Elements = sigma tau omicron iota chi epsilon iota alpha
My questions are:
Are this the proper words for the time?
Archimedes wrote in Doric (Western) Greek. As I recall modern Greek mostly comes from Athenian (Ionian). Are those spellings right for Doric Greek? I’m particularly concerned with chi which has the ch sound in Ionian Greek, but the ks sound in Doric. But then Archimedes might have simply pronounced his name Arksimedes and the spelling was retained with a change in pronunciation. Also I thought eta was a vowel only in Ionian Greek.
Is there an image someplace of what the Doric Greek alphabet looked like at that time?
When did Greek switch from right to left writing to left to right writing. (I.e. before or after the period I want? 350 B.C. and after
Well, for one thing I don’t believe that books had spines for the ancient Greeks. Books were really scrolls, the codex form we’re used to being a later development out of a Roman method for keeping certain records on wooden plates bound on one side. So, if you’re worried enough about accuracy to sweat the region the Greek came from, that’s the first thing to look into.
Yes I’d thought about that. Nevertheless I want the spelling as accurate as possible. If someone is knowledgeable to look at the author’s name and say, “Hey that’s not how Archimedes spells his name.” I’d like to be able to answer. “It’s not how we spell it now, but it is how he spelled it. Besides that thing that looks like a % is how they wrote etas back then.” Or whatever the appropriate answer is as it will only engender conversation.
If I have to go with modern Greek, I will. It will then obviously be a later “printing” of the book.
Archimedes is 'Aρχιμηδης, in all caps ARXIMHΔHΣ. However, as the title of a work, it will likely be written in the genitive (possessive) form 'Aρχιμηδouς or ARXIMHΔOYΣ along with the title of the work.
The word has a smooth breathing, and if you care about accents, there is an acute on the first eta (miniscules and accent marks are post-Archimedes).
Euclid is Ευκλειδης, all caps EUKΛEIΔHΣ. “Euclid’s Elements” = “Ευκλειδouς Στοιχεια” / “EUKΛEIΔOUS ΣTOIXEIA”. Again, if you care about breathings/accents, there’s a smooth breathing on the first u and an acute accent on the i of Euclid, plus a circumflex on the second iota of Στοιχεια.
I think “On Floating Bodies” is ΠEPI ΠΛOTΩN OPAMΩN; I hesitate because this is a real historic work, so it may have a different form for its title.
CJJ gives “On Floating Bodies” as ΠEPI ΠΛOTΩN OPAMΩN
Yahoo Babel fish translates it as Στους επιπλέοντες οργανισμούς
SDL Free translation gives στις πλωτές οργανισμών (which at least has one word in common)