This work complements the "classic" work of the late Diallectis Zevgoli - Glezou (D.Z. - G.) "Proverbs from the Infinite of Naxos" (1963). It is the 39th edition of "speechless" proverbial texts, which the aforementioned collector had sent to the (then) Retirement Center of the Historical Dictionary of the Academy of Athens.
The author (a.) analyzes in each "proverb" its imaginary situation and its "structural materials", that is, how the metaphor or metonymy between the imaginary situation and the social situation to which it refers is composed. (The term imaginary situation does not indicate a phenomenon, a product of the imagination, but the respective real situation, which is "directed" by the common people, with the materials familiar to them).
Although the work essentially analyzes the "obscene" proverbial speech as a text, the a. reminds that its meaning depends on the function it serves in specific contexts and is therefore variable, as it must serve a specific purpose in each case. Nevertheless, in the Second Chapter, he applies some of the proposals made by himself during the study of the proverb and formulates observations on the specific "obscene proverbs" of D.Z. - G.
In the Third Chapter, the a. presents his views on controversial issues related to (a) Greek folk "traditional speechlessness", (b) sexuality and erotic relationships between the two genders, and (c) "male dominance", all seen in the "almost motionless" pre-industrial Greek society. The re-negotiation of the interpretations (currently dominant on these issues) attempted by the a. demonstrates, among other things, that "traditional" female identity has a more complex history and judges that female identity and sexuality, as well as "male dominance" of that period, are interpreted by feminist discourse in terms of modern times...