A Slip of the Tongue in Greeting (2)

When I began to write, I thought that I was taking on an impossible task, but as I went on I found

plenty to say. But before I tell you this, let me say a few suitable words about these greetings “Joy to you,” “Do well,” and “Health to you.” “Joy to you” is the ancient greeting, not however confined to the morning or to the first meeting, but they used it whenever they first caught sight of one another, as in

“Joy to you, you lord of this Tirynthian land,” [*]

and after dinner when they were ready to talk over their wine, as in

“Joy to you, Achilles, there is no lack

Of meat for all alike.” [*]

when Odysseus was declaring to him his embassy’s mission. They used it also when they took their leave, as in

“Joy to you! No longer mortal know me now,

To you a god divine.” [*]

This greeting was not reserved for a special time, as now only for morning. Indeed even on the most unwelcome and inauspicious occasions they used it nevertheless, as in Euripides when Polynices at the end of his life says

“Joy to you! For now does darkness gird me

round.” [*]

It was not just a sign for them of friendly feeling, but also of dislike and final parting. For example, to bid “Joy to it and a long one” meant that they washed their hands of it.