A Repeated idea in classical Greek poetry
Aeschylus, fr. 399.1-2
“Humanity thinks only about temporary seeds,
Its pledge is nothing more than the shadow of smoke”
τὸ γὰρ βρότειον σπέρμ’ ἐφήμερα φρονεῖ,
καὶ πιστὸν οὐδὲν μᾶλλον ἢ καπνοῦ σκιά
Sophocles, fr. 13.
“Man is only breath and shadow.”
ἄνθρωπός ἐστι πνεῦμα καὶ σκιὰ μόνον
Pindar, Pythian 8.95
“Alive for a day: What is a person? What is not a person? Man is a dream of a shadow”
ἐπάμεροι· τί δέ τις; τί δ’ οὔ τις; σκιᾶς ὄναρ
Euripides, fr. 532
“Do good while people are alive; when each man dies
He is earth and shadow. What is nothing changes nothing.”
τοὺς ζῶντας εὖ δρᾶν• κατθανὼν δὲ πᾶς ἀνὴρ
γῆ καὶ σκιά• τὸ μηδὲν εἰς οὐδὲν ῥέπει.
fr. 509
“What else? An old man is voice and shadow.”
τί δ’ ἄλλο; φωνὴ καὶ σκιὰ γέρων ἀνήρ.
Tragic Adesp. Fr. 95
“I want to advise all mortals
To live our temporary life sweetly. For after you die,
You are nothing more than a shadow over the earth.”
πᾶσιν δὲ θνητοῖς βούλομαι παραινέσαι
τοὐφήμερον ζῆν ἡδέως· ὁ γὰρ θανὼν
τὸ μηδέν ἐστι καὶ σκιὰ κατὰ χθονός·
Democritus, fr. B145
“A story is the shadow of the deed”
λόγος ἔργου σκιή
Arsenius, 6.33a
“The shadow of Doiduks”: A proverb applied to nothing.”
Δοίδυκος σκιά: ἐπὶ τοῦ μηδενός.
Michael Apostolios, 5.74
“Shadow instead of a body”: A Proverb applied to those who seem strong but have no power.”
Σκιὰ ἀντὶ τοῦ σώματος: ἐπὶ τῶν δοκούντων κρα-
τεῖν τι, οὐδὲν δ’ ὅμως κρατούντων.
The motif of man as ephemeral is prior to the classical period
Homer, Iliad 6.145-151
“Oh, you great-hearted son of Tydeus, why are you asking about pedigree?
The generations of men are just like leaves on a tree:
The wind blows some to the ground and then the forest
Grows lush with others when spring comes again.
In this way, the race of men grows and then dies in turn.
But if you are willing, learn about these things so you may know
My lineage well—many are the men who know me.”
Τυδεΐδη μεγάθυμε τί ἢ γενεὴν ἐρεείνεις;
οἵη περ φύλλων γενεὴ τοίη δὲ καὶ ἀνδρῶν.
φύλλα τὰ μέν τ’ ἄνεμος χαμάδις χέει, ἄλλα δέ θ’ ὕλη
τηλεθόωσα φύει, ἔαρος δ’ ἐπιγίγνεται ὥρη·
ὣς ἀνδρῶν γενεὴ ἣ μὲν φύει ἣ δ’ ἀπολήγει.
εἰ δ’ ἐθέλεις καὶ ταῦτα δαήμεναι ὄφρ’ ἐὺ εἰδῇς
ἡμετέρην γενεήν, πολλοὶ δέ μιν ἄνδρες ἴσασιν
