Aristophanes Knights 409

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.) — 409 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.) — 409 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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ὥσπερ ἀκαλήφας ἐσθίων πρὸ χελιδόνων ἔκλεπτες.
The phrase πρὸ χελιδόνων functions as a temporal idiom meaning 'before the swallows arrive' (i.e., early in the year). The specific ordering of the action—eating stinging nettles before the swallows' return—creates a vivid, grotesque image of extreme hunger and poverty, as the swallows are traditionally associated with the arrival of spring and the end of winter scarcity. This temporal marker is a standard Attic idiom for 'early in the year' (cf. Thucydides 1.135), but its juxtaposition here with the consumption of ἀκαλήφας (nettles) heightens the satirical effect of the character's destitution.

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ὁτιὴ ʼπιώρκεις θʼ ἡρπακὼς καὶ κρέας ὁ πρωκτὸς εἶχεν.
The form ὁτιὴ is a dialectal or comic variant of ὅτι (that), reflecting the phonetic contraction and vowel shift characteristic of Aristophanic comic diction, which often exaggerates spoken Attic features for metrical or humorous effect. This is not a standard Attic spelling but a recognized feature of the genre's linguistic play.

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ἄθρει καὶ τοῦ ποδὸς παρίει·
The verb παρίει (pariei) here functions as a technical term of physical abuse, specifically denoting the act of 'letting go' or 'releasing' one's foot in a kick. In the context of the Paphlagonian's violent altercation with the Sausage-Seller (Demosthenes), this is not merely a descriptive motion but a specific allusion to the brutal, uncontrolled kicking associated with street brawls or the physical comedy of the genre, where the aggressor is depicted as unleashing a full, unbridled force against the victim's leg. The imperative ἄθρει ('look at' or 'behold') serves as a dramatic command to the audience to witness the cruelty of the act, heightening the grotesque nature of the violence.

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ὡς οὗτος ἤδη καικίας καὶ συκοφαντίας πνεῖ.
The verb πνεῖ ('blows') is used here with the genitive case (and implicitly the accusative object of the mental state) to denote 'to be full of' or 'to breathe out' a specific quality. This construction, where πνέω governs the genitive of the quality being exhaled, is a characteristic Aristophanic usage that personifies abstract vices as physical emissions, distinct from the standard construction with εἶναι + genitive or simple dative of possession. The phrase captures the aggressive, almost physical projection of the character's malice.

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σὲ δʼ ἐκ Ποτειδαίας ἔχοντʼ εὖ οἶδα δέκα τάλαντα.
The phrase 'ἐκ Ποτειδαίας ἔχοντʼ' (having [taken] from Potidaea) relies on the elliptical use of ἔχω with a place-name to mean 'to have seized' or 'to have taken as plunder,' a specific military idiom where the preposition ἐκ marks the source of the acquisition. The accusative 'δέκα τάλαντα' functions as the object of this implied action of taking, creating a construction where the participle ἔχοντʼ governs both the ablative-like source (ἐκ) and the quantitative object, a syntactic compression typical of Old Comedy's rapid-fire accusation style.

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ἁνὴρ ἂν ἡδέως λάβοι. τοὺς τερθρίους παρίει·
The verb παρίει (from παρίημι) is used here in a specific sense of 'letting go' or 'allowing to pass' in the context of a debtor or a person owing a debt, rather than its more common meanings of 'to send alongside' or 'to permit'. This usage is characteristic of the colloquial and often bawdy vocabulary of Old Comedy, particularly when referring to the financial dealings of the characters. The phrase 'τοὺς τερθρίους' refers to a specific type of debt or fine, likely associated with the 'terthrios' (a term possibly linked to the 'terthra' or a specific tax/fine), which requires knowledge of the specific legal or fiscal context of the play to fully grasp the nature of the transaction being described. The use of the optative 'λάβοι' with 'ἂν' indicates a potential action, suggesting a hypothetical scenario where the man would gladly accept something, but the context implies a missed opportunity or a refusal.