Πάντα ῥεῖ
Panta rhei
“Everything flows.”
Attributed to Heraclitus (the phrase itself is first found in later writers)
What does “Panta rhei” mean?
Nothing stays the same; the world is in constant motion. The famous image is the river: you can never step into the same river twice, because new water keeps flowing.
The story behind it
Heraclitus of Ephesus (around 500 BC) taught that change is the basic law of the world. Plato reports his river image; the two-word summary panta rhei appears only in much later commentators, so it is a faithful summary rather than a verified quotation.
From Greek to Latin
Panta rhei
There is no standard Latin translation, but Ovid voices a similar idea: omnia mutantur, nihil interit – "everything changes, nothing perishes".
How to say it
Roughly PAN-ta HRAY (the rh is a breathy r).
How to use it today
Fits moments of change: moving house, a new job, a farewell card, or a river-themed print.
- Greek
- Πάντα ῥεῖ
- Transliteration
- Panta rhei
- English
- Everything flows.
- Latin
- Omnia mutantur, nihil interit
- Source
- Attributed to Heraclitus (the phrase itself is first found in later writers)
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