Γλαὺξ ἵπταται
an owl is flying
Translated by William Hutton12 Mar 2001Vetting: high6 revisions
Translation
[sc. This proverbial phrase arose because] the flight of the owl was considered a symbol of victory.1
And [there is] another proverb: "owls from Laureion", in reference to those who have a lot of money; since there were gold mines at Laureion in Attica; and [the Athenians] used to engrave owls on their gold coins.2
And [there is] another proverb: "Glaukos' craft", in reference to things that are easily accomplished; from a certain Glaukos of Samos, who first discovered how to weld iron.3
The owl is called a khalkis.4
And [there is] another proverb: "owls from Laureion", in reference to those who have a lot of money; since there were gold mines at Laureion in Attica; and [the Athenians] used to engrave owls on their gold coins.2
And [there is] another proverb: "Glaukos' craft", in reference to things that are easily accomplished; from a certain Glaukos of Samos, who first discovered how to weld iron.3
The owl is called a khalkis.4
Greek original · Adler’s text
Γλαὺξ ἵπταται· ἡ πτῆσις τῆς γλαυκὸς εἰς νίκης σύμβολον ἐλογίζετο. καὶ ἑτέρα παροιμία· Γλαῦκες Λαυριωτικαί, ἐπὶ τῶν πολλὰ χρήματα ἐχόντων· παρόσον ἐν Λαυρείῳ τῆς Ἀττικῆς γίνονται χρύσεια μέταλλα. ἐνεχάραττον δὲ γλαῦκας ἐν τοῖς χρυσοῖς νομίσμασι. καὶ ἑτέρα παροιμία· Γλαύκου τέχνη, ἐπὶ τῶν ῥᾳδίως κατεργαζομένων· ἀπὸ Γλαύκου τινὸς Σαμίου, ὃς πρῶτος σιδήρου κόλλησιν ἐξεῦρεν. λέγεται δὲ ἡ γλαὺξ χαλκίς.
Betacode
*glau\c i(/ptatai: h( pth=sis th=s glauko\s ei)s ni/khs su/mbolon e)logi/zeto. kai\ e(te/ra paroimi/a: *glau=kes *lauriwtikai/, e)pi\ tw=n polla\ xrh/mata e)xo/ntwn: paro/son e)n *laurei/w| th=s *)attikh=s gi/nontai xru/seia me/talla. e)nexa/ratton de\ glau=kas e)n toi=s xrusoi=s nomi/smasi. kai\ e(te/ra paroimi/a: *glau/kou te/xnh, e)pi\ tw=n r(a|di/ws katergazome/nwn: a)po\ *glau/kou tino\s *sami/ou, o(\s prw=tos sidh/rou ko/llhsin e)ceu=ren. le/getai de\ h( glau\c xalki/s.
Notes (3)
- [1] From the scholia to Aristophanes, Knights 1093, where there is mention of an owl. For the headword phrase as proverbial cf. Zenobius 2.89 and other paroemiographers.↩
- 2The main product of the Laureion mines was actually silver (with silver, rather than gold, coinage resulting). See generally lambda 154. ↩
- 3First in Plato, Phaedo 108D; cf. Zenobius 2.91 and other paroemiographers; omicron 982, sigma 376. See also Hesychius s.v., where this Glaukos is a Chian. ↩
- 4cf. Homer, Iliad 14.291 (web address 1 below), where
xalki/s is the gods' name for a bird that the humans callku/mindis . The addition of this sentence to an entry which has had occasion to mention metals reflects an assumption that the wordxalki/s is cognate with bronze,xalko/s ; in fact, such a connection appears to arise merely out of a parody of Iliad 14.291 in Cratinus fr. 315 Kock = 352 K.-A.; see LSJ s.v.
External resources
- Web address 1 perseus.tufts.edu
Linked from1 entry
Neighbouring entries
Revision history6 revisions · last 28 Sep 2015
- my typo — David Whitehead
- updated a ref — David Whitehead
- more x-refs — David Whitehead
- cosmetics — Catharine Roth
- augmented notes and keywords; tweaks and cosmetics — David Whitehead
- augmented notes; added keywords; cosmetics — David Whitehead
- Translated — William Hutton