TODAY AND ANCIENT GREECE

People, including myself, who love words are called logophiles.  The word comes from two Greek roots--logos, meaning 'word' and philos meaning 'someone who likes something very much.'

When I was inducted to a local sorority lots of years ago, we had to memorize the Greek alphabet.  Always thought alpha and omega were way cool Greek letters, meaning the beginning and the end. 

The Greek alphabet system was developed in Greece around 1000 BC, with roots going way back to the Phoenicians.  Interesting how our lives today are still wearing remnants of these ancient times.  

The Phoenicians best known legacy to the world was their oldest verified alphabet, which made its way across the Mediterranean Sea and was used to develop the Greek alphabet and, in turn, Latin.  That lets us know that the language of the Catholic Mass, which is Latin, has the same roots as the Greek language.  Small world.

The Greek language has had a considerable impact on the English language.  Here are some Greek words we use every day......

Kudos--to give high recognition for an achievement.

Phobia--an exaggerated fear of something.

Plethora--an over abundance or excess.

Genesis--origin, which is why the first book of the Bible is called Genesis.

Dogma--a set of principles impossible to dispute.

Ethos--In Greek, it means 'accustomed place.'  In English, ethos refers to the disposition or characteristics of a specific ideology or person.

Anemia--having less than the normal quantity of hemoglobin in the blood.  (Interestingly, I have the opposite case and am being monitored.  If my number goes up by one more, the treatment is simply removing some blood out of my body.)

Acme--refers to the highest point of achievement.

Agora--an open market place found in the cities of ancient Greece.

Eureka--This word was founded by the famous Greek mathematician, Archimedes.  Eureka refers to a celebrated discovery.  When he discovered that the water displaced by submerging a part of his body in the bath was equal to the volume of the submerged body part, he ran out into the street shouting 'eureka, eureka.'

Marathon--long-distance footraces.  

Marmalade--comes from the Greek word 'meli' meaning 'honey' and 'milo' meaning apple.

Music--literally means art of the Muses, the nine Greek goddesses who presided over the arts and sciences.  The concept of a museum was intended to be a shrine for the Muses.

Narcissism--comes from the Ancient Greek mythological figure of Narcissus, a young man who fell in love with himself when he saw his reflection in a lake.  (Do you know a narcissist?  someone who boasts and flaunts his/her level of education, knowledge and accomplishments?)

Planet--another word for the heavens, comes from the Greek verb planomai, which means 'to wander.'  The Ancient Greeks thought planets were wandering stars.

Oh, there are more words that come to us from ancient Greece.  And, now, Omicron will join in.  It blows my mind to think there are those who are arguing and fighting over the name of this latest Covid variant.  So much sarcasm in today's society.  And even the word 'sarcasm' is the Greek word for 'flesh.'  Sarcasm metaphorically describes the act of stripping someone's flesh off with a sneering comment.