Aristophanes Acharnians 952

ed. F. W. Hall, ed. William M. Geldart

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Acharnians. Aristophanes. ed. F. W. Hall, ed. William M. Geldart. Oxford. 1906.

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by The Annenberg CPB/Project.

Current edition Perseus

Ἀχαρνῆς (Greek) (Aristophanes. Aristophanis Comoediae, Vol. 1. Hall, F. W. and Geldart, William M., editors. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1906.)

Translations (2)
Acharnians (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Anonymous; Liveright, 192?). Migrated from Perseus legacy XML; source wording and notes retained. See TEI header and migration inventory.) — 952 focus
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

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.