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εἶτα κατάξειέ τις αὐτοῦ μεθύων τῆς κεφαλῆς Ὀρέστης
The phrase 'Ὀρέστης' functions as a vocative of address, yet it is grammatically attached to the genitive phrase 'τῆς κεφαλῆς' ('of the head') via a hyperbaton that separates the noun from its governing preposition 'κατά' (implied in the sense of 'over' or 'upon' the head) and the verb 'κατάξειέ'. More critically, the syntax relies on the elision of a participle or a verbal noun that would normally govern the genitive, creating a construction where 'Ὀρέστης' stands in apposition to the subject of the implied action, or perhaps as a direct address to the audience while the verb 'κατάξειέ' (aorist subjunctive of κατακτείνω, 'to kill down') takes the genitive 'αὐτοῦ' ('of him') as the object of the killing, with 'τῆς κεφαλῆς' indicating the specific part of the body targeted. However, the most striking feature is the use of the genitive 'τῆς κεφαλῆς' with 'κατάξειέ' (or the implied 'κατακτείνω'), which is an unusual construction for a verb typically taking a direct accusative object; this may reflect a colloquial or comic distortion of standard syntax to emphasize the violence of the act, or it could be a rare instance of the genitive of the whole with a verb of killing, though the latter is not standard Attic usage. The reference to Orestes here is likely ironic, given that Orestes is a figure associated with madness and matricide, and the speaker is suggesting that a drunken man would kill him, or perhaps that Orestes himself is the one being killed in this drunken state, playing on the tragic figure's notoriety in a burlesque context.
Acharnians. Aristophanes. . 2026-09-08.