Tattoos and Ancient Greek

[banned8]

Have a look at these font options:

[ndz83]

Hello.  I've searched this forum and couldn't find an answer, and since my idea is to use it as a tatoo I might as well ask here.

Could someone help me out by telling me how to write "Virtue is Knowledge" in Ancient Greek as Socrates might have written it (or more particularly how Plato wrote it)?  I'd really appreciate it.

[banned8]

Plato didn't write it exactly like that. It is summed up in these words in Xenophon, where he says "και την δικαιοσύνην και την άλλην πάσαν αρετήν σοφίαν είναι". So my short version is:

Πάσα αρετή σοφία

[ndz83]

Thank you very much. 

I'm sorry for asking more, but how exactly are those accents used when spoken?

Also, I'm going to use all capital letters.  Would the accents be right above the letters in the same way?

Thank you again!

[banned8]

The accents just show where the stress falls. So this would be pronounced /pahsa aretee sofeea/. However, the accents are used only with lower-case characters.

Here it is, all in capital letters:

ΠΑΣΑ ΑΡΕΤΗ ΣΟΦΙΑ

[ndz83]

You've been a lot of help, Nickel.

Last question, promise.  In another topic you showed a font that you said was your favorite for ancient Greek.  I've searched all over the web for something similar because I think it's great.  I think it would be perfect for what I was thinking.  What's the name of it?

-Nick S

[banned8]

It's a rather expensive font called Lithos, available from various sources such as Linotype or Adobe (I think I have the Adobe version with Greek).

If you need a specific phrase in that font, I'll prepare a JPG for you according to specs.

[Paula]

Hi!
I'm a Spanish girl and I really wanna get a tattoo around my left ankle. I have looked for places where peoplecan translate into Ancient Greek and I haven't found any. This web has really saved me:-)
The sentence I want to translate is "La verdadera libertad consiste en ser dueños de la propia vida" in Spanish, so in English it would be something like: "true freedom lies in/consist of being owner of your own life".
I think is something Plato said and probably there's any better translation. You will make me the happiest girl in the world if you could help me.
Thank you for your time.
:-)

[banned8]

To the happiest girl in the world:

Ελευθερία ηγεμονία βίου

(Definitiones, 412.d.1)

Just three words: Freedom - mastery - of life.

However, I believe that your quotation corresponds to what follows a couple of phrases later

ελευθερία ... εξουσία του καθ' εαυτόν εν βίω

Freedom is having control of one's own life

The first one, in upper case Lithos:

[Paula]

Thank you very much for making me happy:-)
Now I have a problem, maybe because my level of English is not enough to understand properly your answer.
You said that "ελευθερία εξουσία του καθ' εαυτόν εν βίω" means literally Freedom is having control of one’s own life, didn’t you? And that’s what I should get written around my ankle, isn’t it?
Thank you again. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
You are all great people:-)

[wings]

Hi Paula.

Yes, this is exactly what nickel suggested yesterday and what you understood is absolutely correct.:-)

[Paula]

Thank you wings, thank you Nickel.
I wish you have a nice day.
:-)

[dasjestyr]

can someone please translate this to greek? as accurate as possible as this will be a tattoo. can you please also tell me the literal translation.


please email me at dasjestyr@gmail.com thank you!

[banned8]

My suggestion (in modern Greek) would be:

Προικισμένος με ελεύθερη βούληση, υποτάσσομαι στις προσταγές της μοίρας.

(Gifted with free will, I submit to the dictates of fate.)

I can't see why you don't want it in English. It's not taken out of the Bible or anything.

[dasjestyr]

well its for a tattoo, english would be kinda eh... its for cool factor i think. i have a series of tattoos across several cultures and languages =)