In the days before I had even a little Greek, I remember reading an article in a Scripture Union magazine that in the period before the New Testament, βίος was the highest form of life - the course of a person's life, and ζωή refered to the the animal life. In the New Testament, however, the writers use ζωή as the highest form of life.
Now that I know some Greek I can see that ψυχή is part of the picture too.
To what extent is that statement about βίος and ζωή a true statement?
βίος, ζωή (and ψυχή)
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βίος, ζωή (and ψυχή)
Γελᾷ δ' ὁ μωρός, κἄν τι μὴ γέλοιον ᾖ
(Menander, Γνῶμαι μονόστιχοι 108)
(Menander, Γνῶμαι μονόστιχοι 108)
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Re: βίος, ζωή (and ψυχή)
Sounds bogus to me.
On a related note: this article has some semantic maps of soul and spirit in various languages, including Greek and Latin: https://www.academia.edu/846905/Semanti ... _languages
On a related note: this article has some semantic maps of soul and spirit in various languages, including Greek and Latin: https://www.academia.edu/846905/Semanti ... _languages
Stephen C. Carlson, Ph.D.
Melbourne, Australia
Melbourne, Australia
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Re: βίος, ζωή (and ψυχή)
It is probably one of those things that have been simplified so far as to have taken on a life of its own.
This βίος, ζωή thought doesn't seem to have the same currency that the "The four words for love in Greek." urban myth seems to have.
This βίος, ζωή thought doesn't seem to have the same currency that the "The four words for love in Greek." urban myth seems to have.
Γελᾷ δ' ὁ μωρός, κἄν τι μὴ γέλοιον ᾖ
(Menander, Γνῶμαι μονόστιχοι 108)
(Menander, Γνῶμαι μονόστιχοι 108)