Your Greek Word On A Sunday

Before we begin, I have an announcement; From December 1st our account on X will no longer exist. Instead we're moving into Blue Sky and I'll put the handle on the description so you can find us there. @yourgreeksunday.bsky.social . I think it's a much friendlier platform. If you don't have an account there, you can find us on Instagram @yourgreeksunday where I also post videos with additional information on specific episodes or, you can follow my acting page on Facebook : Emmanuela Lia, a place where I share all my work including this podcast. And finally, if you're not into social media, thank you for waiting to listen to today's word! Let's go!

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Πους (pous) in ancient Greek and Πόδι (podi) in modern, means 'foot/leg'. Τρία (tria) means 'three'. From Ancient China to Ancient Greece we see many three- legged portable stands, cauldrons and vases. The first time the combination of those two words was recorded, was in the ancient syllabic alphabet used by the Mycenaeans and predating Ancient Greek, Linear B. The syllables read TI-RI-PO and of course nobody knows how they were pronounced but they were describing three-legged objects. The word was used in Ancient Greek and Latin and it came to English in 1603 in a translation of Plutarch's 'The Morals' by Philemon Holland and, a Latin pronunciation. ΤΡΙΠΟΔΟ/TRIPOD

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Today we have not one but two terms that were made up from Greek words and were coined in England. This time in 1865 by banker, philanthropist, scientist and polymath John Lubbock. He helped establish archaeology as a scientific discipline and promoted the need for public libraries, among other things. In his study of archaeology and the need to clearly distinguish Stone Age periods, he formed two new words. Παλαιό (paleo) in Greek means 'old' and Νεο (neo) means 'new' . Λίθος (lithos) means 'stone'. The combination seems fairly simple to us now but the concept is genius! The division of the Stone Age into ΠΑΛΑΙΟΛΙΘΙΚΟΣ & ΝΕΟΛΙΘΙΚΟΣ/PALAEOLITHIC & NEOLITHIC

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Aristotle used this word in his definition of Greek Drama and in particular Tragedy
Έστιν ουν τραγωδία, μίμησις πράξεως σπουδαίας και τελείας...' This is tragedy, the imitation of a significant and absolute act. Richard Dawkins used it to coin a new term in 1976 and according to Wikipedia 'it is an idea, behaviour or style that spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme' Well, in today's digital and visual language, it has taken the form of a short image-burst, that may or may not have words but it's an imitation of an idea, action or vibe. ΜΙΜΗΣΗ/MEME

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Happy November, everyone! We're still in Halloween mood here in the UK so, I've decided to follow up from last week's word. This is probably one of the most accurate yet creative modern namings of a medicine I know. We touched upon this god on a couple of episodes with his name mentioned in the last one but I've never told you his story. He was one of the first gods. Son of night and Sleep, nephew of Death (and I'm here to correct myself calling them brothers last week) , two of his thousands of siblings were Fear and Fantasia, also known as Dreams and although they had wings, he didn't need them. His purpose was to deliver messages to mortals from the other gods. His name comes from the word Μορφή (morfi) which means 'Shape' , because he would shape into anyone in order for the message to be more effective. According to the Roman writer Ovid, he would sleep on a bed of poppies and that's were the German pharmacist Friedrich Serturner who isolated the substance in 1804, got the idea for the name. The substance that would ease your pain, cause you to hallucinate or be deadly. If you haven't guessed it yet, the name of the god is Morpheus and the medicine ΜΟΡΦΙΝΗ/MORPHINE

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Before we begin I have a small update for you, we did not win last week's  Independent podcast awards but we're very happy we were nominated and, we got to spent the evening with so many interesting people, who are all passionate about the podcasts they create. So, go to the Independent Podcast Awards website, look up all the winners and the nominees. I'm sure you'll find more than one podcast to subscribe to. 
But for today, 
Happy Halloween
Let the spooky words in

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In modern Greek κοιμάμαι (kimame) means 'I sleep', in ancient Greek κείμαι (kime) meant  'I lie down' and a κοιμητήριο (kimitirio) was 'a bedroom'. After Christianity came along and suggested that death is nothing but a long sleep until the second coming, this place, would for some writers be an exceptional starting point for their ideas to come to life. Among other things. The word travelled to England through the usual route, Latin and French and Christianity secured the meaning. Although, Morpheus, the God of Sleep and his brother Death, never loosened their grip. ΚΟΙΜΗΤΗΡΙΟ/CEMETERY

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Διδάσκειν (didaskin) is ancient Greek infinitive, the noun is Διδαχή (didahi) and the verb that is also used in modern Greek is Διδάσκω  (didasko). The word came to English from the French in the 1600s in a translation by Samuel Hartlib, who was a fascinating man and was described as 'The European intelligencer' , what a way to describe someone who's life goal is to further knowledge! Although today the word has a negative connotation that comes from the 19th century, it didn't start that way, it meant exactly was the Greek word still means today. Someone capable of teaching. ΔΙΔΑΚΤΙΚΟΣ/DIDACTIC

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One of the benefits of being bilingual is that it gives you a bigger language field to get lost in and explore. However, sometimes you forget the obvious or take some words for granted; Like the one today which, I was convinced I've already talked about but haven't. Φίλος (philos) in both ancient and modern Greek means 'friend'. Σοφία (sofia/sophia) means 'wisdom'. The combined word was used to describe a practice in ancient Greece. The search for knowledge. Later on, it took the meaning of 'rational thought' and in English we first find it in Middle English as a direct loan from the French and meaning 'the exploration of all sciences including Alchemy'. As thinkers and scientists got more specific in their practices, so did the word. It got attached to the thinkers and, stayed. ΦΙΛΟΣΟΦΙΑ/PHILOSOPHY

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Before we begin, I'd like to remind you that you can always email me with comments, questions or anything you want to say about what you hear in this podcast at [email protected] . You can also follow me on Instagram and X @yourgreeksunday and leave a review or a comment on the platform of your choice.

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Welcome to season 8! Wow! Although technically this is 7 and a bit, as I started season 1 on a January but who's counting, right? Well, this summer I realised how long I've been doing this because I got a few people asking me for advice on how to start a podcast and, I could answer; which also gave me the idea of our first word. Here we go! When Odysseus left Ithaca for Troy, he assigned his best friend to stand in for him for his son Telemachus; he would advise and protect the boy and occasionally be replaced by the Goddess Athena for some extra wisdom (because Gods did that!). His name became a character quality in 1699 (and much much much later, a job) after the publication of the French novel 'The adventures of Telemachus' by Francois Fenelon; which seems to have been very popular both in France and England and the book itself has a very interesting journey, have a look when you get a chance. So, for this magnificent human skill that comes with years of hard work, experience or divine intervention, we have one character in Homer's Odyssey to thank for and his name is ΜΕΝΤΟΡ/MENTOR

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Hello and Happy Autumn, everyone or Happy Fall if you're on the other side of the pond. Our new season will start in October but until then, I have some wonderful news! Our podcast has been nominated for an Independent Podcasts Award! The awards ceremony will be held at The King's Place in London and I'll put a link in the description (see below) , in case you want to book a ticket for the night and join the fun. 
Now, you cannot vote for us since this year's judges are the ones deciding the winners BUT what you can do is, go to the platform of your choice and leave us a review. That, will help more people discover us and experience what you already enjoy, not to mention I love reading your reviews! Thank you for listening and getting us so far. Oh, and don't forget to follow us on Instagram @yourgreeksunday for short videos and updates. 
See you soon! 

Link to the awards
https://www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/words/independent-podcast-awards-2024/

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Have you noticed how this year, the first word of every month has been a myth or myth related? Whether you have or not, thank you for listening and staying with me for another season. As this is the last episode before our summer break, I would be amiss not to mention amazing musician Laertes Malkotsis who composed our theme tune and Laurence Parsons who designed our logo. During the break, there might be a bolus episode or two so, keep your ears sharp and don't forget: you can find me on Instagram & Twitter @yourgreeksunday and you can email me with comments, questions or anything you like to discuss that you've heard on this podcast at [email protected]
Here we go! 

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This word first appears in writing in Homer's Epic, The Iliad and it meant 'a saying' , 'an opinion', 'an utterance'. Shortly after, Hesiod came along and used the word to detail the origins of human kind, its gods and heroes. And finally, Aristotle applied it to the plot of theatre plays and storytelling. The word came to English via Latin and around the 1800s was linked to fables and stories with heroic acts and supernatural elements ΜΥΘΟΣ/MYTH

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