Aristophanes Knights 763

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.) — 763 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.) — 763 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 771

ἐπὶ ταυτησὶ κατακνησθείην ἐν μυττωτῷ μετὰ τυροῦ,
The verb κατακνησθείην is a hapax legomenon in Aristophanes, formed from a rare root *κνησ-* (related to scratching or itching) with the intensive prefix κατα-. The optative mood here expresses a wish for a gruesome fate, while the dative μυττωτῷ (in the *myttōtēs*, a vessel for mixing wine and water, or possibly a pun on the 'mixture' of the crowd) with τυροῦ (cheese) creates a grotesque image of being crushed or suffocated in a cheese-filled wine-mixing bowl, a hyperbolic curse typical of the comic genre's focus on visceral degradation.

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Line 772

καὶ τῇ κρεάγρᾳ τῶν ὀρχιπέδων ἑλκοίμην ἐς Κεραμεικόν.
The phrase τῶν ὀρχιπέδων (of the testicles) is a striking example of Aristophanic grotesque realism, where the abstract concept of punishment is concretized through the most vulnerable part of the male body. While the genitive is grammatically standard for possession or reference, the semantic force here relies on the specific cultural understanding of the κρεάγρα (meat-market) not merely as a place of commerce, but as a location of slaughter and dismemberment. The humor derives from the hyperbolic threat of being dragged by one's testicles to the potters' quarter (Κεραμεικόν), a district associated with the production of pottery and, in a grimly literal sense, the burial of the dead, thereby combining physical mutilation with social death.

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σὲ γάρ, ὃς Μήδοισι διεξιφίσω περὶ τῆς χώρας Μαραθῶνι,
The verb διεξιφίσω is a hapax legomenon in Aristophanes, formed from εἰς (into) + ἵσχω (to hold/keep) + the intensive prefix δια-. The compound verb, meaning 'to hold out against' or 'to defend resolutely', appears here in the future indicative active. While the future tense is standard for the periphrastic future construction common in comedy, the specific lexical formation is notable for its vividness in describing the defensive stance at Marathon, emphasizing the thoroughness of the defense rather than merely the act of fighting.

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καὶ νικήσας ἡμῖν μεγάλως ἐγγλωττοτυπεῖν παρέδωκας,
The verb ἐγγλωττοτυπεῖν is a hapax legomenon in extant Greek literature, a coinage by Aristophanes combining ἐν- (in) + γλῶττα (tongue) + τυποῦν (to stamp/impress). In this context, it functions as a technical metaphor for the act of 'stamping' or 'imprinting' a specific rhetorical style or political stance onto the audience, rather than the literal sense of 'engraving on a tongue.' The formation is a rare example of the poet's neologistic creativity using a compound that mimics the morphology of technical terms for engraving (τυπο-), yet applies it to the ephemeral medium of speech, highlighting the coercive nature of the political victory mentioned.

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Line 785

κᾆτα καθίζου μαλακῶς, ἵνα μὴ τρίβῃς τὴν ἐν Σαλαμῖνι.
The phrase τὴν ἐν Σαλαμῖνι functions as a substantive elliptical construction, referring to the 'saddle' or 'seat' associated with the Battle of Salamis. The humor relies on the audience's recognition of the specific topographical and historical memory of the battle, where the Athenian triremes (and by extension, the sailors or generals commanding them) were central, while the comic context here absurdly transfers the location of a naval battle to the physical comfort of a saddle, mocking the general's (likely Cleon's) martial pretensions or the physical reality of his chariot travel.