We all speak Greek

How many times have you heard or said the words, “It’s all Greek to me”? Because Greek, one of the oldest languages, is thought to be one of the most difficult languages to learn as a foreigner, this phrase has come to mean “I have no idea” or “I haven’t got a clue”. However it is surprising to find out that it is estimated that more than 150,000 words of English (one in four) are derived from Greek words. These include technical and scientific terms but also more common words like philosophy, microscope, Olympics, echo, phobia, architect, telephone….the list goes on. One of the first things you learn as a child is the alphabet and the word is made up of the first two letters of the Greek alphabet; alpha and beta. In the fields of botany and zoology, over 50% of the words used are Greek, e.g. seahorse (hippocampus) has its root in the Greek for horse (“ippos”) and agapanthus stems from “agape” (love) and “anthos” (blossom). The term "botany" itself probably came from the Greek words botanikos (botanical) and botani (herb). 60% of medical terminology is Greek, e.g cardiology stems from the Greek word “kardia”, meaning heart and osteoarthritis comes from the Greek “osto” (bone) and “arthritida” (arthritis). Epidermis, iris, retina and cranium all have their roots in Greek. A doctor who works with children gets his or her title from the Greek for child (“paidi”). 50% of the periodic table originates from Greek, e.g. magnesium, helium, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen. There are many Greek prefixes used in the English language, e.g. pseudo- (pseudes = fake), penta- (pende = five), mono- (monos = single) and micro- (micros = small). Many common English expressions are linked to Greek Mythology: The Midas Touch - if you have this you will succeed at anything you undertake. The expression derives from the story of King Midas, who was able to turn everything he touched into gold. Achilles Heel - to have a weakness or vulnerability. Achilles was the son of Zeus and his heel was the only weak spot on his body. No surprise then that he was killed when his heel was shot by an arrow. To be a Cassandra - this refers to someone who is telling the truth but is believed by no-one. Cassandra was a priestess in Troy and warned King Priam, (who thinks it is a peace offering), not to allow the wooden horse to be brought into the city. The Trojans celebrate their victory and go to sleep. The Greeks come out of the horse, murder the men and boys and make slaves of the women and children. Trojan Horse - this term is again related to the story above. It is used nowadays to describe a computer virus, which comes in the back door looking like a normal file but is actually malware used by hackers to gain information, delete files, etc. Beware of Greeks Bearing Gifts - again this refers to the story of the Trojan Horse. It is used to describe a situation where appearances are not always what they seem. Caught between a rock and a hard place/Between the devil and the deep blue sea - it means it doesn’t matter which decision we make the outcome will not be a good one or to choose the lesser of two evils. Odysseus is told that he must travel through the Strait of Messina but the path breaks in two. On one path is the Scylla, a monster which will eat his crew and the other path holds a whirlpool with teeth called the Charybdis. He takes the path with the Scylla figuring it is better to lose some of the crew rather than the ship and all the men. To open Pandora’s box - doing something that causes a lot of problems to appear that did not exist or were not known about before. Pandora is told specifically not to open a certain box (actually a pottery jar), but of course she does and death, murder, sickness, war, etc. are released into the world. When she manages to close the box the only thing not released is hope. To rise from the ashes - this phrase indicates a major life change or a comeback after a disaster. The Phoenix was a mythical bird. Every one thousand years it self combusted and then was reborn from its ashes. A great example of the influence of the Greek language are the two speeches written in English but actually consisting of only Greek words (with the exception of articles, conjunctions and prepositions) by the former Prime Minister Prof. Xenophon Zolotas, who was also an economist. If you would like to read the full speeches here is a copy - Prof. Xenophon Zolotas