ἀεὶ κολοιὸς παρὰ κολοιῷ ἱζάνει

Aeì koloiòs parà koloiôi hizánei.

"A jackdaw is always found near a jackdaw"
Similar to English "birds of a feather flock together."

ἀεὶ ὁ θεὸς γεωμετρεῖ

Aei ho theos geōmetreî.
"God always geometrizes" — Plato
Plutarch elaborated on this phrase in his essay Πῶς Πλάτων ἔλεγε τὸν θεὸν ἀεί γεωμετρεῖν
"What is Plato’s meaning when he says that god always applies geometry".[2] Based on the
phrase of Plato, above, a present-day mnemonic for π (pi) was derived:
ἀεὶ ὁ θεὸς ὁ μέγας γεωμετρεῖ τὸ σύμπαν
Aeì ho theòs ho mégas geōmetreî tò sýmpan.
Always the great god applies geometry to the universe

π = 3.1415926...

ἀεὶ ὁ θεὸς ὁ μέγας γεωμετρεῖ τὸ σύμπαν

3 1 4 1 5 2
9 letters 6 letters
letters letter letters letter letters letters

ἀνάγκᾳ δ’ οὐδὲ θεοὶ μάχονται

Anánkāi d'oudè theoì mákhontai.
"Not even the gods fight necessity" — Simonides, 8, 20.

ἀλλὰ τί ἦ μοι ταῦτα περὶ δρῦν ἢ περὶ πέτρην;

allá ti ēi moi taúta perí drun ē perí pétrēn.
"By why all this about oak or stone?"
English : Why waste time on trivial subjects, or "Why make a mountain out of a mole hill?"
Hesiod, Theogony, 35.

ἀνδρῶν γὰρ ἐπιφανῶν πᾶσα γῆ τάφος

Andrôn gàr epiphanôn pâsa gê táphos.
For illustrious men have the whole earth for their tomb. Pericles' Funeral
Oration from Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War 2.43.3

ἄνθρωπος μέτρον
Ánthrōpos métron.
"Man [is] the measure [of all things]"
Motto of Protagoras (as quoted in Plato's Theaetetus 152a).
ἅπαξ λεγόμενον
Hápax legómenon.
"Once said"
A word that only occurs once.

ἀπὸ τοῦ ἡλίου μετάστηθι

Apò toû hēlíou metástēthi
"Stand a little out of my sun"
Legendary reply of Diogenes the Cynic when Alexander the Great asked him if he had any
wish he desired to fulfil — version recounted by Plutarch[3]

ἄριστον μὲν ὕδωρ

Áriston mèn hýdōr.
"Greatest however [is] water" — Pindar, Olymp. 1, 1
Used as the inscription over the Pump Room at Bath.

γηράσκω δ᾽ αἰεὶ πολλὰ διδασκόμενος.

Gēraskō d' aíeí pollâ didaskómenos.
"I grow old always learning many things."
Solon the Athenian, one of the seven Sages of Greece, on learning.

γνῶθι σεαυτόν.
Gnôthi seautón.
"Know thyself"
Aphorism inscribed over the entrance to the temple of Apollo at Delphi.

Γόρδιος δεσμός
Górdios desmós
"Gordian Knot"
The Gordian Knot is a legend associated with Alexander the Great. It is often used as a
metaphor for an intractable problem, solved by a bold stroke

διπλοῦν ὁρῶσιν οἱ μαθόντες γράμματα

Diploûn horôsin hoi mathóntes grámmata.
"Those who know the letters see double [twice as much as those who don't]."
Attributed to Pythagoras. — Inscription in Edinburgh from 1954: ΔΙΠΛΟΥΝ ΟΡΩΣΙΝ ΟΙ
ΜΑΘΟΝΤΕΣ ΓΡΑΜΜΑΤΑ.

δῶς μοι πᾶ στῶ καὶ τὰν γᾶν κινάσω

Dôs moi pâ stô, kaì tàn gân kīnā́ sō.
"Give me somewhere to stand, and I will move the earth".
Archimedes as quoted by Pappus of Alexandria, Synagoge, Book VIII.

ἓν οἶδα ὅτι οὐδὲν οἶδα

Hèn oîda hóti oudèn oîda
"I know one thing, that I know nothing"
Socrates, paraphrased from Plato's Apology.
ἔνθεν μὲν Σκύλλη, ἑτέρωθι δὲ δῖα Χάρυβδις
Enthen mén Skýllē, hetérōthi de dîa Charubdis
"On one side lay Scylla and on the other divine Charybdis"[11]
Odysseus was forced to choose between Scylla and Charybdis, two mythical sea monsters,
an expression commonly known as Between Scylla and Charybdis.
εὕρηκα!
Heúrēka!
"I have found [it]!"
While Archimedes was taking a bath, he noticed that the level of the water rose as he got in,
and he realized that the volume of water displaced must be equal to the volume of the part of
his body he had submerged. This meant that the volume of irregular objects could be
measured with precision, a previously intractable problem. He was so excited that he ran
through the streets naked and still wet from his bath, crying "I have found it!".
ἢ τὰν ἢ ἐπὶ τᾶς
Ḕ tā̀ n ḕ epì tâs
"Either [with] it [your shield], or on it"
Meaning "either you will win the battle, or you will die and then be carried back home on your
shield".
It was said by Spartan mothers to their sons before they went out to battle to remind them of
their bravery and duty to Sparta and Greece.

θάλασσα καὶ πῦρ καὶ γυνή, κακὰ τρία

Thálassa kaì pŷr kaì gynḗ , kakà tría.
"Sea and fire and woman, three evils."

καλλίστῃ
Kallístēi
"For the prettiest one", "To the most beautiful"
From the myth of the Golden Apple of Discord.
Κρῆτες ἀεὶ ψεῦσται
Krêtes aeì pseûstai
"Cretans always lie" — One of the earliest logical paradoxes attributed
to Epimenides of Knossos known as the Epimenides paradox. As Epimenides is a Cretan
himself, it leads to the conclusion that the above statement is not true, hence the paradox.

μέτρον ἄριστον.
Métron áriston
"Moderation is best"
On occasions where neither too much nor too little is a good choice, as when eating or
celebrating. Cleobulus, according to Diogenes Laertius.[19]
μὴ μοῦ τοὺς κύκλους τάραττε.
Mḕ moû toùs kúklous táratte.
"Do not disturb my circles."
The last words attributed to Archimedes (paraphrased from Valerius Maximus' Memorable
Doings and Sayings). During the raid of Syracuse by the Romans, Archimedes was busy
drawing circles. He was eventually attacked and killed by a Roman soldier.
μὴ χεῖρον βέλτιστον.
Mḕ kheíron béltiston.
"The least bad [choice] is the best."
When there is no good option, one should pick the one that does the least harm.
μηδὲν ἄγαν.
Mēdèn ágan.
"Nothing in excess"
Inscription from the temple of Apollo at Delphi
ὅπερ ἔδει δεῖξαι (ΟΕΔ)
Hóper édei deîxai. (abbreviated as OED)
"Quod erat demonstrandum"
"what was required to be proved"
Used by early mathematicians including Euclid (Elements, 1.4), Aristotle(APo.90b34),
and Archimedes, written at the end of a mathematical proof or philosophical argument, to
signify the proof as complete. Later it was latinized as "QED" or the Halmos tombstone box
symbol.
Πάντα ῥεῖ
Panta rhei
"All is flux; everything flows" – This phrase was either not spoken by Heraclitus or did not
survive as a quotation of his. This famous aphorism used to characterize Heraclitus' thought
comes from Simplicius, a Neoplatonist, and from Plato's Cratylus. The
word rhei (cf. rheology) is the Greek word for "to stream"; according to Plato's Cratylus, it is
related to the etymology of Rhea.
πάντοτε ζητεῖν τὴν ἀλήθειαν
Pántote zeteῖn tḕn alētheian
"ever seeking the truth" — Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers[23] — a
characteristic of Pyrrhonism. An abbreviated form, ζητεῖν τὴν ἀλήθειαν ("seek the truth"), is a
motto of the Geal family.
πάθει μάθος
páthei máthos
"(There is) learning in suffering/experience", or "Knowledge/knowing, or wisdom, or learning,
through suffering".[25]
Aeschylus, Agamemnon, 177[26]
The variant πάθος μάθος means "suffering is learning/learning is suffering."
πῆμα κακὸς γείτων, ὅσσον τ’ ἀγαθὸς μέγ’ ὄνειαρ[27]
Pêma kakòs geítôn, hósson t' agathòs még' óneiar
"A bad neighbor is a calamity as much as a good one is a great advantage."
πόλεμος πάντων μὲν πατήρ ἐστι
Pólemos pántōn mèn patḗ r esti
"War is the father of all" — Heraclitus
The complete text of this fragment by Heraclitus is: πόλεμος πάντων μὲν πατήρ ἐστι, πάντων
δὲ βασιλεύς, καὶ τοὺς μὲν θεοὺς ἔδειξε τοὺς δὲ ἀνθρώπους, τοὺς μὲν δούλους ἐποίησε τοὺς
δὲ ἐλευθέρους (War is the father of all and the king of all; and some he has made gods and
some men, some bond and some free).
πύξ, λάξ, δάξ
Pýx, láx, dáx
"With fists, kicks, and bites"
Πύξ "with fists", λάξ "with kicks", δάξ "with bites"
Epigram describing how laypersons were chased away from the Eleusinian Mysteries.
σὺν Ἀθηνᾷ καὶ χεῖρα κίνει
Sỳn Athēnâi kaì kheîra kinei.
"Along with Athena, move also your hand" — cf. the English "God helps those who help
themselves."
Τί δύσκολον; Τὸ ἑαυτὸν γνῶναι.[31]
Tí dýskolon? Tò heautòn gnônai.
"What is hard? To know thyself." — attributed (among other sages) to Thales, according
to Pausanias[32]
τί εὔκολον; Τὸ ἄλλῳ ὑποτίθεσθαι.
Tí eúkolon? Tò állōi hypotíthesthai.
"What is easy? To advise another." — Thales

τί τάχιστον; Νοῦς. Διὰ παντὸς γὰρ τρέχει.

Tí tákhiston? Noûs. Dià pantòs gàr trékhei.
"What is the fastest? The mind. It travels through everything." — Thales

τὸ γὰρ ἡδύ, ἐὰν πολύ, οὐ τί γε ἡδύ.

Tò gàr hēdý, eàn polý, ou tí ge hēdý.
"A sweet thing tasted too often is no longer sweet."
τὸ δὶς ἐξαμαρτεῖν οὐκ ἀνδρὸς σοφοῦ.
Tò dìs examarteîn ouk andròs sophoû.
"To commit the same sin twice [is] not [a sign] of a wise man."
τὸ πεπρωμένον φυγεῖν ἀδύνατον.
Tò peprōménon phygeîn adýnaton.
"It's impossible to escape from what is destined."
χαλεπὰ τὰ καλά
Khalepà tà kalá
"The good/beautiful things [are] difficult [to attain]."
"Naught without labor."
"[What is] good/beautiful [is] troublesome."
Cf. Plato, Republic 4, 435c; Hippias Major, 304e