When I asked about cultures of conflict last night my new boyfriend Yiannis offered up the English concept of envy, always being interested in and competitive over that which the other has, and when I pressed explained an idea of Greece as εθνος αναδελφων, ethnos anadelfon, which — he struggled to break it down, ethnos being about the nation and adelfos referring to the brother — almost translates to “nation of brothers,” except for that αν (“the preposition,” he said, and immediately I was excited, even as I’m not sure that’s correct — myself, I would have said “prefix” — but maybe it is a preposition — who knows — the part of speech so broad and strong) — the an is negatory — which of course I know already from my prior-island study of ανορεξία, anorexia — so it’s like a nation of brotherly antipathy.