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Θεράπων Λαμάχου

Δικαιόπολι.

Δικαιόπολις

τίς ἔστι; τί με βωστρεῖς;

Θεράπων Λαμάχου

ὅ τι;

ἐκέλευε Λάμαχός σε ταυτησὶ δραχμῆς
960

ἐς τοὺς Χοᾶς αὑτῷ μεταδοῦναι τῶν κιχλῶν,

τριῶν δραχμῶν δʼ ἐκέλευε Κωπᾷδʼ ἔγχελυν.

Δικαιόπολις

ὁ ποῖος οὗτος Λάμαχος τὴν ἔγχελυν;

Θεράπων Λαμάχου

ὁ δεινός, ὁ ταλαύρινος, ὃς τὴν Γοργόνα

πάλλει κραδαίνων τρισὶ κατάσκιος λόφοις.
965

Δικαιόπολις

οὐκ ἂν μὰ Δίʼ εἰ δοίη γέ μοι τὴν ἀσπίδα·

ἀλλʼ ἐπὶ ταρίχει τοὺς λόφους κραδαινέτω·

ἢν δʼ ἀπολιγαίνῃ, τοὺς ἀγορανόμους καλῶ.

ἐγὼ δʼ ἐμαυτῷ τόδε λαβὼν τὸ φορτίον

εἴσειμʼ ὑπαὶ πτερύγων κιχλᾶν καὶ κοψίχων.
970

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

DICAEOPOLIS

Bah! this rogue has given me enough trouble to pack! Here! Boeotian, pick up your pottery.

BOEOTIAN

Stoop, Ismenias, that I may put it on your shoulder, and be very careful with it.

DICAEOPOLIS

You carry nothing worth having; however, take it, for you will profit by your bargain; the Informers will bring you luck.

A SERVANT OF LAMACHUS

Dicaeopolis!

DICAEOPOLIS

What do you want crying this gait?

SERVANT

Lamachus wants to keep the Feast of Cups,¹ and I come by his order to bid you one drachma for some thrushes and three more for a Copaic eel.

DICAEOPOLIS

And who is this Lamachus, who demands an eel?

SERVANT

'Tis the terrible, indefatigable Lamachus, who is always brandishing his fearful Gorgon's head and the three plumes which o'ershadow his helmet.

DICAEOPOLIS

No, no, he will get nothing, even though he gave me his buckler. Let him eat salt fish, while he shakes his plumes, and, if he comes here making any din, I shall call the inspectors. As for myself, I shall take away all these goods; I go home on thrushes' wings and black-birds' pinions.²

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

Dikaiopolis: I have hardly tied up the man who was being badly washed.

Dicaeopolis: Pick up the potsherd, Boeotian!

Boeotus: bow down and go to Ismenichus.

Dikaiopolis: And how will you capture him, being cautious?

955

Dikaiopolis: certainly you will carry nothing healthy, but still;

Dikaiopolis: And even if you win by carrying this load,

Dikaiopolis: You will prosper, being a slanderer, for that reason.

Lamachus's servant: Dicaeopolis.

Dikaiopolis: Who is it? Why are you bellowing at me?

Lamachus' servant: "What?"

Lamachus' servant: Lamachus ordered you for this drachma.

960

Lamachus's servant: to let himself have a share of the thrushes at the Choes,

Lamachus' servant: 'He ordered Kopeas to pay three drachmas.'

Dikaiopolis: Which one of these is Lamachus with the eel?

Lamachus' servant: the terrible one, the one with the helmet, who [has] the Gorgon

Lamachus' servant: he swings, brandishing, darkened by three hills.

965

Dikaiopolis: No, by Zeus, if he were to give me the shield;

Dikaiopolis: but let him shake his eyebrows on a fish sauce!

Dicaeopolis: But if he should starve, I will call the market supervisors.

Dicaeopolis: But I, having taken this burden for myself,

Dikaiopolis: I will go under the wings of the swallows and the kites.

970

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

964. mvp-tlg0019-tlg001-sanjaya-com-eng1-56

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.

967. mvp-tlg0019-tlg001-sanjaya-com-eng1-57

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.

Aristophanes Acharnians 959-970

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

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Θεράπων Λαμάχου

Δικαιόπολι.

Δικαιόπολις

τίς ἔστι; τί με βωστρεῖς;

Θεράπων Λαμάχου

ὅ τι;

ἐκέλευε Λάμαχός σε ταυτησὶ δραχμῆς
960

ἐς τοὺς Χοᾶς αὑτῷ μεταδοῦναι τῶν κιχλῶν,

τριῶν δραχμῶν δʼ ἐκέλευε Κωπᾷδʼ ἔγχελυν.

Δικαιόπολις

ὁ ποῖος οὗτος Λάμαχος τὴν ἔγχελυν;

Θεράπων Λαμάχου

ὁ δεινός, ὁ ταλαύρινος, ὃς τὴν Γοργόνα

πάλλει κραδαίνων τρισὶ κατάσκιος λόφοις.
965

Current edition Perseus

DICAEOPOLIS

Bah! this rogue has given me enough trouble to pack! Here! Boeotian, pick up your pottery.

BOEOTIAN

Stoop, Ismenias, that I may put it on your shoulder, and be very careful with it.

DICAEOPOLIS

You carry nothing worth having; however, take it, for you will profit by your bargain; the Informers will bring you luck.

A SERVANT OF LAMACHUS

Dicaeopolis!

DICAEOPOLIS

What do you want crying this gait?

SERVANT

Lamachus wants to keep the Feast of Cups,¹ and I come by his order to bid you one drachma for some thrushes and three more for a Copaic eel.

DICAEOPOLIS

And who is this Lamachus, who demands an eel?

SERVANT

'Tis the terrible, indefatigable Lamachus, who is always brandishing his fearful Gorgon's head and the three plumes which o'ershadow his helmet.

Commentary

Line 964

Line 967

Stable identifiers

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Θεράπων Λαμάχου Δικαιόπολι.

Δικαιόπολις τίς ἔστι; τί με βωστρεῖς;

Θεράπων Λαμάχου ὅ τι; ἐκέλευε Λάμαχός σε ταυτησὶ δραχμῆς 960 ἐς τοὺς Χοᾶς αὑτῷ μεταδοῦναι τῶν κιχλῶν, τριῶν δραχμῶν δʼ ἐκέλευε Κωπᾷδʼ ἔγχελυν.

Δικαιόπολις ὁ ποῖος οὗτος Λάμαχος τὴν ἔγχελυν;

Θεράπων Λαμάχου ὁ δεινός, ὁ ταλαύρινος, ὃς τὴν Γοργόνα πάλλει κραδαίνων τρισὶ κατάσκιος λόφοις. 965

Current edition Perseus

DICAEOPOLIS Bah! this rogue has given me enough trouble to pack! Here! Boeotian, pick up your pottery.

BOEOTIAN Stoop, Ismenias, that I may put it on your shoulder, and be very careful with it.

DICAEOPOLIS You carry nothing worth having; however, take it, for you will profit by your bargain; the Informers will bring you luck.

A SERVANT OF LAMACHUS Dicaeopolis!

DICAEOPOLIS What do you want crying this gait?

SERVANT Lamachus wants to keep the Feast of Cups, 1 and I come by his order to bid you one drachma for some thrushes and three more for a Copaic eel.

DICAEOPOLIS And who is this Lamachus, who demands an eel?

SERVANT 'Tis the terrible, indefatigable Lamachus, who is always brandishing his fearful Gorgon's head and the three plumes which o'ershadow his helmet.

Commentary

Line 964

Line 967

Stable identifiers

Θεράπων Λαμάχου

Δικαιόπολι.

Δικαιόπολις

τίς ἔστι; τί με βωστρεῖς;

Θεράπων Λαμάχου

ὅ τι;

ἐκέλευε Λάμαχός σε ταυτησὶ δραχμῆς
960

ἐς τοὺς Χοᾶς αὑτῷ μεταδοῦναι τῶν κιχλῶν,

τριῶν δραχμῶν δʼ ἐκέλευε Κωπᾷδʼ ἔγχελυν.

Δικαιόπολις

ὁ ποῖος οὗτος Λάμαχος τὴν ἔγχελυν;

Θεράπων Λαμάχου

ὁ δεινός, ὁ ταλαύρινος, ὃς τὴν Γοργόνα

πάλλει κραδαίνων τρισὶ κατάσκιος λόφοις.
965

DICAEOPOLIS

Bah! this rogue has given me enough trouble to pack! Here! Boeotian, pick up your pottery.

BOEOTIAN

Stoop, Ismenias, that I may put it on your shoulder, and be very careful with it.

DICAEOPOLIS

You carry nothing worth having; however, take it, for you will profit by your bargain; the Informers will bring you luck.

A SERVANT OF LAMACHUS

Dicaeopolis!

DICAEOPOLIS

What do you want crying this gait?

SERVANT

Lamachus wants to keep the Feast of Cups,¹ and I come by his order to bid you one drachma for some thrushes and three more for a Copaic eel.

DICAEOPOLIS

And who is this Lamachus, who demands an eel?

SERVANT

'Tis the terrible, indefatigable Lamachus, who is always brandishing his fearful Gorgon's head and the three plumes which o'ershadow his helmet.