What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object? -> τί ποτ' αὐτίκα κύρσει, ἐπὰν τὸ ἄμαχον τοῦ ἐμπέδου τύχῃ;

[Catgreen4]

• Tweet

Hello,
I have loved this phrase and have decided I would like to get a tattoo of it in Ancient Greek. It is a paradox and to me it has strong scientific meaning however also an abstract meaning that can be related to alot of things in life. If you could help me out i would be very grateful, the phrase is;

What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object?

Thank you again in advance,
Cathryn.

[billberg23]

τί ποτ' αὐτίκα κύρσει, ἐπὰν τὸ ἄμαχον τοῦ ἐμέδου τύχῃ;
— literally, "What will happen immediately when the irresistible meets the immovable?"

[Catgreen4]

Thank you!
Would it be possible to change the word irresistible to unstoppable?

[billberg23]

Yes, you could substitute μὴ κωλυτέον for ἄμαχον, but it wouldn't be as poetic.

[Catgreen4]

Okay thanks!!

Think i am going to go with irresistible meets the immovable, your right it is alot nicer,

How would i say the phrase, as in pronunciation?

[billberg23]

Tee pot ahf-tee-kah keer-see ep-ahn toh ah-mah-khon too em-peh-doo tee-khee

[Catgreen4]

Thanks again! Is the translation given a mixture of lower and upper case? I am not sure if i would want all upper case, or if it would look nicer lower case, with the exception of the first letter of course....

[Catgreen4]

Also could someone please explain to me the use of the comma? Not meaning to be so picky i just don't want to get this wrong!

[billberg23]

Also could someone please explain to me the use of the comma?

You don't need the comma at all.  It's just a modern convention to signify a break between the question and the temporal clause.

We gave you your translation all in lower case, which is normal for ancient Greek.  Upper case would be:
ΤΙ ΠΟΤΕ ΑΥΤΙΚΑ ΚΥΡΣΕΙ ΕΠΑΝ ΤΟ ΑΜΑΧΟΝ ΤΟΥ ΕΜΠΕΔΟΥ ΤΥΧΗΙ

The disadvantages of upper case Greek are that you can't make contractions or use question marks.  The advantage is that you don't need to write diacritical marks or iota subscript.

[Catgreen4]

Oh i see!

Seeing the whole phrase in upper case I think you will agree, lower case looks alot nicer.

This letter, ἄ - what is the difference physically between the accents above? In a different font how would they be shown?

Also there is a slight difference between the accents above these letters - ί and ἐ - again the same question how would they be differentiated using another font?

[spiros]

They would all look ok provided you use a Unicode font or any font supporting Greek polytonic.

[billberg23]

We're talking about diacritical marks above letters — not just accents, but also breathing marks.
ἄ has a smooth breathing mark (= no "h" sound) plus an acute accent above it.
ἐ has only a smooth breathing mark above it.
ί has only an acute accent above it.
ὰ has only a grave accent above it.

[Catgreen4]

so the diacritical marks above  ί  and the second mark? above  ἄ  are the same?

As in they are both acute accents however one is vertical and one is not however they mean the same thing?

[billberg23]

Yes, both are acute accents and both are at the same angle over the letter (vertical or leaning slightly to the right).

[Catgreen4]

One last question! How does this differ than the others? - τ'

Why is the mark not above the letter?