After witnessing a certain press conference recently, I feel compelled to re-post this with some additions. I might be adding more.
These may or may not be useful in your daily life
Σκῶρ ἀείνων, “ever-flowing shit” (Ar. Frogs, 145-6)
ὁ τῆς διαροίας ποταμὸς, “river of diarrhea” (Ar. Fr. 150.3)
σφυράδων πολλῶν ἀναμεστή, “full of many shitballs” (Eupolis, fr. 16; see Henderson 1991, 193)
μεμαγμένον σκῶρ ἐσθίειν, —αὐτὴ δ’ ἔματτεν αὐτοῖς, — “to eat the shit-cake she baked for them” (Ar. Wealth, 304)
Κάκκη
Kakka: it also has a vulgar meaning as something unclean; especially bad-smelling feces. Aristophanes writes, “holding your nose away from the kakka”.
Κάκκη: ἔχει δὲ καὶ τὸ κακέμφατον. ἡ ἀκαθαρσία, καὶ μάλιστα τὸ δύσοσμον ἀποπάτημα. Ἀριστοφάνης: ἀπὸ μὲν κάκκης ῥῖν’ ἀπέχων.
Some other words
ἀποπάτημα: feces, cf. Photius: “musikelendron: mouse excrement, muokhodon. Μυσικέλενδρον: τὸ τοῦ μυὸς ἀποπάτημα· μυόχοδον.
διαχώρημα: “leavings”; cf. Hesychius: σπατίλη· τὸ ὑγρὸν διαχώρημα: “moist feces”
ἀφόδευμα: “excrement”; cf. Hesychius, kokkilondis: A child’s excrement. κοκκιλόνδις· παιδὸς ἀφόδευμα
Compounds, etc.
Scholia in Aristophanes, Pacem, 24a
“boar and dog”: manure-eating animals
ὗς καὶ κύων: κοπροφάγα τὰ ζῷα.
Necessary Compounds
κοπρόνους: “manure-minded”
κοπράγωγεω: “to collect crap”
κόπρειος: “full of crap”
κοπρολογεῖν: “to gather crap”
κοπροφαγεῖν: “to eat crap”
κοπροστόμος: “foul-mouthed”
σκατοφάγος: “shit-eater”
κόπρανα: “excrements”
κοπραγωγός: “shit-bearer”
κοπρία: “dung-heap”
κοπρίζω: “to make dung”
κοπρικός: “full of it”
κοπροθέσιον: “a place where dung is put”. ‘Shit-bucket”
κοπροδοχεῖον: “cess pool”
κοπροποιός: “dung-making”
σκατοφάγος: “shit eater”
σκαταιβάτης: “shit-walker”
σκωραμὶς: “shit pot”; cf. Ar.Lys. 371: σκωραμὶς κωμῳδική: “comedic shitpot”
More from the Suda
Ἅλα [usually, salt]
Hala: fecal matter [manure]. In the Odyssey “you wouldn’t even give the shit from your home to a suppliant
Ἅλα: τὰ κόπρια. ἐν Ὀδυσσείᾳ: οὐ σύ γ’ ἐξ οἴκου σῷ ἐπιστάτῃ οὐδ’ ἅλα δοίης.
Βόλιτος
“Bolitos: cow-patty. Attic speakers say this without a beta, the way we say bolbitos
Βόλιτος: Ἀττικοὶ οὕτω λέγουσι χωρὶς τοῦ β, ὅπερ ἡμεῖς βόλβιτον
Also, “bullshit”; cf. Henderson 1991, 90
Δεισαλέα
Deiselea: Fecal matter. For excrement is deisa.
Δεισαλέα: κοπρώδη. δεῖσα γὰρ ἡ κόπρος.
Ὀνιαία
Oniaia: the excrement of a horse. Also, onides, the feces of donkeys which are shaped usefully.
Ὀνιαία: τοῦ ἵππου τὸ ἀφόδευμα. καὶ Ὀνίδες, τὰ τῶν ὄνων ἀποπατήματα, ἃ ἐπίτηδες πεπλασμένα ἐστίν.
Ὄνθος
onthos: manure. Properly, this is bull-manure.
Ὄνθος: βόλβιτον. τουτέστιν ἡ τῶν βοῶν κόπρος.
Οἰσυπηρός
Oisupêros: muddy, greasy as in “oily-fleeces”, wool that is filthy, covered with manure. For oisupê is the excrement of sheep.
Οἰσυπηρός: ῥυπαρός. Ἔρια οἰσυπηρά, ῥύπου πεπληρωμένα, ῥυπάσματα ἀπὸ τῆς κόπρου. οἰσύπη δέ ἐστι τὸ διαχώρημα τῶν προβάτων.
Σκῶρ
Skôr: manure, feces, it declines using skatos.
Σκῶρ: κόπρος, ἀποπάτημα. καὶ κλίνεται σκατός.
“σκῶρ, shit, expresses definite affective feelings, while κόπρος, dung, refers simply to excrement.” Henderson, The Maculate Muse (1991) 36
Φωρυτός
“Phôrutos: manure, or a trash-pile.”
Φωρυτός: κόπρος, ἢ χῶμα.
For more like this, see J. Henderson, The Maculate Muse. Oxford, 1991.
I needed a good laugh and nothing worked till I repeated all the words out loud. There are so many practical reasons to resurrect ancient tongues.
I’m just intrigued by the fact that Google Translate says that, in Modern Greek, σφυράδων πολλῶν ἀναμεστή translates as “multivalvered hammers”. I mean, I understand that the language has changed, but really?
Aristophanes’ language is particularly creative and metaphorical, so there’s that….