Aristophanes Acharnians 566

Acharnians. Aristophanes. . 2026-09-08.

Current edition Experimental

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

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.) — 626-718 focus
Translations (1)
Acharnians (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Anonymous; Liveright, 192?). Migrated from Perseus legacy XML; source wording and notes retained. See TEI header and migration inventory.) — 566 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

567. mvp-tlg0019-tlg001-sanjaya-com-eng1-18

Line 567

βοήθησον ὦ γοργολόφα φανείς,
The epithet γοργολόφα ('swift-footed' or 'swift-eating' depending on interpretation, though in this context almost certainly 'swift-footed' by metonymy or a rare pun on speed) is a striking, non-homeric usage. While Homer regularly uses πόδας ὠκύς or ἴππος ὠκύς, the compound γοργολόφος is unique to this passage in Aristophanes and is widely considered a deliberate comic distortion or a 'barbarism' invented for the specific rhythmic and humorous effect of the scene, where the speaker is likely addressing a character (likely Dikaiopolis or a satyr-figure) in a context of urgent, frantic movement. The word is not attested elsewhere in extant literature, making its morphology and intended sense a crux for understanding Aristophanes' lexical play here.