“The gods are always screwing us.”
ἀεί ποθ᾿ ἡμῖν ἐγκιλικίζουσ᾿ οἱ θεοί
The verb ἐγκιλικίζουσ᾿ means “to be mean or treacherous like the Cilicians”. Obviously, the reference is lost on a modern audience. I went colloquial. I thought that “the gods are always messing with us” might be less abrasive, but “screwing” has a nice sense of “meanness” and the double entendre… Any other suggestions?
Who’s Pherecrates? A Comic poet, An old one. And Photius? Not as old or sexy.
There is a similar expression in Mod Greek: “Μου την έφερε ο … (subject)”, meaning ‘tricked’, ‘back-stubbed’, ‘be taken for a ride’.
corrigendum: back-stabbed
Thanks for that!
What it especially hard is that the verb is really rare and based on some kind of an ethnic slur…so my transation might be a bit of a cop out.