(no subject)

[beccaelizabeth]

Dear writing about Greek Tragedy people: Could you please stop using the actual greek when there's perfectly good English words available?

What's oikos and polis when it's at home?
*googles*
Ah. Oikos is home. ... the pun was on accident, honest.

Wiki sez:
An oikos (ancient Greek: οίκος, plural: οίκοι) is the ancient Greek equivalent of a household, house, or family.

In Ancient Greek literature, the nature of the Oikos was prevalent, and indeed, the cornerstone of this ancient society. However, in the 5th century B.C., ancient Greek writers orientated the nature of the Oikos with the Polis (the city state); the conflict between these two was addressed in Greek Tragic theatre. The conflicting interests with both the Oikos and Polis lead to the structural decay of the society.

An oikos was the basic unit of society in most Greek city-states, and included the head of the oikos (usually the oldest male), his extended family (wife and children), and slaves living together in one domestic setting. Large oikoi also had farms that were usually tended by the slaves, which were also the basic agricultural unit of the ancient economy.

/wiki

hmm, so, no, home is not an exact equivalent. It's a socio-economic unit we don't exactly use any more. Right, fair enough then.
*Adds to list*

Wiki:
A polis is a city, a city-state and also citizenship and body of citizens.
/wiki

okay, another set of nuances that actually don't translate.


... fine, okay, fair enough, use greek.


... where's a better place than wiki to look these up?
Maybe one of the more general books I haven't finished or made notes on.

Comments

[msp-hacker.livejournal.com]

Myself, I just love it when they put down things in Greek script. With no attempt to explain to those in the audience who doen't understand Ancient Greek.

[beccaelizabeth]

I know a bunch of ghost stories that do that, also randomly drop Latin in to the conversation. Expected audience is a funny thing.

But yeah, no so very helpful.