Can you finish the incomplete ancient Greek joke? Here’s a challenge for you – in developing the Philogelos exhibit, we found one joke that is incomplete. Read the comic strip below to learn about the beginning of the joke. (Click on the arrow beside the picture to move to the next panel.) Then, tell us […]
An idiot is returning home from a foreign trip, and is absolutely amazed to find himself climbing a steep hill. “When I first came this way,” he says to himself, “it was a nice downhill stroll. How can it have transformed into such a steep climb on my way back?”
The Philogelos: Joke #88 – The Hill Read More »
265 is a minor variation on 136, so minor that Crompton doesn’t even bother to translate it twice. This is an example of an ancient ethnic joke, because one of the characters involved is a student from Sidon in Phoenicia. The Philogelos text has as one of its subdivisions a section on jokes about Sidonians.
Philogelos Joke 265 Read More »
This joke is kind of funny because in ancient times, it was not only their feet that were bare when they slept. An idiot has a dream that he has trodden on a nail, so he wakes up and bandages his foot. His friend asks what he’s doing, so the idiot explains about his dream.
Philogelos Joke 15 Read More »
Another installment of the Philogelos, folks. Dan Crompton, the translator, uses the word “obstinate” to translate the Greek word DYSKOLOS used in this joke, but I think it’s more accurately rendered as “curmudgeon, crab, grump, sourpuss” — i.e. someone whose disposition, in addition to being mule-headed, is surly, grudging, suspicious, spiteful, and just generally unpleasant
Philogelos Joke 185 Read More »
Here’s joke 193. A man goes to his obstinate friend’s house looking for him. “I’m not in!” comes the shout from inside. Laughing, the friend says, “Liar! I recognize your voice!” “You bastard!” replies the obstinate guy. “If my slave had called out, you would have believed him — how come you trust him more
Philogelos Joke 193 Read More »
Here’s joke 196. A young student asks an apprentice teacher, ‘How are you supposed to say it: “two of them or double”?’ So the teacher sticks up his hand and shows two fingers.
Philogelos Joke 196 Read More »
Here’s Joke 6: An idiot sees his local doctor walking towards him, and quickly hides his face. His friend asks him what’s up. “It’s so long since I was last ill,” explains the idiot, “that I’m embarrassed to see him.” Return to the Philogelos Jokes page
Philogelos Joke 6 – Doctor Shame Read More »
Joke 164 is: A Kymaean is swimming in the sea when it starts to rain – so he dives underwater to avoid getting wet. Return to the Philogelos Jokes page
Philogelos Joke 164 – Dive Under! Read More »
Text and cartoons by Linda Thompson The Philogelos, typically translated as “the joker” or “the one who loves laughter”, is an ancient Greek collection of approximately 265 jokes. Dating to the 4th or 5th century CE, it typically bears the title of the world’s oldest surviving collection of jokes. After reading Dan Crompton’s translation of
The Philogelos: Joke #44 Read More »
