What does it mean?
Private family matters do not always need to become a subject of public discussion.
Closest English saying: Don’t wash your dirty linen in public.
What does it literally say?
Τα εν οίκω μη εν δήμω
Ta en íko mi en dímo
“What is in the house, not in the town square.”
The archaic-style wording contrasts the «οίκος» (íkos), the private household, with the «δήμος» (dímos), the public sphere.
How is it used?
“We won’t publish the family’s personal details. What is in the house stays out of the town square.”
Where does it come from?
Archaic-style gnomic tradition. eipane avoids firm personal attributions without primary documentation.
This is an English edition of the Greek entry, which remains the reference version. The English text was written from the Greek entry with the help of AI tools and checked against it. Suggest a correction ↗