πότισα (Στου κόσμου την ανηφοριά του Νίκου Γκάτσου)

[Theseus]

In this stanza from the above lyrics:

Πήρα δροσιά και πότισα
τα μαραμένα στήθη
μόνο η καρδιά που ρώτησα
ποτέ δε μ’ αποκρίθη.

Does πότισα mean "I gave the dew to/ I watered the withered breasts"?

I'm working through the Ballad of Mauthausen and six other songs from Farantouri's cycle, like this one. I've managed to translate nearly all of them.

This is my present homework!

5. Κουράστηκα να σε κρατώ (Kourastika na se Krato, “I Am Tired of Holding Your Hand”).

6. Ο ίσκιος έπεσε βαρύς (O Iskios Epesse Varis, “The Shadow is so heavy”).

7. Πήρα τους δρόμους τ' ουρανού (Tous Thromous T’Ouranou, “I Took to the Streets of Heaven”).

8. Στου κόσμου την ανηφοριά (Stou Kosmou Tin Aniforya, “The Uphill Road”).

9. Το Εκκρεμές (To Ekremes, “The Pendulum”).

10. Τ' όνειρο καπνός (Tóniro Kapnos, “Dreams Go up in Smoke”).

 

[sarant]

In this stanza from the above lyrics:

Πήρα δροσιά και πότισα
τα μαραμένα στήθη
μόνο η καρδιά που ρώτησα
ποτέ δε μ’ αποκρίθη.

Does πότισα mean "I gave the dew to/ I watered the withered breasts"?

Yes, exactly Ποτίζω mainly means to water a plant.

 

[Theseus]

Thanks, Sarant! I'm still working on proverbs and idioms. Most idioms with τη are often difficult to understand-- τη βάψαμε, την κοπανάω and the like. Proverbs I find much easier to relate to. There is a great deal of help on these, like my good friend, Professor Panos Karagiorgos's, collection.

 

[nickel]

like my good friend, Professor Panos Karagiorgos's, collection.

Interesting. I have his Greek and English Proverbs (Corfu, 1999) and Greek Maxims and Proverbs (Corfu, 2000), and I've just found out that in 2015 he had Greek and English Proverbs published in hardback by Cambridge Scholars Publishing, now sold by Amazon at a steep £47.99. I've quickly compared the indexes of the two books and they seem to be the same. Are you referring to that book?

 

[Theseus]

I'm referring to his paperback Greek and English Proverbs (Corfu 1999). I hadn't realised that in 2015 he had is Greek and English Proverbs published in hardback. And if it is the same book, the price is indeed exorbitant. There is no trace of the availability of the book on Amazon.co.uk.
I've sent off to the USA for a copy of the complete works of Elytis. Believe it or not, there is an ex-library book of his work for £24.75, which includes p&p. Now that is real value!
It is some years since Panos and I were in contact and I have a wonderful selection of his short Greek stories which he sent me. :)