Aristophanes Acharnians 719

Anonymous (Translator)

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Acharnians. Aristophanes. Anonymous (Translator). New York. 192?.

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Current edition Experimental

Acharnians (OCR draft) (English) (English (Anonymous; Liveright, 192?). Migrated from Perseus legacy XML; source wording and notes retained. See TEI header and migration inventory.)

Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.

Editions (1)
Ἀχαρνῆς Perseus (Aristophanes. Aristophanis Comoediae, Vol. 1. Hall, F. W. and Geldart, William M., editors. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1906.) — 719-835 focus
Translations (1)
English (Sanjaya, generated; selected passages) (OCR draft) Experimental (Source: pnadelofficial/aristophanes-sanjaya, commit c319590c139e5603e71f0699caa0663d823af8ad. Machine-generated source annotations retained; see Sanjaya import audit for coverage and limitations.) — 719 focus

Notes on the current edition

Acharnians

1. The leather market was held in Lepros, outside the city.
2. Mean an informer ([from the Greek] to denounce).
3. According to the Athenian custom.

Commentary

Commentary (Sanjaya, generated; selected passages) (OCR draft) (Source: pnadelofficial/aristophanes-sanjaya, commit c319590c139e5603e71f0699caa0663d823af8ad. Machine-generated source annotations retained; see Sanjaya import audit for coverage and limitations.) focus

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Line 724

τρεῖς τοὺς λαχόντας τούσδʼ ἱμάντας ἐκ Λεπρῶν.
The proper noun Λεπρῶν (Leprōn) refers to a deme of Attica, likely associated with the deme of Leipsydrium or a locality known for its leather production, which is contextually significant given the mention of 'leather straps' (ἱμάντας). The genitive plural form indicates the origin of the straps, suggesting a specific trade or supply route relevant to the comic narrative of the Acharnians.

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Line 737

ὃς ὑμέ κα πρίαιτο φανερὰν ζαμίαν;
The verb ζαμιάω (here in the aorist optative ζαμίαν) is a rare comic coinage or dialectal term denoting 'to be cheated' or 'to be swindled,' likely derived from a colloquial or Attic slang root not found in high literature; its usage here is specific to the context of the comic marketplace and the specific grievance of the character Dikaiopolis regarding the unfair treatment of the Acharnians.

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Line 747

χἠσεῖτε φωνὰν χοιρίων μυστηρικῶν.
The text presents a significant crux: the manuscript tradition reads χἠσεῖτε (a contracted form of ἠσεῖτε, 'you will cry out'), but the context of the Thesmophoriazusae parody suggests a corruption. Many editors, following the metrical requirements of the iambic trimeter and the sense of the scene (the piglet being sacrificed as a substitute for a human victim), conjecture χέσεῖτε ('you will void urine/excrete') or similar, though the most widely accepted solution for the specific phrase χοιρίων μυστηρικῶν ('of the initiatory piglets') is to read χέσεῖτε as a vulgar pun on the 'initiation' ritual, or alternatively, to accept the transmitted χἠσεῖτε but recognize it as a deliberate comic distortion of the solemn language of mystery cults, where 'crying out' is the expected reaction to the sacred rites. The specific variant χἠσεῖτε is rare in this position and likely a scribal error for χέσεῖτε or a deliberate pun, but the textual history of this line is complex, with some manuscripts reading χέσεῖτε and others χἠσεῖτε, creating a genuine crux regarding the nature of the 'cry' being demanded.

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ἀγορασοῦντες ἵκομες.
The verb ἵκομες is an Attic contraction of ἵκομεν, the first-person plural aorist indicative active of ἵκω. While the uncontracted form ἵκομεν is standard in most dialects and later Attic prose, the contracted form ἵκομες is a distinctive feature of Aristophanic comedy, reflecting the poet's deliberate use of Doric or archaic forms to evoke a specific comic or rustic tone. This contraction is not merely a scribal variation but a metrically and stylistically significant choice that aligns with the play's linguistic playfulness.