• Home
  • News & Current Affairs
  • Brexit
  • Politics
  • Podcasts
    • The Eamonn Mallie Podcast
    • Eamonn Mallie – Stream Of Consciousness
Facebook Twitter Instagram
Wednesday, September 27
  • About Eamonn Mallie
  • Published Books
  • Our Authors
  • Get In Touch
Facebook Twitter
Eamonn Mallie
  • Home
  • News & Current Affairs
  • Brexit
  • Politics
  • Podcasts
    • The Eamonn Mallie Podcast
    • Eamonn Mallie – Stream Of Consciousness
Eamonn Mallie
You are at:Home»News & Current Affairs»With gold hitting 1700 the thought entered my mind on back of property crash etc , ‘ beware of Greeks bearing gifts.’
News & Current Affairs

With gold hitting 1700 the thought entered my mind on back of property crash etc , ‘ beware of Greeks bearing gifts.’

Eamonn MallieBy Eamonn MallieAugust 8, 2011Updated:August 22, 20125 Comments2 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
Social share:

There are so many false Gods. We simply don’t learn as people. So many got sucked into the property world etc and then crash! Gold is the new God @ $1700 today. This trig erred my mind to reflect on ‘Greeks bearing false gifts.’
Beware of Greeks bearing gifts. Don’t trust your enemies.

Origin

An allusion to the story of the wooden horse of Troy, used by the Greeks to trick their way into the city. It is recorded in Virgil’s Aeneid, Book 2, 19 BC:

“Do not trust the horse, Trojans. Whatever it is, I fear the Greeks even when they bring gifts.”

Of course that English version is a translation. Another translation, by John Dryden, has “Trust not their presents, nor admit the horse.”

The same thought was also recorded by Sophocles (496 – 406 BC), in Ajax:

Nought from the Greeks towards me hath sped well.
So now I find that ancient proverb true,
Foes’ gifts are no gifts: profit bring they none.

The Classics are no longer widely taught or read, so this phrase is now little used, although it was resurrected in a sideways reference during a 1990s copyright dispute. There was considerable discussion then,in Internet chat rooms etc., regarding the company Compuserve, who owned the copyright to the GIF image format, and their possible intentions to restrict its use. Some people feared that they might be taken to law by Compuserve if they received and viewed GIF images without permission. The phrase “beware of geeks bearing gifs” was coined to sum that up.

So there you have it. Go forth and spread the Gospel!


Social share:
Previous ArticleHe is the quiet man of art. Jamshid Fenderesky is the ‘oracle’ for whom art comes firstly. firstly.
Next Article ‘Sunny afternoon’ oil on canvas by Francis Mc Crory.
Avatar photo
Eamonn Mallie
  • Website
  • Twitter

I am a regular contributor to discussion programmes on TV and radio both at home and abroad. An experienced political editor and author specialising in Politics, Security and 20th Century Art.

Related Posts

How the killings of two men 25 years ago helped to break the deadlock in the Peace Talks resulting in the Good Friday Agreement – by Mark Durkan

March 4, 2023

Life in politics by Monica McWilliams seen through the lens of former Northern Ireland Assembly speaker Dr. John Alderdice

February 15, 2022

‘The Troubles were just there, part of our normal…’  – By Brian Rowan 

January 26, 2022

5 Comments

  1. Anonymous on August 8, 2011 4:48 pm

    No, mankind does not learn and certainly not from previous generations. We may as well ask a child to learn from the mistakes of its parents.
    And men have always created Gods to deal with emergencies. We invest the Gods with all the powers we think they may need to sort out our difficulties. But the Gods are not really false for we have created them to do our bidding.
    I fear the Greeks whether they come bearing gifts or looking for them.
    Civilisation is said to have begun in Iraq and see it now. And philosophy began in Greece. I fear that, in Greece, civilisation as we have known it, and philosophy, might just have begun to meet their nemesis. In which event, gold may be cheap at its current price.

Our Picks

How the killings of two men 25 years ago helped to break the deadlock in the Peace Talks resulting in the Good Friday Agreement – by Mark Durkan

March 4, 2023

Life in politics by Monica McWilliams seen through the lens of former Northern Ireland Assembly speaker Dr. John Alderdice

February 15, 2022

‘The Troubles were just there, part of our normal…’  – By Brian Rowan 

January 26, 2022

The Health System Needs Surgery – by Mark Sidebottom

November 19, 2021
Follow me on Twitter
Tweets by @EamonnMallie
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
About
About

Northern Ireland's home for Independent thought. News & Current Affairs from Northern Ireland. Opinions, The Arts, Sports & more.

We're social, connect with us:

Facebook Twitter
Popular Posts

How the killings of two men 25 years ago helped to break the deadlock in the Peace Talks resulting in the Good Friday Agreement – by Mark Durkan

March 4, 2023

Life in politics by Monica McWilliams seen through the lens of former Northern Ireland Assembly speaker Dr. John Alderdice

February 15, 2022

‘The Troubles were just there, part of our normal…’  – By Brian Rowan 

January 26, 2022
Recent Comments
  • Telkom University on Too late to bolt the OTR door – by Brian Rowan
  • Get free iPhone 14 Pro Max: https://www.ibnbookkeepingservices.com/uploads/go.php hs=53ea384796b3b5e969f3b86dbdb0fef0* on Life in politics by Monica McWilliams seen through the lens of former Northern Ireland Assembly speaker Dr. John Alderdice
  • Get free iPhone 14 Pro Max: http://www.lhci.com/upload/go.php hs=195216de0b4fbad2e456f0e91ec6c3c1* on Unionism’s blue print for the future – By Doug Beattie
Copyright ©Eamonn Mallie. Designed by Web Design Belfast.
  • Copyright

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.