I double checked my spelling as told to you George and there was an upsilon Υ, not a sigma Σ, although, to be fair, it was bit sloppily written. However, you can easily tell the difference.

The last word is clearly ΦΙΝΤΙΑΣ , and I see how it is Phintias, not Phinias. But where do we get Findias? If there is a misspelling, it could easily be either one, yes?

Here is the text from the Professor I worked with- George, let me know what you think.


Dear Mr. Machado,

It definitely says: "Duel of Athena and a Titan" (nothing misspelled); the name Phintias, written separately, is that of the ancient painter.

The vase is not ancient, but a modern copy-- sometime in the 20th century, I'd say in the last 30-40 years. It was made as a souvenir, most likely sold in Athens Plaka district where there are many such copies sold. Ancient vases were never signed like this, and the fact that it says "hand painted" obviously indicates its modern making. The shape is that of an ancient "lekythos"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lekythos

The modern maker gave the name of a famous ancient painter, Phinitas:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phintias_(painter)

The scene on this is a copy of a real ancient vase, possibly a copy of a scene painted by Phintias.

Therefore, it is PhinTias, not Phinias, neither Phinitas, and of course recently made. Titanoy is wrong. The genitive of Titan is Titanos.

Ok George, Thanks for your input. I appreciate it.

Can someone help me to spell and translate this:
Happy Birthday
I Love You.

You could translate it as χαρούμενα γενέθλια, σ' ἀγαπῶ. However, in Greek we don't say "happy birthday", but "many returns", "many years", therefore, you'd better say "χρόνια πολλά [many returns], σ' ἀγαπῶ [I love you]".