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Month: December 2016
Can learning Modern Greek be helpful for studying philosophy?
I dearly, earnestly, ardently want you to learn Modern Greek for the pop culture. But don’t do it to help you with Ancient Greek philosophy. You’ll trip over more false friends than you can shake a stick it. Meanings and connotations of words have changed over the millennia, and nowhere is getting the precise connotations […]
What’s the whole thing about the widow in Zorba the Greek?
Depends what whole thing you’re asking about. The village widow comes up again in Kazantzakis’ Christ Recrucified, as the stand-in for Mary Magdalen: in traditional Greek society, a young widow was the only available sexual outlet for men—unmarried women were guarded by their fathers, married women by their husbands. So lots of barely repressed stuff […]
What might future languages look like?
One of the foundational assumptions of Historical Linguistics is Uniformitarianism. We assume that, after the initial period of the evolution of language, Language is going to look the same as a structure, no matter if it’s 5000 years ago or 5000 years from now—because language is determined as a human faculty, and humans have not […]
Does Greek present tense “continuous lifestyle” always mean that x always does y or can it mean x regularly does y for a specified period and stops?
The question is about Grammatical aspect in Koine Greek, as OP clarified. That’s OK, the behaviour of aspect in Greek has not essentially changed since antiquity. In fact, not that I’ve checked, but I’m struggling to think where it’s changed at all. x always does y is either continuous aspect (unbroken), or habitual aspect (does […]
Why was hospitality so important in the Greek world?
My answer is more a gut-feel from Modern Greek practice, but I suspect it applies to antiquity as well. Dimitris Almyrantis perceptively identifies the (or at least an) underlying reason: avoidance of retribution. Cernowain Greenman identifies the surface reason: code of honour. The modern Greek code of honour (How do I translate the Greek word […]
What is the etymology of Lacedaemon?
I refer you to What is the etymology of “Laconia”? My answer there covers both Laconia and Lacedaemon. Tl;Dr: we’re not sure. Answered 2016-12-04 [Originally posted on http://quora.com/What-is-the-etymology-of-Lacedaemon/answer/Nick-Nicholas-5]
What is the closest masculine equivalent of “temptress” and “seductress”?
Vote #1 Audrey Ackerman: Audrey Ackerman’s answer to What is the closest masculine equivalent of “temptress” and “seductress”? A comprehensive answer I will not hope to top. Audrey has missed one term. She would reject it as a culture specific, literary reference. But hands up; who knew that Lothario was a character in Don Quixote? […]
What is the Greek word for “messenger”?
The question has been answered for Ancient Greek: angelos, whence angel. The Christian use of angelos has made the word inaccessible for “messenger” in Modern Greek. The formal modern word is angelioforos, “message-bearer”. The old vernacular word is mandatoforos (where the Latin mandatum has ended up meaning “military communication”, and thence “news” in general.) Answered […]