Athanasius

Mosaic of Poseidon abducting Astypalaea (left) and Zeus abducting her sister Europa (right). From Zeugma. θάρσει παρθενική· μὴ δείδιθι πόντιον οἶδμα - take courage, my girl; do not fear the sea swell Moschus, Europa

A bust of Periander, tyrant of Corinth. Roman copy of a Greek original. Vatican Museum. τοῖς μὲν νόμοις παλαιοῖς χρῶ, τοῖς δ´ ὄψοις προσφάτοις. - Use laws that are ancient but food that is fresh. Periander

Five aorist imperative forms with irregular accentuation: λαβέ – take! εὑρέ – find! ἐλθέ – come! ἰδέ – look! εἰπέ – speak! A helpful mnemonic for German speakers: Labet eure Eltern in der Kneipe!

The Ai-Khanoum plaque. Nike drives a lion chariot accompanied by Cybele, Helios and the moon are visible in the sky. National Museum of Afghanistan. οὐκ ἔστιν πᾶν πρόσφατον ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον. - There is nothing new under the sun. Ecclesiastes 1:9

After 27 years of fighting, the Athenians don’t feel so good. The end of the Peloponnesian War, as related by Diodorus Siculus, spoilers ahead (13,107).

A Roman mosaic from Antioch. The undulating pattern is due to earthquakes. Τὴν πόλιν οἱ νέκυες πρότερον ζῶσαν κατέλειψαν· ἡμεῖς δὲ ζῶντες τὴν πόλιν ἐκφέρομεν. - Formerly, the dead left behind a living city, but we now carry away the city while alive. Greek Anthology 9

Red-figure lekythos with Aphrodite, Adonis and Eros, ca. 420 BC. κατθνάσκει, Κυθέρη᾿, ἄβρος Ἄδωνις· τί κε θεῖμεν; καττύπτεσθε, κόραι, καὶ κατερείκεσθε κίθωνας. - Delicate Adonis is dying, Cytherea; what are we to do? Beat your breasts, girls, and tear your clothes. Sappho

A well preserved wax tablet from Roman Egypt with a writing exercise in Greek. The first two lines were written by the teacher, the following four are copy attempts by the student. Σοφοῦ παρ’ ἀνδρὸς προσδέχου συμβουλίαν (Menander) Μὴ πᾶσιν εἰκῇ τοῖς φίλοις πιστεύεται

That's quite the spelling error:

The March of the Ten Thousand, from Friedrich Sorof’s 1898 Teubner edition. ἦν δέ τις ἐν τῇ στρατιᾷ Ξενοφῶν Ἀθηναῖος, ὃς οὔτε στρατηγὸς οὔτε λοχαγὸς οὔτε στρατιώτης ὢν. - An Athenian named Xenophon was in the army, he was neither general nor officer nor soldier.

Marble head of Aphrodite, ca. 2nd century AD. National Archaeological Museum, Naples. ἐρᾷ ὁ ἐρῶν τῶν καλῶν. The lover desires beauty. Plato, Symposium

After yesterday’s Greek frequency list, here’s a Latin equivalent with 1500 words that follows the same 80% rule. It’s based on Paul Diederich’s 1939 dissertation „The frequency of Latin words and their endings“. hiberna-cr.wdfiles.com/local--files/d…

A Hellenistic era gold myrtle wreath. From a private collection. Τόνδε τοι ἀμβροσίοισιν ἐπὶ πλοκάμοισιν ἔοικε κεῖσθαι, Λατοΐδα, χρυσοφαῆ στέφανον - This will fitly lie on your ambrosial locks, O son of Leto, this wreath with sheen of gold Plutarch, Titus Flamininus

An Ancient Greek vocabulary frequency list, clocking in at 1100 words. About 80% of any given text is made up of these (based on the Perseus database). By Wilfred E. Major from Louisiana State University. promotelatin.org/images/stories…

Red-figure kylix showing a young gentleman hunting a boar, ca. 480 BC, Walters Art Museum. The inscription reads APISTAPXOΣ KAΛOΣ - Aristarchos (is) handsome. Ἐν μυρίοισι τὰ καλὰ γίγνεται πόνοις. Thousandfold labors form beauty. Menander

A mosaic of young Dionysos having a drink while riding a tiger. From Pompeii. οἴνου δὲ μηκέτ᾽ ὄντος οὐκ ἔστιν Κύπρις οὐδ᾽ ἄλλο τερπνὸν οὐδὲν ἀνθρώποις ἔτι. - Without wine, there is no more love, or any other thing that is pleasant to mankind. Euripides, Bacchae

An overview of changes to compound verbs due to augmentation. The final vowel of the preposition get’s elided, προ and περι remain unchanged, ἐκ, ἐμ and συμ assume their non-assimiliated form.

Statuette of a hoplite, standing just 12,8 cm/5 in tall. Found in the sanctuary of Zeus in Dodona. Ca. 500 BC. Antikensammlung Berlin. Μὴ µικροῖς σταθµοῖς ταλαντεύειν τὴν ἀρετήν. Weigh not virtue on small scales. Cyril