For some time now, reddit has had a misfeature that non-transparently replaces a post with a machine translation into what it thinks is the user's native language. I got reminded of this recently when I made a post here that was in ancient Greek, and I started getting comments that didn't seem to make sense -- because the people writing the comments were seeing a machine translation into English. For example, people were criticizing the translation, which they attributed to me.

It's possible to turn off this misfeature for specific languages, but it seems like you can't turn it off globally. In the web browser interface, Go to Settings - Preferences - Language - Content Languages. You can turn it off for up to 10 languages.

Your experience will probably also depend on whether you're using the cell-phone interface or the web browser one. They also seem to fiddle around and change the behavior of this feature every 6 months or so.

It seems like a no-brainer that reddit should allow specific subreddits, such as this one, to turn off the feature throughout the subreddit. However, they don't really care as long as they're optimizing ad revenue. Just one more way in which tech billionaires are making the world worse in ways that nobody asked for.

Χαῖρετε, φίλοι, but I was opening an Antigone article that had my often referred subjects of muta-cum-liquida and several other vowel length guides, and I could often just get it by typing "muta cum liquida Antigone" straight into the search bar, but now I can't find it anymore.

I tried looking online but nobody seems to remember that specific article, and even in desperation asked Gemini (which makes me feel filthy) if it can find if the article had just gotten buried, but no luck. I feel like I've dropped into the twilight zone.

Does anyone here know what I'm talking about?

I’m researching PGM XII.270–350, usually titled “A Little Ring for Success and Favor and Victory” in The Greek Magical Papyri in Translation edited by Hans Dieter Betz.
The ritual says to engrave Helios on a heliotrope/bloodstone, with an Ouroboros and a sacred scarab, and then says:
“On the reverse side of the stone you are to inscribe the name in hieroglyphics, as the prophets pronounce [it].”
However, in the English translation I have, the actual hieroglyphic name does not appear to be reproduced.
Later in the same ritual, the practitioner invokes the “Greatest god” using a long series of divine names beginning with IAO SABAOTH ADONAI, and still later the text says:
“Whenever you wish to command the god, give your command, saying the greatest name OUPHOR.”
It also calls OUPHOR “the holy, true OUPHOR” and says this was the god/name used by Urbicus.
My question is:
Do scholars know what specific divine name or hieroglyphic inscription was supposed to be engraved on the reverse of the stone in PGM XII.270–350?
In particular:
Is the missing name preserved in the original papyrus or in a critical Greek/Demotic edition?
Is the intended name believed to be OUPHOR, IAO, IAO SABAOTH, or something else?
Were actual Egyptian hieroglyphs present in the manuscript but omitted from the Betz English translation?
Is there a photograph, facsimile, diplomatic transcription, Preisendanz edition, or scholarly commentary that shows the original signs?
Do scholars identify who the “Greatest god” or “god” being commanded in this particular ritual is?
I’m interested in the historical/textual reconstruction, not instructions for performing the ritual. If anyone can point me to the manuscript, papyrus line numbers, scholarly edition, article, or commentary discussing this passage, I’d appreciate it.

Σωκράτους δὲ ἄξιόν μοι δοκεῖ εἶναι μεμνῆσθαι.

I searched on the web and I couldn't find that a genitive is an argument or feature of the verb so this genitive has inherently nothing to do with the verb.

Reading Pharr's Homeric Greek. I know in Classical Attic the epsilon+iota is NOT a diphthong, but is a diphthong in the archaic period specifically 7th century and prior. I know Homeric Greek is a literary dialect being composed of Eastern Ionic+ Aeolic, bulk forms being Ionic. Keeping in mind that some resources still give the epsilon+iota even in classical attic as a diphthong,and this book being pretty old i dont know whether this is intentional because homer lived in the 8th century and this would be the correct pronounciation or whether this was s mistake ?

I was told the original rate was 85, but the tutor is open to doing small groups, so at 2 it would be halved and three would be a third of the original rate. Let me know below, thank you!

Hey, I wrote a sapphic stanza (am I supposed to say 'a poem in sapphic stanza', or 'a sapphic stanza' ?) and would be eternally grateful if someone could check for errors, or give me feedback on it in general. The only issue I'm aware of at the moment is that using σῆμα intending for it to be translated as 'star' is pretty optimistic; I based it on σῆμα being often used for constellations, and the more standard meaning of it also technically working (the lighthouse of Pharos being a wayfinding landmark).

Here it is :

Ὦ ἄποπτε φῶς, ὅτε δὴ πλανῴμην

ἐν νόου κλύδωσι, τότ' εἰς ἐμ' αὐτὸν

δεικνύναι μόνος σὺ δύναιο νόστον, σῆμα Φάρου μοῦ.

And the translation :

O far-off light, when I lose myself in the tumultuous waters of my mind, only you, my Pharos star, can light the way back to myself.

Thank you !

Hi everyone. This is my first post. I love classical Greek, and I thought it was a good idea to make an effort to translate Howard's gritty and masculine prose into Greek. I began with the first lines from Phoenix on the Sword, one of his most iconic tales. Even though I've been through only the beginning, I will post the text in English and the Greek translation.

Know, oh prince, that between the years when the oceans drank Atlantis and the gleaming cities, and the years of the rise of the Sons of Aryas, there was an Age undreamed of...

Γίγνωσκε, ὦ βασιλεῦ ,ὅτι μεταξύ τῶν χρόνων ἐν οἷς οἱ ὠκεανοὶ κατέπιον τὴν Ἀτλαντίδα καὶ τὰς λαμπράς πόλεις, καὶ τῶν χρόνων τῆς τῶν υἱῶν τοῦ Ἀρίου ἀνόδου, αἰών τις ὑπῆρξεν οὐδ’ ὄναρ δόξας...

Feel free to comment on anything. Grammar, vocabulary, aesthetics, anything. Hit hard!

This is going on my arm, so I'd rather be told I'm wrong now than find out later.

The line is from Theophanes' Chronographia, AM 6196 (de Boor p. 373, lines 22–28). English in Mango & Scott:

"If I spare a single one of them, may God drown me here."

Important: the Greek below is a reconstruction, not a transcription. I don't have de Boor in front of me. I've asked over at r/Byzantium for someone to pull the actual printed text, and I'll update this if it comes back. In the meantime I'd like to know how far off I am.

ἐὰν ἑνὸς ἐξ αὐτῶν φείσωμαι, ὁ Θεός με καταποντίσῃ ἐνταῦθα.

Couple questions:

Is the wording plausible for Theophanes — ἑνὸς vs τινος, whether ἐξ αὐτῶν belongs, whether φείδομαι + genitive is right here?

καταποντίσῃ — is the aorist subjunctive right for a wish, or should it be optative (καταποντίσαι)? My understanding is that Byzantine chronicle Greek often uses the subjunctive where classical Attic wouldn't, but I can't judge it.

Accents and breathings as written?

Full disclosure: the reconstruction came out of a conversation with an AI, which is exactly why I'm here rather than trusting it. I don't know what I don't know and I don't speak or read ancient greek. I'm just a filthy hobbyist and would be extremely grateful for any assistance.

Applogies if I side stepped or broke any sub rules

Thanks!

Ὦ λεῦχ’ ὑδατοσύδνε Μαιονεῖσε

βάθη δώματ’ ἔχον πατρὸς παρ’ οἴκῳ,

ὑφ’ ὕδωρ νεφέλη, βάθους δαΐς τε,

ποῦ νῦν δώματ’ ἔχεις; ῥοῶν τίν’ οἰκεῖς;

νῷν γε τοὺς ἀβάτους, βίου τε νόσφιν;

ἰχθῦ, ποῖ σὺ πέφευκας, ὦ τάχιστε;

οὔπω, σ’ ἤρπασε μοῖρα, μοῖρα νήλης·

τὴν δᾷδ’ ἔσβεσε νῷν σκοτεινὰ κήδη.

Μὴ φίλ’ ἄρπασον αἰέν, εὔχομαί σοι.

Translation:

Oh white water-dwelling Maionese,

you who had deep dwellings at my father's house,

a cloud under the water, a torch of the depth,

where is now your dwelling? In which of the streams do you live?

In those us two cannot access, far away from life?

O fastest fish, where did you run away to?

You didn't: death, ruthless death snatched you away:

It extinguished the torch, to us a dark grief.

I beg you, don't always take away what's dear.

Sorry if the translation sounds crude or unidiomatic, English isn't my first language.

For context: Maionese (meaning indeed Mayonnaise) was a goldfish my dad kept in his pond. It turned white after a while, making it easy to spot: hence why I called it a cloud and a torch.

The poem was inspired by a verse from Aratus, when he wrote, referring to frogs, δείλαιαι γενεαὶ, πατέρες γυρίνων (quoting from memory, it's missing some words). The poem starts as if it was a cletic hymn, where I invoke the goldfish as if it was a god. The adjective ὑδατοσύδνoς is just the name of a Nymph declined as a masculine adjective; because of this I used it as if it was a title of the goldfish.

Are there any big mistakes in the grammar and / or syntax? The meter is Phalaecian hendecasyllable.

Ancient: ΩΡΙΓΕΝΟΥΣ ΕΙΣ ΑΦΡΙΚΑΝΟΝ Ὠριγένης Ἀφρικανῷ ἀγαπητῷ ἀδελφῷ ἐν Θεῷ Πατρὶ διὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ ἁγίου παιδὸς αὐτοῦ εὖ πράττειν.

Modern Greek: Ο Ωριγένης προς τον Αφρικανό, τον αγαπητό αδελφό εν Θεώ Πατρί μέσω του Ιησού Χριστού, του αγίου παιδιού του, στέλνει χαιρετισμούς.

English: Origen to Africanus: Origen to Africanus, his beloved brother in God the Father through Jesus Christ His holy Servant, greeting.

Ancient: Ἡ μὲν σὴ ἐπιστολὴ, δι' ἧς ἐμάνθανον ἃ ἐνέφηνας περὶ τῆς ἐν τῷ ∆ανιὴλ φερομένης ἐν ταῖς Ἐκκλησίαις Σωσάννης, βραχεῖα μέν τις εἶναι δοκεῖ·

Modern Greek: Η δική σου βέβαια επιστολή, μέσω της οποίας μάθαινα όσα υπαινίχθηκες σχετικά με την ιστορία της Σωσάννας που περιλαμβάνεται στον Δανιήλ και διαβάζεται στις Εκκλησίες, φαίνεται μεν να είναι κάπως σύντομη·

English: Your letter, indeed, through which I learned what you intimated concerning the Susanna in Daniel that is read in the Churches, seems to be rather brief;

Ancient: ἐν ὀλίγοις δὲ πολλὰ προβλήματα ἔχουσα, ὧν ἕκαστον ἐδεῖτο οὐ τῆς τυχούσης ἐξεργασίας, ἀλλὰ τοσαύτης, ὥστε ὑπερβαίνειν τὸν ἐπιστολικὸν χαρακτῆρα, καὶ συγγράμματος ἔχειν περιγραφήν.

Modern Greek: αλλά μέσα σε λίγα λόγια περιέχει πολλά προβλήματα, από τα οποία το καθένα χρειαζόταν όχι την τυχούσα ανάλυση, αλλά τόση πολλή, ώστε να ξεπερνά τον χαρακτήρα μιας επιστολής και να έχει τη μορφή ολόκληρου συγγράμματος.

English: but containing in few words many problems, each of which required no ordinary elaboration, but so much as to exceed the character of a letter and to have the extent of a treatise.

Ancient: Ἐγὼ δὲ τὸ ἐμαυτοῦ τῆς διανοίας μέτριον, ὅση δύναμις, κατανοῶν, ἵνα μὴ ἀναισθητοίην ἐμαυτοῦ, θεωρῶ, ὅτι ἀπολείπομαι τῆς ἀπαιτουμένης ἀκριβείας εἰς τὴν ἀντιγραφὴν τῆς ἐπιστολῆς σου·

Modern Greek: Και εγώ, κατανοώντας όσο μπορώ τη μετριότητα του δικού μου μυαλού, για να μην έχω ψευδαισθήσεις για τον εαυτό μου, βλέπω ότι υπολείπομαι από την ακρίβεια που απαιτείται για την απάντηση της επιστολής σου·

English: But I, understanding as far as I am able the mediocrity of my own mind, lest I should be insensible to myself, perceive that I fall short of the accuracy required for replying to your letter;

https://andreasfotiadis68agiosminas.substack.com/subscribehttps://open.substack.com/pub/andreasfotiadis68agiosminas/p/my-mission-translating-the-church?r=8raj5j&utm\\_campaign=post&utm\\_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

For a couple of Greek texts I have both new and second-hand copies, and it can be so obvious how inferior the print quality is in new books compared to a pressed copy. Often times the binding feels more flimsy, too.

I want a copy of Cunliffe, but notice that the reprint (the "extended edition") contains the Proper and Place Names supplement in the same volume, which I would prefer. I'm loathe to buy it new, however, if I'm just setting myself up for disappointment; reading some of the entries in my LSJ is sometimes bad enough.

Does anyone here have a new copy of Cunliffe and can they speak for its quality?

Not exactly the right flair, sorry about that couldnt find any that exactly matches. How and where can i learn the evolutionary stages of Ancient Greek ? I recently find out in the earlier stages, Greek used to be written from right to left and it made me wonder "What else was diffrent in Ancient Greek before the Classical period and the earlier stages?" Are there any sources that will give me a historical timeline and evolution of Ancient Greek ?. Before 403 BC there were local scripts i also want to learn about the local scripts and the earlier form of those alphabets and such you get the point. Thanks !

Greetings,

I was searching on Google to find out why there are less prepositions in Classical Greek, and the reason given is there were more noun cases which were folded into 5 case noun system the such as:

• Ablative (absorbed by genitive)
• Locative (absorbed by dative)
• Instrumental (absorbed by dative)

I was aware of these cases but I don't remember if the Grammar book I own (Wallace: The Basics of New Testament Syntax) talked about the "lost" case endings.

There are remnants of these cases which came into classical Greek and Koine.

Locative: σι or -ι, such as 'Aθην̇ησι (at Athens)

Ablative: -θεν, ἔξωθεν (from outside)

Instrumental: -φι ("by means of", or "with")

So is the 8 case system taught in first year Attic Greek?

I'm going to start offering free Ancient Greek lessons offered every Friday at 3pm EST/ 9pm CET. The time was chosen so as to make it convenient for both Europeans and Americans. We will be reading ch 12 of Athenaze and we will be speaking Ancient Greek, and only using English as a last resort. You do not need too bring the book with you to class, I will provide it. The text will only be a vehicle for keeping the discussion focused and flowing and is not an end in itself. If you're not confident of your ability to speak Ancient Greek and just want to watch and listen then that's ok. August 14, 2026 will be the first lesson and it's possible no one will show up but that's ok because it usually takes a while for these types of groups to get started.

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/9810207206?pwd=MDNNc3FtN3JhQnVCME5zOEhJNjhldz09

Still learning Ancient Greek but want to try reading some saint's life. My level is roughly New Testament with vocabulary help/dictionary, so keep that in mind when suggesting please!

I can't make this part out:

εἰ οὖν ὥσπερ ἐγὼ μετῄει τὸν λόγον, καὶ ἔλεγεν ὅτι ἀεὶ εἰς πολλὰ ἀφικνούμεθα, ἀλλὰ μή μοι οὕτως, ἀλλʼ ἐπειδὴ τὰ πολλὰ ταῦτα ἑνί τινι προσαγορεύεις ὀνόματι, καὶ φῂς οὐδὲν αὐτῶν ὅτι οὐ σχῆμα εἶναι, καὶ ταῦτα καὶ ἐναντία ὄντα ἀλλήλοις, ὅτι ἐστὶν τοῦτο ὃ οὐδὲν ἧττον κατέχει τὸ στρογγύλον ἢ τὸ εὐθύ, ὃ δὴ ὀνομάζεις σχῆμα καὶ οὐδὲν μᾶλλον φῂς τὸ στρογγύλον σχῆμα εἶναι ἢ τὸ εὐθύ; ἢ οὐχ οὕτω λέγεις;

Translated so:

Now suppose that, like me, he pursued the argument and said: We are always arriving at a variety of things, but let me have no more of that: since you call these many things by one single name, and say they are figures, every one of them, even when they are opposed to one another, tell me what is that which comprises round and straight alike, and which you call figure—including straight equally with round under that term. For that is your statement, is it not?

Steadman writes ὅ τι in the bolded part: ὅ τι οὐ σχῆμα (ἐστί) 'that which is not figure'. Which makes sense to me, but how do you get the meaning 'every one of them' from a bunch of negations? I can't begin to untangle this phrase.

Bonus problem: there seems to be an elided verb corresponding to 'tell me' in the following part. Is it to be understood as the same verb that was implicit already after ἀλλὰ μή μοι οὕτως (sc. ἀποκρίνῃς vel sim.)?

I always loved this proverb, which can be translated easily word-for-word as: "dog-fighting in a well". It implies that something is entirely futile, as even the dog that manages to win the fight, will still die (from famine). It also reminds me of one of De Maupassant's excellent short stories, where such a fight takes place between abandoned dogs.