Let's get weird, folks.

 

Greek tragedy (and comedy, poetry, and very nearly every other form of verse or written word) contains untranslatable interjections and exclamations. These can be used to express surprise, fear, pain, horror, pleading, madness, and sometimes even joy. You'll usually see them in translation as 'alas', 'oh no!', 'woe is me', etc., but the Greek contains colors and permutations that English is sometimes incapable of capturing.

 

Here are some examples!

 

(Listen to Audio Files marked Ea, Eleleu, Ie, Iou, Oimoi, Ototoi, and Pheu)

 

This last interjection is reserved only for special occasions (i.e., Dionysiac 'frenzy')

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(Listen to audio file marked Evoe!)

 

And finally, just for fun, a little glimpse of how Ancient Greek can sound. Attached is a recording of an Orphic Hymn.

 

(Listen to audio file marked Orphic Hymn)

 

Remember, these are entirely mutable! They're meant to be elongated, shortened, twisted, tonally varied, anything you want to do with them. These sounds are drawn from transliterations of expressions of human emotion, see how they sound in your mouth, see what your tongue wants to do with them, see how they make you feel!

 

-Emma

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Edit: Bonus hymn! 

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Attached is a rough translation (blame Emma) of the first few lines of the Orphic Hymn to Apollo along with an audio recording of the same lines. Have fun, folks! 

 

(Listen to file marked 'Hymn to Apollo') 
 

Come, Blessed Healer, Titan-Slayer, Gleaming One of the Highest Point of Parnassus,

Memphian, He of Shining Honor, He To Whom We Cry ‘Ie!’, The One Who Bestows Joy,

Golden-Lyred, Sower of Seed, Lord of Crops, Pythian, Son of the Titaness,

Gryeneion, Smintheus, Dragon-Slayer of Delphi, Prophet

Of the Wild Places, Phosphorescent Spirit, Worthy of Desire, Glorious Youth,

Muse’s King, Bright-Eyed, He of Perfect Aim, He Who Bears the Bow and Arrow, 

Bragcheius and Didymeus, One Who Works from Afar, Holy Loxias.

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