110+ Greek Proverbs: Ancient Insights and Life Lessons for Modern Times

Greek Proverbs that express universal truths, wisdom, and experiences of life, derived from ancient Greece. These proverbs are rich in history and culture, offering invaluable insights into the Greek philosophy of life. Reading them provides an understanding of human nature and timeless wisdom that can guide one's personal and professional life. Following is our collection on famous quotes by Greek Proverbs on ancient, wisdom, culture.

Top 10 Greek Proverbs Quotes

1. Where there is a sea there are pirates
2. An old cat likes young mice
3. The best fish hook cannot catch limp cheese
4. Listen to that which is well said even if it is from the mouth of an enemy
5. The more the mother-in-law drinks the more friendly is her greeting
6. Pity the man who has no nails to scratch himself
7. He says one thing and does another
8. If the ox knew his own strength, God help us
9. Whoever feeds the wolf in the winter will be eaten by him in the spring
10. Some love the priest and some love the priest’s wife

Greek Proverbs Short Quotes

• A real scoundrel turned up and they took off their hats to him
• Love your friend with his foibles
• A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in
• Danger can only be overcome by more danger
• Time is a river of passing events — a rushing torrent
• Live today, forget the past
• Sweet is the memory of past labor
• A cat with gloves never catches mice
• Old men are twice children
• Not speech, but facts, convince

Greek Proverbs Quotes About Wisdom

Time is the best adviser — Greek Proverbs

A fox is not caught twice in the same snare — Greek Proverbs

Take an old man’s counsel and an experienced man’s knowledge — Greek Proverbs

Never give a sword to a fool or power to an unjust man — Greek Proverbs

Better a drop of wisdom than an ocean of gold — Greek Proverbs

Greek Proverbs Quotes About Truth

Truth lies at the bottom of a well — Greek Proverbs

What is true is no more sure than the probable — Greek Proverbs

One witness one liar; more witnesses, all liars — Greek Proverbs

Time leads truth to light — Greek Proverbs

To deceive a diplomat speak the truth, he has no experience with it — Greek Proverbs

Not to mention the truth is hiding gold — Greek Proverbs

If you are truthful you will have as much gold as you want — Greek Proverbs

There is truth in vine — Greek Proverbs

Greek Proverbs Quotes About Change

Other daughters-in-law came, they make other cookies — Greek Proverbs

Other priests came, other gospels they brought — Greek Proverbs

Friendships and loves are forgotten, and when they meet, they talk like strangers, like passers-by — Greek Proverbs

We became gravediggers but nobody dies anymore — Greek Proverbs

It is not possible to step twice into the same river — Greek Proverbs

Greek Proverbs Quotes About Relationships

A woman prefers a man without money to money without a man — Greek Proverbs

Success has many friends — Greek Proverbs

The rest of the world does not know what newlyweds know — Greek Proverbs

An uninvited in-law finds no space to sit — Greek Proverbs

Mary was fond of dancing, so she found a fiddler for her husband — Greek Proverbs

The grumbling mother-in-law forgets that she once was a bride — Greek Proverbs

Greek Proverbs Quotes About Humor

A goat thief came along and they put him in jail — Greek Proverbs

When the devil grows poor he becomes a tax collector — Greek Proverbs

Greeks only agree with each other about going to the toilet — Greek Proverbs

Greek Proverbs Quotes About Perspective

He who thinks the worst usually is right — Greek Proverbs

The old age of an eagle is better than the youth of the sparrow — Greek Proverbs

Do not compare a fly with an elephant — Greek Proverbs

He who is born in jail loves jail — Greek Proverbs

The knee is closer than the calf — Greek Proverbs

He who plunders with a little boat is a pirate; he who plunders with a fleet is a conqueror — Greek Proverbs

The eyes of the hare are different from those of the owl — Greek Proverbs

The ox has one thought, the ploughman another — Greek Proverbs

While one man’s beard was burning, another was lighting a cigarette — Greek Proverbs

Alexander the Great was not very tall — Greek Proverbs

Greek Proverbs Famous Quotes And Sayings

In business you need two Jews for one Greek, two Greeks for one Syrian and two Syrians for one Armenian — Greek Proverbs

If you do not have brains you have legs — Greek Proverbs

One minute of patience, ten years of peace — Greek Proverbs

Swift gratitude is the sweetest — Greek Proverbs

Before you can score, you must have a goal — Greek Proverbs

People's characters are revealed by their speech — Greek Proverbs

Nothing will content him who is not content with a little — Greek Proverbs

Somebody with an unrelenting heart is his own executioner — Greek Proverbs

One hand washes the other and both wash the face — Greek Proverbs

The mills of the gods grind slowly, but they grind exceeding small — Greek Proverbs

A drowning man takes hold of his own hair — Greek Proverbs

Pity the brave man, if caught by two weaklings — Greek Proverbs

They throw stones at the walnut trees, but not at the maple — Greek Proverbs

A jackdaw always sits near a jackdaw — Greek Proverbs

Character is habit long continued — Greek Proverbs

If you cannot catch a fish, do not blame the sea — Greek Proverbs

Remorse is worse than a beating — Greek Proverbs

Envy accomplishes nothing — Greek Proverbs

Never consult a doctor who has never been ill himself — Greek Proverbs

He who wants to be happy must stay at home — Greek Proverbs

Empty barrels and insignificant people always make the most noise — Greek Proverbs

A good bird begins chirping while in the egg — Greek Proverbs

A lazy tailor finds his thread too long — Greek Proverbs

In hospty, the chief thing is the good will — Greek Proverbs

It is sweet for the saved man to recall labor — Greek Proverbs

If you seek well, you will find — Greek Proverbs

Either dance well or quit the ballroom — Greek Proverbs

One word spoken in anger may spoil an entire life — Greek Proverbs

He who suffers much will know much — Greek Proverbs

Fire does not extinguish fire — Greek Proverbs

The building of the village was not yet complete, and the beggars arrived! — Greek Proverbs

A lucky person is someone who plants pebbles and harvests potatoes — Greek Proverbs

When you go to bed with a clear head, you will not get up with a headache — Greek Proverbs

Outside a sheep, inside a wolf — Greek Proverbs

No need to teach an eagle to fly — Greek Proverbs

To have five drachmas in the hand is better than ten drachmas on paper — Greek Proverbs

It is not what they profess but what they practice that makes them good — Greek Proverbs

You easily forget the eyes that don’t see you anymore — Greek Proverbs

From a broken violin do not expect fine music — Greek Proverbs

The fox that waits until the chicken falls from the perch dies from hunger — Greek Proverbs

Good accounts make good friends — Greek Proverbs

Many words are poverty — Greek Proverbs

To see is one thing, to hear is another — Greek Proverbs

The tongue has no bones, yet it breaks bones — Greek Proverbs

If advice will not improve him, neither will the rod — Greek Proverbs

Every country is a fatherland — Greek Proverbs

Listen carefully, speak seasonably — Greek Proverbs

You learn to limp if you live with cripples — Greek Proverbs

Move your hand along with Athena — Greek Proverbs

Under every stone sleeps a scorpion — Greek Proverbs

A dove has no place amongst the crows — Greek Proverbs

The people make the town — Greek Proverbs

Better a sick body than an ignorant mind — Greek Proverbs

It is not summer until the crickets sing — Greek Proverbs

Son of a priest, grandson of the devil — Greek Proverbs

A priest blesses his own bread first — Greek Proverbs

A lazy youth, when old, a beggar — Greek Proverbs

Upon touching sand may it turn to gold — Greek Proverbs

Sharing the figs can leave you with none at all — Greek Proverbs

Nothing is so reckless as a blind horse — Greek Proverbs

By degrees the kissing so that it can be tasty — Greek Proverbs

Keep no secrets of thyself from thyself — Greek Proverbs

Here the hens cackle, there they lay eggs — Greek Proverbs

The dream is realized where you do not expect it — Greek Proverbs

Curses are like chickens; they come home to roost — Greek Proverbs

Better the first of its kind than the last — Greek Proverbs

If you do not have brains you follow the same route twice — Greek Proverbs

An old enemy never becomes a friend — Greek Proverbs

Life Lessons by Greek Proverbs

1. "Society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in" - this Greek proverb teaches us the selfless act of giving, nurturing the value of planting seeds for the future generations, even if we won't personally reap the benefits.
2. "A society without a significant proportion of people with the character of the ant, willing to work for a future goal, will not survive" - this proverb reminds us of the importance of diligence, perseverance, and the foresight to work towards long-term goals, even when immediate results are not evident.
3. "The fox has many tricks. The hedgehog has but one. But that is the best of all" - this proverb emphasizes the power of simplicity and specialization, signifying that sometimes, having one excellent skill can outshine having multiple mediocre ones.