Greek Quiz Answers

Here are the answers for Monday's quiz. Congratulations to all of you who got them right.

1. "Delta" -- Deltas are so named because as a river spreads out to a wider body of water, it's shaped like a triangle, as is the letter delta. The Greeks first used this term in northern Egypt, where the Nile spreads out to the Mediterranean.

2. "Hypocrites" -- Actors were hypocrites in ancient Greece. It came from the word for "acting out." And since actors are expert at saying lines in public which don't represent their own feelings, the term became associated with something untrustworthy.

3. "Tragedy" -- While there is some controversy over the origin of "tragedy," most interpret it as a compound word meaning "goat song." Why goat song? There are several theories. The most popular seems to be that Greek theatre grew out of someone singing a song at a religious festival to win a goat, or where a goat was sacrificed. Another theory is it relates to the lamentation of the goat being sacrificed. Yet another is that actors were paid a goat for a day's work. Still another claims it's about the satyrs--part man, part goat--who appear in the satyr plays about Dionysus (god of theatre--the original chants at these festival were to him).

4. "Sycophant" -- This is another controversial etymology, but most historians feel "sycophant" comes from figs. In Ancient Greece (perhaps just Athens) there were laws against exporting (or stealing, or perhaps even importing) certain figs. "Suko" was Greek for fig. Informers who told the authorities about those who broke these laws were sycophants. Eventually, it came to mean someone who tells powerful people what they want to hear, usually for personal gain.

5. "Ostracism" -- Every year the Athenians would decide if they wanted to ostracize someone. This meant banishment for ten years (though your property was held for you). To return early meant death. When deciding on the person, they would write names of citizens on "ostraka," which were potsherds, or broken pieces of pottery. Pottery was common, paper was not. The highest vote-getter was kicked out.