Author Topic: (He said,) Sex and sleep alone make me conscious that I am mortal -> ἔλεγε δὲ μάλιστα συνιέναι θνητὸς ὢν ἐκ τοῦ καθεύδειν καὶ συνουσιάζειν (Plutarch, "Life of Alexander" 22.6.2)  (Read 837 times)

goldenlighteye

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Hi could someone assist in translating this quote from alexander the great into anceint greek from english. Lokking to get this as a tattoo thanks :)

Sex and sleep alone make me conscious that I am mortal
« Last Edit: 07 Mar, 2012, 23:29:11 by billberg23 »


billberg23

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could someone assist in translating this quote from alexander the great into anceint greek from english.
Perhaps you weren't aware, g.l.e., that Alexander was himself thoroughly Greek in culture, spoke ancient Greek, and was quoted in ancient Greek by Plutarch and other authors whose works have been preserved in their original ancient Greek.  When we have his actual words in ancient Greek, what point would there be in translating from English back into ancient Greek?  Your quotation is from Plutarch's Life of Alexander, chapter 22, section 6, line 2:
ἔλεγε δὲ μάλιστα συνιέναι θνητὸς ὢν ἐκ τοῦ καθεύδειν καὶ συνουσιάζειν
— literally, "He said that he was especially conscious of being mortal from sleep and from sexual intercourse."  (The words of Alexander are in bold type.) 
Τί δέ τις; Τί δ' οὔ τις; Σκιᾶς ὄναρ ἄνθρωπος. — Πίνδαρος



billberg23

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Can you tell me how you say this in english from the ancient greek?
If you mean, "Can you tell me how to pronounce this," it's
eh-leh-geh  deh  mah-lee-stah  see-nee-eh-neh  thnee-tohss  own  ek  too  kah-thev-deen  keh  see-noo-see-ah-zeen
(Bold syllables are accented.)