Aristophanes Knights 1060

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

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Knights. 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

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

Translations (2)
Knights (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Anonymous; 1938 compilation). Migrated from Perseus legacy XML; source wording and notes retained. See TEI header and migration inventory.) — 1060 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.) — 1060 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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Αἰγεΐδη φράσσαι κυναλώπεκα, μή σε δολώσῃ,
The vocative Αἰγεΐδη is a rare metrical contraction of Αἰγεΐδη from Αἰγείδη (genitive Αἰγείδου), reflecting the Doric or poetic form of the patronymic for the Paphlagonian (often identified with Cleon). This form is metrically necessary here to fit the iambic trimeter and distinguishes the address from the standard Attic form, highlighting the character's specific ethnic or political marker within the comedic context.

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ταύτας ἀπαυδᾷ μὴ διδόναι σʼ ὁ Λοξίας.
The verb ἀπαυδᾷ (aorist indicative active of ἀπαυδέω) is used here with a negative infinitive (μὴ διδόναι) to convey a prohibitive sense ('is forbidding you not to give' or more idiomatically 'is forbidding you to give'), a construction where the negative particle with the infinitive depends on the governing verb of prohibition. While ἀπαυδέω is relatively rare in Aristophanes compared to other verbs of speaking or commanding, its specific syntactic behavior here—governing a negative infinitive to express a divine prohibition—is a distinct feature of the play's dialogue, reflecting the character of the Paphlagon (the slave) attempting to manipulate the Demos by citing the god's will.

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ὁτιὴ βότρυς τρώγουσιν ἐν τοῖς χωρίοις.
The text presents a significant crux: the phrase 'ὁτιὴ βότρυς τρώγουσιν' appears to contain a textual corruption or a highly irregular dialectal usage. The form 'ὁτιὴ' is not a standard Attic conjunction (which would be ὅτι) nor a standard demonstrative; it resembles the Doric or Boeotian dialectal form ὅττι or a corruption of ὅτι γε. More critically, the verb τρώγουσιν (they eat) with the accusative singular βότρυς (a grape cluster) as the direct object is semantically awkward in this context. In Aristophanic comedy, this line is often cited as a corruption of ὅτι γε βότρυς (that indeed a grape cluster) or potentially a misreading of a dialectal form where the subject or object case is obscured. The most plausible reconstruction, supported by the context of the play (where characters often discuss food or rural life), suggests the text may be corrupted to read ὅτι γε βότρυς (that indeed a grape cluster) or that 'βότρυς' is being used in a specialized, perhaps metaphorical, sense that requires emendation to make the syntax coherent. The presence of 'ὁτιὴ' is the primary textual difficulty, as it does not fit standard Attic syntax without conjecture.

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ποίαν Κυλλήνην;
The phrase 'ποίαν Κυλλήνην;' functions as a sarcastic retort, alluding to the myth of Hermes being born on Mount Cyllene in Arcadia. In the context of the *Knights*, the Demos (the People) is being mocked for his gullibility; the question implies that just as the infant Hermes was miraculously born on the mountain, the Demos is being treated as a fool who believes impossible or absurd claims. The specific use of the accusative case here is part of an elliptical construction where the verb is omitted, relying on the context of the preceding dialogue to supply the implied action or state of affairs.

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οὐκ ὀρθῶς φράζει· τὴν Κυλλήνην γὰρ ὁ Φοῖβος
The phrase τὴν Κυλλήνην refers to Mount Cyllene in Arcadia, the birthplace of Hermes, but here it is used metonymically for the caduceus or the messenger god himself, a usage specific to the comic context where the character (likely the Paphlagonian or the Sausage-Seller) is mocking a prophetic statement. The syntax relies on the reader recognizing the elliptical construction where the verb is supplied from the preceding context, a feature common in Aristophanic dialogue but requiring familiarity with the specific mythological association to grasp the humor.

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ἀλλὰ γάρ ἐστιν ἐμοὶ χρησμὸς περὶ σοῦ πτερυγωτός,
The adjective πτερυγωτός (pterygōtós) is a hapax legomenon in Aristophanes, formed with the suffix -ωτός, typically indicating capacity or potentiality (cf. κηρυγωτός, 'capable of being proclaimed'), yet here it functions adjectivally with a sense of 'winged' or 'flying,' likely a comic neologism to suggest the oracles are so frequent or fleeting they are literally airborne, or perhaps a pun on the 'winged' nature of the god Hermes (messenger) or the birds of the chorus. The construction is syntactically standard (predicate adjective), but the lexical innovation is deliberate and marks a key moment of comic deflation in the play.

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χὤτι γʼ ἐν Ἐκβατάνοις δικάσεις, λείχων ἐπίπαστα.
The verb λείχων (licking) combined with ἐπίπαστα (grease/fat smeared on top) is a specific reference to the ritual of anointing the body with oil and then scraping off the dirt and oil with a strigil, but here used metaphorically and insultingly to suggest the addressee is so dirty or greedy that he must lick the grease off his own body. This phrase likely alludes to the specific practice of eating or licking food that has been smeared on the body, a common trope in Aristophanic comedy to depict the lower-class or gluttonous nature of the character (Cleon) being addressed. The phrase is a vivid example of the poet's use of visceral, physical imagery to convey moral and social degradation.

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τοῦ δήμου καταχεῖν ἀρυταίνῃ πλουθυγίειαν.
The noun πλουθυγίειαν is a hapax legomenon in the Aristophanic corpus (and arguably in extant Attic literature outside this specific comic context), formed as a compound of πλοῦτος and ὑγίεια. While the semantic sense is transparent ('wealth and health'), the compound's construction is a deliberate comic neologism reflecting the demagogue's tendency to conflate material prosperity with physical well-being, a trope central to the play's satire of the 'health' of the state under the Paphlagonian's (Cleon's) rule. The accusative plural form functions as the direct object of the infinitive καταχεῖν, indicating the pouring of this compound concept over the demos.