Ever to Excel
"Ever to Excel" is the English translation of the Ancient Greek phrase 'αἰὲν ἀριστεύειν' aièn aristeúein. It has been used as motto by a number of educational institutions.
Origin and etymology
The phrase is derived from the sixth book of Homer's Iliad, in which it is used in a speech Glaucus delivers to Diomedes. During a battle between the Greeks and Trojans, Diomedes is impressed by the bravery of a mysterious young man and demands to know his identity. Glaucus replies: "Hippolochus begat me. I claim to be his son, and he sent me to Troy with strict instructions: Ever to excel, to do better than others, and to bring glory to your forebears, who indeed were very great ... This is my ancestry; this is the blood I am proud to inherit."
Usage as a motto
It is the motto of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff. The phrase has also been used as the motto of a number of schools and universities, mainly in the United Kingdom, notably the University of St Andrews,[1] but also in the United States and Canada. These include schools such as Caistor Grammar School, the Edinburgh Academy,[2] Kelvinside Academy[3] and Old Scona Academic High School,[4] also primary school in Malaysia, SK Sg Karangan as well as universities such as Boston College.[5]
References
- ^ "Coat of Arms". University of St Andrews. Archived from the original on 2011-06-05. Retrieved 2012-04-17.
- ^ "Edin Acad". Archived from the original on 1 January 2013. Retrieved 30 January 2013.
- ^ "Kelvinside". Retrieved 30 January 2013.
- ^ "Old scona" (PDF). Retrieved 30 January 2013.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Boston College". Archived from the original on 21 May 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2013.
- v
- t
- e
- Dactylic hexameter
- Homeric scholarship
- Homeric Laughter
- Homeric Question
- Jørgensen's law
- Historicity of the Iliad
- "The Iliad or the Poem of Force" (1939 essay)
- Interpretation of Achilles' and Patroclus' relationship
- Milawata letter
- Parallels between Virgil's Aeneid and Homer's Iliad and Odyssey
- Rediscovering Homer
- Ilias Latina (60–70 CE)
- Dictys Cretensis Ephemeridos belli Trojani (c. 4th century)
- Daretis Phrygii de excidio Trojae historia (5th century)
- Hermoniakos' Iliad (14th century)
- Men in Aida (1983)
Verse |
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Novels |
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- Rhesus (5th century BC play)
- Troilus and Cressida (1602)
- The Trojan War Will Not Take Place (1935)
- The Golden Apple (1954 musical)
- Helena (1924)
- Helen of Troy (1956)
- The Trojan Horse (1961)
- Troy (2004)
- The Myth Makers (1965)
- In Search of the Trojan War (1985)
- Helen of Troy (2003 miniseries)
- Troy: Fall of a City (2018 miniseries)
- King Priam (1961 Tippett opera)
- The Triumph of Steel (1992 album)
- "And Then There Was Silence" (2001 song)
- Tabulae Iliacae
- Achilles and Briseis
- Andromache Mourning Hector
- The Anger of Achilles
- The Ambassadors of Agamemnon in the tent of Achilles
- The Apotheosis of Homer
- Jupiter and Thetis
- The Loves of Paris and Helen
- Menelaus supporting the body of Patroclus
- Orestes Pursued by the Furies
- The Revelers Vase
- Thetis Receiving the Weapons of Achilles from Hephaestus
- Statue of Zeus at Olympia
- "Achilles' heel"
- "Ever to Excel"
- "Hold your horses"
- "In medias res"
- "Noblesse oblige"
- Warriors: Legends of Troy (video game)
- Age of Bronze (comics)
- Sortes Homericae
- Heraclitus
- Weighing of souls
- Where Troy Once Stood
- Blood rain