Aristophanes Acharnians 952

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.) — 959-970 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.) — 952 focus

Notes on the current edition

Acharnians

1. The second day of the Dionysia or feasts of Bacchus, kept in the month Anthesterion (February), and called the Anthesteria. They lasted three days; the second being the Feast of Cups, the third the Feast of Pans. Vases, filled with grain of all kinds, were borne in procession and dedicated to Hermes.
2. A parody on some verses from a lost poet.

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 954

ὑπόκυπτε τὰν τύλαν ἰὼν Ἰσμήνιχε.
The verb ὑπόκυπτε (imperfect imperative or present imperative with historical nuance) here functions as a colloquial command to 'lean forward' or 'peep under,' a gesture often associated with the act of looking into a vessel or a specific action in a comic ritual. The form is rare in Aristophanes for this specific gesture, contrasting with the more common ὑποκλίνω, suggesting a deliberate archaism or dialectal flavor to enhance the character's rustic or exaggerated demeanor. The imperative form, combined with the present tense, indicates a continuous or repeated action, fitting the comedic context of a character performing a physical gag.
The term τύλαν (tūlan) is a dialectal or archaic form of τύλην (tūlēn), meaning 'the woolen cap' or 'the headgear,' used here in a context that may allude to a specific ritual or social practice. Its usage in this passage is noteworthy for its rarity and potential ambiguity, as it could refer to a literal object or a metaphorical element of the character's identity or status. The form itself, with its -αν ending, is characteristic of certain dialectal variations or older linguistic strata, which Aristophanes might employ for comic effect or to evoke a specific cultural memory.

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Line 964

ὁ δεινός, ὁ ταλαύρινος, ὃς τὴν Γοργόνα
The epithet ταλαύρινος ('of the sturdy breastplate' or 'hardy') is a hapax legomenon in Aristophanes, occurring here as part of a triple epithet describing the chorus leader's armor. Its derivation is debated: either from ταλαύρινον (a type of breastplate) or as a compound of τάλαινα ('to suffer') and ὀρῦν ('to rouse'), though the former is standard in scholia. The phrase functions as a metonymic self-designation for the comic poet's persona, evoking the Homeric 'man of many devices' or the heroic endurance of a hoplite, yet twisted for comic effect in the context of the Dicaeopolis' self-aggrandizement.

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Line 967

ἀλλʼ ἐπὶ ταρίχει τοὺς λόφους κραδαινέτω·
The verb κραδαινέτω (aorist imperative of κραδαινώ) is exceptionally rare in Attic comedy, appearing here in a unique metonymic sense. While the verb literally means 'to shake' or 'to toss' (often of a head or a weapon), the construction with τοὺς λόφους (the ridges/humps) refers to the specific action of a cook vigorously shaking a jar of salted fish (τάριχος) to settle the contents or distribute the brine. This usage exploits the double meaning of λόφος, which can refer to the 'hump' of a fish or the 'ridge' of a mountain, creating a comic image of the cook treating the fish with the vigor of a soldier shaking a weapon or a wrestler shaking his opponent. The phrase is a vivid, albeit obscure, culinary metaphor that would likely require explanation even for advanced readers unfamiliar with the specific technical vocabulary of the fishmonger's trade in Old Comedy.