Do I know anyone who knows Greek?

[sylvar]

I want to make T-shirts with this quote from Aristophanes' "Plutus", and I want to make sure the design is accurate:

καὶ τάς γ' ἑταίρας φασὶ τὰς Κορινθίας,
ὅταν μὲν αὐτάς τις πένης πειρω̂ν τύχῃ,
οὐδὲ προσέχειν τὸν νου̂ν, ἐὰν δὲ πλούσιος,
τὸν πρωκτὸν αὐτὰς εὐθὺς ὡς του̂τον τρέπειν.

(Our vendor just introduced a fancy new product called "Corinthian" for high-end customers, but they haven't implemented many of the requests that their dedicated but poorer customers have been asking for. So if you know Greek, you'll know why this is so funny.)


The English translation is something like "And what about those Corinthian whores? They won't give a poor man the time of day, but if he's rich, they'll bend over in an instant!"

Comments

[ratcliffe1963.livejournal.com]

I had a friend who is Greek read the Greek writing and he had real trouble understanding it ... how did you create the Greek? He said maybe it is "ancient" Greek as opposed to "modern" Greek and he doesn't know the former.

[sylvar.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's ancient Greek, it's directly from the Perseus Project at Tufts University. I wouldn't expect a modern Greek speaker to understand it any more than I'd expect a modern English speaker to understand this:

Hroðgar maþelode,   helm Scyldinga:
"For gewyrhtum þu,  wine min Beowulf,
ond for arstafum    usic sohtest.
Gesloh þin fæder    fæhðe mæste;
wearþ he Heaþolafe  to handbonan
mid Wilfingum;      ða hine Wedera cyn
for herebrogan      habban ne mihte."

...although the English speaker would have quite an advantage, since Beowulf is MUCH later than Aristophanes.

And here's a translation in case you're curious:

Hrothgar spake, the Scyldings'-helmet:
"For fight defensive, Friend my Beowulf,
to succor and save, thou hast sought us here.
Thy father's combat a feud enkindled
when Heatholaf with hand he slew
among the Wylfings; his Weder kin
for horror of fighting feared to hold him."