Re: tears of sorrow or joy

Carl W. Conrad (cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu)
Thu, 14 May 1998 19:16:11 -0400

At 2:52 PM -0400 5/14/98, Jim West wrote:
>Do Greek authors have a way of distinguishing between tears of sorrow and
>tears of joy (i.e., are there different Greek words for these two types of
>tears) or is there no differentiation?

Not an answer to your question, but an unforgettable phrase: Andromache,
after being reassured by Hector that all will be well (even IF/WHEN he must
fight Achilles), is more aware of the reality of the situation than is her
husband, mad for battle-glory; as he leaves she stands there on the wall,
described as DAKRUOEN GELASASA, which is usually translated as "smiling
through her tears."

Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University
Summer: 1647 Grindstaff Road/Burnsville, NC 28714/(828) 675-4243
cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu
WWW: http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~cwconrad/