Proverbial Phrases
Proverbial expessions are popular and allegorical phrases used to describe a person or a situation. Their origin is lost in the depths of the centuries, in events and people who, when first spoken, made such an impression that their spread, always oral, continued strongly in the following generations.
They differ from proverbs because they are not a distillate of popular wisdom but usually hide a story, which on the one hand has something to teach us, and on the other hand vividly depicts the way of life and action of people of another era.
And as people and seasons change over time, these timeless expressions remain alive, proving that in reality people continue to share the same passions, fears, worries and hopes.
Hundreds of Greek proverbial expressions are an important chapter of the Greek language and a valuable cultural asset.
ΕΙΜΑΣΤΕ ΓΙΑ ΤΑ ΠΑΝΗΓΥΡΙΑ
We are for the festivals
For those who do not realize the seriousness of a situation and act ridiculously.
In the old days in Corinth, which was a rich city, there were two festivals for merchants from all over the world. Each lasted a month and a half. When it was conquered by the Franks, it continued. Those who took part in them, as if nothing was running, said, when asked, where they were going: "we are for the festivals".
ΓΙΑΝΝΗΣ ΚΕΡΝΑΕΙ, ΓΙΑΝΝΗΣ ΠΙΝΕΙ
Yianis treats and Yianis drinks!
Among the lads of Theodoros Kolokotronis, stood out a man from Tripoli, Yianis Thymioulas, who had amazing dimensions: He was two meters tall, thick and very strong. Thymioulas ate a whole lamb in his crib, but still got up hungry. But he also drank a lot. Nevertheless, he was extremely agile, he did not take into account the danger and when he went out on the battlefield, the enemy, who only saw him, was frightened at his sight.
One day, however, Thymioulas, along with five other companions, were besieged in a mountain cave. And the siege lasted about three days. During this time, the few foods that they had with them had run out and Thymioulas began to suffer unimaginably. In the end, seeing that he would starve to death, he decided to make a heroic expedition, which amounted to suicide. He grabbed his dagger, got out of the cave and with incredible speed, started running among the besiegers, hitting right and left. The enemy was stunned, panicked and finally scared and put him on his feet. Thus, they all escaped.
Thymioulas then went down to a Greek village, slaughtered three lambs and skewered them. Then he ordered and they brought him a "twenty" barrel of wine and he fell face down on the food and drink. Of course, any Christian who passed by would shout at him to treat him. Just in time, Theodoros Kolokotronis arrived and asked to find out what was happening.
Yianis treats and Yianis drinks! a villager replied
ΑΚΟΜΑ ΔΕΝ ΤΟΝ ΕΙΔΑΝΕ, ΓΙΑΝΝΗ ΤΟΝ ΒΑΦΤΙΣΑΝΕ
They still haven't seen him, Yiani has been baptized!
When we rush to characterize something prematurely.
During the years of the Greek revolution of 1821, someone from Tripoli in the Peloponnese asked the great leader of the revolution, Theodoros Kolokotronis, who was a friend of his, to come to the village to baptize his baby. At first they would name the child, Yianis, but in order to honor him, they decided to give him his name, that is, Theodoros.
Kolokotronis, who at that time was busy with the battles against the Turks, replied that he would gladly visit them as soon as he found the time. So almost a whole month passed and Kolokotronis failed to fulfill the promise he had given.
The man from Tripolitsa, then sent a message again and Kolotronis made the decision and went to the village with two of his lads. But as soon as he entered his friend's house, he saw no baby, no preparations for baptism.
His friend's wife was in her days to give birth. But because he knew that Kolokotronis was busy with his military duties and that he would be late to visit them - when the child would have been born - he asked him again and again for the baptism in advance.
When Kolokotronis heard the thought of his friend, he laughed out loud and shouted:
They still haven't seen him, Yiani has been baptized!
ΤΟΥ ΚΟΥΤΡΟΥΛΗ Ο ΓΑΜΟΣ
Koutroulis's wedding took place
Noisy gathering
Ioannis Koutroulis was a Knight who lived in Methoni in the 14th century. He fell in love with a married woman who abandoned her husband to live with him. This illegal cohabitation attracted the attention of the church, which ostracized the woman.
Seventeen years passed in the meantime, and Koutroulis, not intending to leave the woman, always tried to allow himself to marry her legally. The lawful and first husband who reacted, tortured Koutroulis for seventeen years.
Finally, in 1394 and after the woman got a divorce, Patriarch Antonios IV, acknowledged her right and with his letters to the metropolitan of Monemvasia and the bishop of Methoni allowed the marriage to take place, with the wishes of the church on the condition that Koutroulis proved that he had no special relationship with the woman, while she lived with her first husband.
The interrogation of the hierarchs confirmed the innocence of Koutroulis and so the marriage took place. Whether or not the wedding will take place has been debated for seventeen years, and when it finally took place, it was the issue of the day. In the mouths of women and the curious were the phrase "The wedding took place of Koutroulis", where all the importance fell on the verb "done".
At the wedding, naturally, an extraordinary and extraordinary feast took place, on the one hand in the stubbornness of the first husband, and on the other hand to the satisfaction of the long-suffering second husband.
In the phrase after "Koutroulis's wedding" the emphasis was no longer the word "done", but the general "Koutroulis", which became synonymous with "noisily" and which is today the special word of the whole phrase.
In Methoni, Messinia, every year during the celebration of Halloween and Clean Monday, it is customary to revive Koutroulis' wedding, during which a feast is held, offering piglets, slices of bread in oil, scorched on fire and wine.
ΔΕ ΧΑΡΙΖΩ ΚΑΣΤΑΝΑ
We don’t donate chestnuts
Phrase used to show austerity
In 1826 Ibrahim sent his spies to invincible Mani, dressed in chestnuts. In order to be informed by the women and children where their husbands were, they started giving away the chestnuts instead of selling them. Suspicious locals caught them and forced them to tell the truth. When the spies asked about their fate, the people of Mani replied: "We do not donate chestnuts", that is, we will punish you.
ΑΛΛΑΞΕ Ο ΜΑΝΩΛΙΟΣ ΚΑΙ ΕΒΑΛΕ ΤΑ ΡΟΥΧΑ ΤΟΥ ΑΛΛΙΩΣ
Manolios changed and put on his clothes differently
When one pretends that something has changed
In the years of Otto, the first king of Greece, there was a well-known rag type: Manolis Batinos.
There was no one in Athens who did not know him, but also did not like him.
The inhabitants often gave him no trousers or any jacket, but he refused to take them, because he was not a beggar.
He considered himself a poet, orator and philosopher. He was standing in a square and was saying that it was coming down to him.
Once upon a time, Ioannis Kolettis, the first prime minister of Greece, happened to pass through there.
Manolis Batinos approached him and asked him if he had the right to speak in Parliament.
Kolettis told him that he would gladly give him permission if he threw the old clothes he was wearing over him and put on other ones.
The next day Manolis appeared in the square in the same clothes, but he had turned them upside down and was wearing the inside out.
He failed to enter Parliament. He remained in the main square and gave the following speech to the passers-by:
"Athens has changed its face,
like a knife without a blade,
got something from Europe
and deflated like a ball.
Fools and deaf people changed
and they kicked us.
Manolios also changed
and he put on his clothes differently. "
ΤΙ ΚΑΠΝΟ ΦΟΥΜΑΡΕΙ
What kind of smoke does someone puffs.
We usually use the phrase when we want to find out about someone we do not know about their character and habits.
The word "smoke" in its ancient meaning is the residence (house). In Byzantine times, tax collectors used to enter the houses of the locals and ask “what kind of smoke puffs here? (What kind of house is here?) Depending on the answer they put the corresponding tax
ΤΑ ΙΔΙΑ ΠΑΝΤΕΛΑΚΗ ΜΟΥ, ΤΑ ΙΔΙΑ ΠΑΝΤΕΛΗ ΜΟΥ
When one constantly repeats the same "news"
This proverbial expression is due to a Cretan named Pantelis Astrapogiannakis.
When the Venetians conquered Megalonisos, he took the mountains with some of his brave compatriots. From there they went down at night and beat the conquerors inside their castles.
To give courage to the islanders, however, he promised them that they would liberate Crete quickly.
Time passed and the situation of the island instead of getting better, got worse.
The Cretans began to despair. But Astrapogiannakis did not lose his courage, he still gave them hope for a short release. His compatriots, however, no longer believed him. So when he went to speak to them, they all said to him, "We know what you are going to say. The same my Pantelaki, the same my Pantelis! "
More phrases coming soon...