Your Greek Word On A Sunday

(Piano music)  Hello and welcome to Your Greek Word On A Sunday, a weekly, bite-size podcast for anyone curious on language, etymology and connections. I am your host, Emmanuela Lia and wherever you are in the world, if you want to entertain your brain for a few minutes, this is the podcast for you. Let's Go!  Today's word had two meanings in Ancient Greece and could also be used metaphorically. Σκήπτω (skipto) in Ancient Greek meant 'I lean on' something. Ambassadors and messengers were often put in difficult positions either negotiating for their state's interests or bringing bad news so, they carried a staff to protect themselves but later it became a symbol of someone who was protected so they were safe on sight. A staff was also present in public debates and held by the speaker. And lastly, in courts, it was held by judges. As a symbol of power a staff would be passed from father to son and some had an ornament on top, the equivalent of a family crest although, Zeus had an Eagle (he would, would he?). Metaphorically we find the word used in the Greek Tragedy Oedipus Rex where his children are described as the staff that carries light. And today, we refer to it as a symbol of power. The word went from Latin 'Sceptrum' to French 'Ceptre' and then English in the 1300s. ΣΚΗΠΤΡΟ/SCEPTRE Audible [https://www.audibletrial.com/xL2kby] Step into another world! Listen to any audiobook with a month long free trial (cancel anytime) Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Instagram @yourgreeksunday , Blue Sky @yourgreeksunday.bsky.social email yourgreeksunday@gmail.com

(Piano music)  Hello and welcome to Your Greek Word On A Sunday, a weekly, bite-size podcast for anyone curious on language, etymology and connections. I am your host, Emmanuela Lia and wherever you are in the world, if you want to entertain your brain for a few minutes, this is the podcast for you. Let's Go!  Happy Easter to those of you celebrating and I hope you're having a relaxing Sunday those of you who don't.  Before the Byzantine separation that brought us Eastern and Western Christianity, this word meant 'a universal faith' or more accurately  'a faith recognised by all'. The first time we find that word in writing is in a letter from 110AD by Ignatius of Antioch, addressing the Christians in Smyrna to follow their Bishop like the church follows 'the universal faith'. Κατά (kata) is a preposition and among other things, it means 'according to' and ολικός (olikos) means 'Whole'.  ΚΑΘΟΛΙΚΟΣ/CATHOLIC Audible [https://www.audibletrial.com/xL2kby] Step into another world! Listen to any audiobook with a month long free trial (cancel anytime) Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Instagram @yourgreeksunday , Blue Sky @yourgreeksunday.bsky.social email yourgreeksunday@gmail.com

Let me tell you what happens when you're your own producer, editor and, host. You spend a few hours of research and writing your episode then, you get into the booth, do a few takes so you have options, edit everything to an episode you  really like and when you're about to save it-at which point you've spend the better part of you afternoon-a message pops up telling you 'that episode already exists' and you remember that you've done that word two years ago! I think it's for the best as the word I found instead, fits perfectly that situation. (Piano music)  Hello and welcome to Your Greek Word On A Sunday, a weekly, bite-size podcast for anyone curious on language, etymology and connections. I am your host, Emmanuela Lia and wherever you are in the world, if you want to entertain your brain for a few minutes, this is the podcast for you. Let's Go!  Hello and welcome to Your Greek Word On A Sunday, a weekly, bite-size podcast for anyone curious on language, etymology and connections. I am your host, Emmanuela Lia and wherever you are in the world, if you want to entertain your brain for a few minutes, this is the podcast for you. Let's Go!  One of the Phrygian gods that arrived in Greece (because they didn't have enough apparently) was the maternal goddess Κυβέλη (Cybele). She was similar to the Geek 'Gaia'  and wasn't an instant hit but her myth is attached to Dionysus as she supposedly cured him from his madness so that made her more likable. Fast forward a few years and the Romans are in great distress by war, famine, failed harvest and a meteor shower! They feel the Empire might collapse so , they consult both the Roman and the Greek oracles and they decide to bring Κυβέλη to Rome. They rename her Magna Mater (The Great Mother) and soon after, the famine ends, the war is won and...it's Spring! They celebrated Magna Mater on March 25th, the Spring Equinox, and named that day (which became a whole festival)'Hilaria' from the Greek word for 'Joyous'. ΙΛΑΡΟΣ/HILARIOUS. Audible [https://www.audibletrial.com/xL2kby] Step into another world! Listen to any audiobook with a month long free trial (cancel anytime) Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Instagram @yourgreeksunday , Blue Sky @yourgreeksunday.bsky.social email yourgreeksunday@gmail.com

(Piano music)  Hello and welcome to Your Greek Word On A Sunday, a weekly, bite-size podcast for anyone curious on language, etymology and connections. I am your host, Emmanuela Lia and wherever you are in the world, if you want to entertain your brain for a few minutes, this is the podcast for you. Let's Go!  Happy Spring, everyone! The clocks moved, the days are getting bigger and the Sun is gracing us with its presence more often than not.  On the first of April in most parts of the world, it's custom to lie, trick and prank eachother. Do you know why? There are a few theories but the most popular one goes back to 1564 in France. Up until that point , the French celebrated New Year's Day on the 25th of March and the celebrations lasted until the first of April but that year, the King decided to sync with the rest of Europe and changed the celebration to January 1st. Not everyone got the memo immediately so, the ones who kept celebrating in March were teased, pranked and called one name in particular. In ancient Greek, the word for a person not contributing to society because they were unskilled or uneducated translates as ' a  private person', one that is not being in sync or engaging with society productively. In Latin, the word escaped the April Fool's custom and that's how it travelled in English. ΙΔΙΩΤΗΣ/IDIOT Instagram @yourgreeksunday , Blue Sky @yourgreeksunday.bsky.social email yourgreeksunday@gmail.com

(Piano music)  Hello and welcome to Your Greek Word On A Sunday, a weekly, bite-size podcast for anyone curious on language, etymology and connections. I am your host, Emmanuela Lia and wherever you are in the world, if you want to entertain your brain for a few minutes, this is the podcast for you. Let's Go!  It's Mother's day here, today, and I hope it's a happy one for all of you. My own Mum is listening from Athens so, Happy Mother's day Mum! Αρχή (arhi) in both ancient and modern Greek means 'The authority' but also, 'The beginning'. The word for 'Mother' in ancient Greek is 'Μήτηρ' and in modern 'Μητέρα'. Now that's a word that goes back a very long time and although we find it in all Latin based languages, more or less in similar form, Mutter in German, Madre in Italian and Spanish, Mere in French, Mother in English and so on, there hasn't been a western society solely run by women apart from the Amazons. In Indonesia however, and specifically in West Sumatra, the indigenous ethnic group Minangkabau is the largest female led society that we know of with a population of 6.7 million. Do have a read about them when you get some time. The combination of the two words is found for the very first time in English in 1885 in London's literary journal The Athenaeum. ΜΗΤΡΙΑΡΧΙΑ/MATRIARCHY Audible [https://www.audibletrial.com/xL2kby] Step into another world! Listen to any audiobook with a month long free trial (cancel anytime) Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Instagram @yourgreeksunday , Blue Sky @yourgreeksunday.bsky.social email yourgreeksunday@gmail.com