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ἡ λέξις τῆς ἡμέρας (δ’) – Ancient Greek Word of the Day (4)

December 17, 2021 by Jenny

ὁ/ἡ ὄρνις, -ιθος – a bird. Or: a bird of omen, even the omen itself. In Attic, usually ὁ ὄρνις = rooster (= ὁ ἀλεκτρυών), ἡ ὄρνις = hen.

ὄρνις ζῷόν ἐστι ὃ πέτεται καὶ ἔχει πτερά τε καὶ πτέρυγας. ἔνδοξος δ’ ἐστὶν ἡ κωμῳδία τοῦ Ἀριστοφάνους ἣ καλεῖται Ὄρνιθες· ἐν τάυτῃ τῇ κωμῳδίᾳ οἱ ὄρνιθες πόλιν κτίζουσι ἐν μέσῳ οὐρανῷ· βούλονται γὰρ θεραπεύεσθαι ὑπὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ὡς θεοί·

„ἢν οὖν ἡμᾶς νομίσητε θεούς,
[…] δώσομεν ὑμῖν
αὐτοῖς, παισίν, παίδων παισίν,
πλουθυγίειαν, βίον, εἰρήνην,
νεότητα, γέλωτα, χορούς, θαλίας,
γάλα τ’ ὀρνίθων.“

(ἐκ τῶν τοῦ Ἀριστοφάνους Ὀρνίθων, 723–734)

„γάλα ὀρνίθων“ σημαίνει πρᾶγμα σπάνιον ἢ ἀδύνατον· ἐν δὲ τῇ Πολωνίᾳ καὶ πωλεῖται· ἰδού· https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ptasie_mleczko 😉

A bird is an animal that flies and has feathers and wings. Famous is the comedy by Aristophanes which is called „The Birds“: In this comedy the birds found their own city in the middle of the air, wishing that the humans worship them as gods:

„If you believe in us as gods,
[…] we will give to you and to your
children and to your childrens’ children
health-wealth, longevity, peace,
youth, fun, dances, parties,
and birds’ milk.“
(Aristophanes, “The Birds” 723–734)

„Birds’ milk“ means something that is attainable only with difficulty or not at all. In Poland, however, they even sell it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ptasie_mleczko (It’s the name of a famous chocolate brand 😉 )

Filed Under: Ancient Greek Word of the Week

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