Assignment 6: Tutorial

Experiment 1

“Between the Echoes / Ανάμεσα στις Ηχώ”

ENGLISH	GREEK (Romanized)
I wake with melancholia, soft as silk and sharp as silence	Xypnao me melancholi­a, apali­ san metaxi kai kofteri­ san siopi
The mirror speaks in tongues of eidolon and absence	O kathreptis milaei me glosses tou eidolou kai tis apousi­as
My steps are stitched with the thread of pathos	Ta vimata mou rammena me nima apo pathos
Memory returns like a daimon, not good nor bad, only watching	I mni­mi epistrefei san dai­mon, oute kalos­ oute kakos­, ma mono gia na vlepei
I carry the weight of a phantasma, a love that never arrived	Kouvalao to varos enos phantasmatos, mias agapis pou den i­lthe pote
The world outside is pure chaos	O ekso kosmos ei­nai katharo chaos
Inside, I whisper aletheia, and the walls breathe back	Mesa, psithyri­zo ali­theia, kai oi toi­choi anapneoun pi­so
My chest is an orchestra of half-sung wishes	To stithos mou ei­nai mia orchistra misotragoudismenon efchon
There is no map, only nostos and the dream of return	Den yparchei chartis, mono nostos kai to oneiro tis epistrofi­s
My voice becomes a logos, searching for shape	I foni­ mou gi­netai logos, psachnontas gia morphi­
And in this pandemonium, I find my catharsis	Kai mesa se afto to pandaimonio, vri­sko tin katharsi
Not peace, not even truth, but the will to remain a little longer	ochi eiri­ni, oute kan ali­theia, mono i theliÌsi na mei­no li­go akoma

Greek Word Origins and Deeper Meanings

Melancholia

 (μελαγχολία)

From: melas (μέλας) = black + cholé (χολή) = bile

In ancient Greek medicine, melancholia was believed to result from an excess of “black bile” — one of the four bodily humors. It wasn’t just “sadness,” but a philosophical temperament, often linked to deep thinkers, poets, and philosophers (like Heraclitus). It implied introspective depth, not just depression.

Eidolon

 (εἴδωλον)

From: eidō (εἴδω) = to see/form + suffix -lon (diminutive)

Originally meaning image, phantom, or apparition, especially in Homeric poetry — an eidolon was the ghost or echo of a person, like Helen’s double in The Iliad. Later, in Plato’s philosophy, it referred to illusions or mere appearances — what we mistake for reality.

Pathos

 (πάθος)

From: paskhein (πάσχειν) = to suffer, experience

Pathos meant more than “emotion”: it meant the deep internal experience of suffering, passion, or awe. It is central to Aristotle’s theory of tragedy, where pathos moves the audience to catharsis (see below).

Daimon

 (δαίμων)

From: daio (δαίω) = to divide or dispense

In ancient Greece, a daimon was not an evil spirit. It was a divine inner force, often a guide or protector: like Socrates’ daimonion, a spiritual inner voice. Only in Christian times did daimon become demon. Originally, it was something sacred, in-between gods and mortals, a whispering presence.

Phantasma

 (φάντασμα)

From: phaino (φαίνω) = to appear, bring to light

This referred to an apparition, a vision, or something imagined but not real. Unlike “ghost,” it could also mean a dream, a reflection, or an artistic creation — anything that seemed real but lacked substance.

Chaos

 (χάος)

From: chainō (χαίνω) = to yawn, gape open

Originally, chaos was not disorder. In Hesiod’s Theogony, Chaos is the primordial void — the gap from which all things emerged. It represents potential, the fertile unknown before creation — not confusion, but the womb of existence.

Aletheia

 (ἀλήθεια)

From: a- (ἀ-) = not + lethe (λήθη) = forgetfulness

So, aletheia means literally: “un-forgetting”. Truth is not simply factual; it is what is remembered, revealed, uncovered. Heidegger later revived this to describe truth as disclosure — truth as revealing rather than stating.

Orchestra

 (ὀρχήστρα)

From: orcheomai (ὀρχέομαι) = to dance

In ancient Greek theatre, the orchestra was the circular space where the chorus danced and sang : the sacred heart of the drama. Today’s “orchestra” is musical, but its root is about movement, ritual, communal voice.

Nostos

 (νόστος)

From: nemo (νέμω) = to return or distribute

Nostos is the longing for homecoming. In Homer’s Odyssey, it’s Odysseus’ central goal — a spiritual journey back to one’s origin, filled with trials. It’s also the root of nostalgia (see below).

Logos

 (λόγος)

From: lego (λέγω) = to gather, speak

A deeply layered word — logos means word, reason, account, or principle. In Heraclitus, Logos is the rational order of the cosmos. In Stoic and Christian traditions, it became the divine word, the logic behind all things.

Pandemonium

 (παν- + δαίμονες)

From: pan- (πᾶν) = all + daimones (δαίμονες) = spirits

Coined by Milton in Paradise Lost, it literally means: “all demons” gathered together: the chaotic council of fallen angels. But it reflects the Greek origin of many spirits gathered in one space ; a tumult of conflicting energies.

Catharsis

 (κάθαρσις)

From: kathairein (καθαίρω) = to cleanse, purify

Used by Aristotle to describe the emotional effect of tragedy. Catharsis is emotional purification: the cleansing of pity and fear by watching a tragedy unfold. It’s not mere release, it’s transformation through emotional insight.

Nostalgia

 (νόστος + ἄλγος)

From: nostos = return home + algos = pain

So, nostalgia is literally the pain of wanting to return; not just homesickness, but spiritual yearning for a lost time, person, or self.

Final Note: Why This Matters

Each of these words is a carrier of ancient knowledge, not just vocabulary.

When I use these terms in poetry or creative writing, I’m layering meanings: modern, personal, and ancient. I connect my emotional reality to a shared cultural legacy, especially powerful for me, as a Greek speaker and wanna be artist, creating in English but drawing from Hellenic roots.

---

Experiment 2

You can:

• Read the English lines vertically for the full English version.
• Read the Greek (transliterated) lines vertically for the Greek-inspired version.
• Or read each horizontal pair as a single poetic thought, mirroring between languages.

Φιλία | Philia

(One soul, two bodies)

You know me, beyond words

Me gnorizeis, pera apo tis lekseis

You walk beside me, not behind or ahead

Perpatas dipla mou, oute piso oute brosta

You do not ask to be needed, only trusted

Den zitas na se chreiazomai, mono na se empistevomai

Like roots of olive and vine, we grow in silence

San rizomata elias kai ambelou, megalonoume se siopi

You don’t catch me — you hold space when I fall

Den me piezeis — kratas to choro otan peso

Your gaze is steady — your silence kind

To vlema sou stathero — i siopi sou eygenis

This is not eros — this is warmth without burning

Den einai erotas — einai zestasia choris fotia

Friendship is not a flame — it is a hearth

I filia den einai floga — einai estia

Etymology & Notes

• Philia (φιλία): Ancient Greek for deep friendship, one of the four classical words for love (along with eros, agape, storge). For Aristotle, philia(friendship) was the highest form of love — “one soul dwelling in two bodies.” Philo=I love=> Philippos (love of horses)
• Eros (ἔρως): Romantic/desiring love. Here used to contrast friendship, showing it as calmer, more enduring.
• Estia (Εστία / Hearth): The home’s sacred fire in ancient Greece, also the name of the goddess Hestia. Symbol of comfort, not passion — a center, not a spark.
• Empistevomai (εμπιστεύομαι): “I trust” — rooted in pistis, meaning faith or trust.
• Siopi (σιωπή): Silence, but in Greek it often implies dignified or sacred quietness, not absence of voice.

---

Experiment 3

Lately, I have noticed the younger generation in Greece is using a fusion of languages: something between English and Greek. We call them ”Greenglish”. Since I’m working on this topic I thought it would be nice to try it out a bit. Following there is an experimentation poem exploring this made up language.

Eros: To Nima tis Syndesis

(Eros: The Thread of Connection)

English to ”Greenglish”	Greenglish to ”English”
Love is the thread of kosmos	O Erotas does not ask: he binds
We build desire like naous	Se kathe longing, mia efchi
Connection is not always logiki	I kardia follows no compass
He walks with wings, Eros o siopilos	Kai enonei oti spasmeno egine whole
His arrows are pnoi, not weapon	Mia anasa deep enough to change
He breaks what is teleio to begin	Kai kanei tin apousia flame
Eros is not feeling is just i varitita	Mia elxi beyond fovos or chronos
The world may end, but oxi aftos	O desmos of two souls endures

Notes for Some Key Greenglish Words

• kosmos = universe, order (root of “cosmos”)
• naous = temples
• logiki = logic
• siopilos = silent
• pnoi = breath
• anasa = breath (again, but more like a sigh or gasp)
• teleio = perfect
• varitita = gravity
• fovos = fear
• chronos = time
• afto = this
• desmos = bond

---

Experiment 4

Bitterness Will Mean I Didn’t I Lie

(Pikria Tha Pei Den Eipa Psemata)

– after Kavvadias bitterness, with threads of Eros, exile, kai Alithia

This poem is meant to feel like a confession, a surreal catalogue of truths and betrayals, in the spirit of Kavvadias: but modern, personal, and Greenglish.

1.

I serve Thessaloniki’s smog,

kai tous omixlismenous stathmous

pou skarfalosame mia nyxta me vregmenes kaltses.

2.

The red lantern of a silent street in Dongguan,

where an a girl sewed dragons on my kardia.

3.

To plio pou den efyge pote,

with threads that couldn’t hold a button,

and a map folded in the wrong century.

4.

The almond-eyed girl who said “ni hao”

but gia emena meant

“xechase ta panta kai love me.”

Only to understand argotera that it was a mirage.

5.

The coffee shared with a stranger

who taught me how to say “hope” with his words

and “endurance” with his hands.

6.

A pair of silk pyjamas I never wore

because I was too busy dreaming in polyester shifts

out in the lantern fotinous dromous.

7.

The smile of the taxi driver in Ningbo

who whistled skopous apo tin Cixi

while the world burned

in his cheap Chinese cigarette.

8.

The tragoudi mou pou mourmouriza

<<and I was walking in to the night horis na gnorizo kanenan>>

that went out three times

and the wind was wet-not my eyes

and knew something I couldn’t confess.

9.

The mother I lost

and my boy who said “She’s still here,”

touching my head and then my kardia.

10.

A broken needle

that made a mistake into fashion

and that mistake paid my rent.

11.

A little girl in Laxey

who looked at me like a prophet

and said with her silence:

<<Den eise akoma ekei. Search within!>>

12.

The ache in my trembling heria

when I pressed send on a message I shouldn’t.

13.

The absence of my children in the hallway,

and their voices folded in my chest.

14.

The kiss I never gave my mother

on her cold prosopo

because I loved her

too much to make her real.

15.

The echo of a woman’s footsteps

in a corridor that never led to my door.

16.

To telos-the end,

panta to telos,

that comes disguised as a mandarin

in the dreams of the past.

17.

Kai pikria tha pei den eipa psemata to me.

But each number was a logos,

each memory a pathos,

and I still carry them

in a secret pocket

in my pseche.

Translation Notes:

• Kardia – heart
• Psixi – soul
• Kefali – head
• Stithos – chest
• Psemata – lies
• Plio – ship
• Xeria – hands
• Telos – end
• Pathos – suffering / emotion
• Logos – word / reason / truth