσει πολιτικὸν ζῷον. "
It is obvious that the state is a work of nature and man is by nature a state-building organism. "

Aristotle describes man as a naturally political being:

As the whole tree is predisposed in the seed, so is the state in man. "

The state is therefore already present on the metaphysical level during the state of nature. The prerequisite for the formation of states is the possession of logos ( ζῷον λόγον ἔχον zoon logon echon ), with the help of which man can name good and bad.

Individual evidence

  1. http://www.coinarchives.com/a/results.php?results=100&search=synnada
  2. http://www.gottwein.de/Grie/gr_textestart.php
  3. Plutarch : Parallel Lives , Alexander
  4. Nikos Kazantzakis : Odyssey , 21.1344
  5. Friedrich Nietzsche : The birth of tragedy from the spirit of music
  6. wedding . In: Heinrich August Pierer , Julius Löbe (Hrsg.): Universal Lexicon of the Present and the Past . 4th edition. tape 8 . Altenburg 1859, p. 427-433 ( zeno.org ).
  7. Erasmus of Rotterdam : Selected Writings . Volume 7. Scientific Book Society. 1972
  8. http://web.utanet.at/hainschb/goetterliebe.htm
  9. Diogenes Laertios VI.40
  10. Boethius: Contra Eutychen et Nestorium 1-3; German: Boethius: Die Theologische Traktate, Meiner, Hamburg 1988, 74
  11. Immanuel Kant: Anthropology in a pragmatic way , Academy edition, VII, 321 .
  12. Politics 1253a2f.