fun with Greek

My 'baby Greek' textbook, From Alpha to Omega, began every chapter with a fun little phrase in Ancient Greek. These are two I liked:

This one is from Lession 18 (pg. 109)
"νίψον ἀνόμημα μὴ μόναν ὄψιν
(Wash off your sin, not only your face)
--palindrome on a font in the cathedral of the Hagia Sophia, Istanbul"

Palindrome is a Greek word, too-- πάλιν is an adverb meaning "back, again, once more" and δραμεῖν (aor. of τρέχειν) is the verb "to run" so a παλίνδρομος is a "running back again" (Liddell & Scott).

This one is from Lesson 49 (pg. 347)
"τὰ δ' ἄλλα σιγῶ· βοῦς ἐπὶ γλώσσῃ μέγας / βέβηκε
(about the rest, I'm silent-- a great ox has stepped on my tongue)
--the palace guard is afraid to say more in Aeschylus' Agamemnon 36-37"

Apparently Aeschylus is known for his wacky images like this. Sure wish I had the time/opportunity to read the great tragedians in the original-- οἴμοι (that was my favorite word in Greek as an undergrad. It means "woe to me!" or "alas!" and is primarily found in Tragedy).