# 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 Invalid ISBN.
* 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