Aristophanes Knights 658

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

Table of Contents

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

View: By Card
← Previous Next →
κἄγωγʼ ὅτε δὴ γʼνων τοῖς βολίτοις ἡττημένος,
διακοσίαισι βουσὶν ὑπερηκόντισα,
τῇ δʼ Ἀγροτέρᾳ κατὰ χιλιῶν παρῄνεσα
660
εὐχὴν ποιήσασθαι χιμάρων εἰς αὔριον,
αἱ τριχίδες εἰ γενοίαθʼ ἑκατὸν τοὐβολοῦ.
ἐκαραδόκησεν εἰς ἔμʼ ἡ βουλὴ πάλιν.
ὁ δὲ ταῦτʼ ἀκούσας ἐκπλαγεὶς ἐφληνάφα.
κᾆθʼ εἷλκον αὐτὸν οἱ πρυτάνεις χοἰ τοξόται.
665
οἱ δʼ ἐθορύβουν περὶ τῶν ἀφύων ἑστηκότες·
ὁ δʼ ἠντεβόλει γʼ αὐτοὺς ὀλίγον μεῖναι χρόνον,
ἵνʼ ἅτθʼ ὁ κῆρυξ οὑκ Λακεδαίμονος λέγει
πύθησθʼ, ἀφῖκται γὰρ περὶ σπονδῶν, λέγων.
οἱ δʼ ἐξ ἑνὸς στόματος ἅπαντες ἀνέκραγον·
670
νυνὶ περὶ σπονδῶν; ἐπειδή γʼ ὦ μέλε
ᾔσθοντο τὰς ἀφύας παρʼ ἡμῖν ἀξίας.
οὐ δεόμεθα σπονδῶν· ὁ πόλεμος ἑρπέτω.
ἐκεκράγεσάν τε τοὺς πρυτάνεις ἀφιέναι·
εἶθʼ ὑπερεπήδων τοὺς δρυφάκτους πανταχῇ.
675
ἐγὼ δὲ τὰ κορίαννʼ ἐπριάμην ὑποδραμὼν
ἅπαντα τά τε γήτεἰ ὅσʼ ἦν ἐν τἀγορᾷ·
ἔπειτα ταῖς ἀφύαις ἐδίδουν ἡδύσματα
ἀποροῦσιν αὐτοῖς προῖκα κἀχαριζόμην.
οἱ δʼ ὑπερεπῄνουν ὑπερεπύππαζόν τέ με
680
ἅπαντες οὕτως ὥστε τὴν βουλὴν ὅλην
ὀβολοῦ κοριάννοις ἀναλαβὼν ἐλήλυθα.

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.) — 658 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.) — 658 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

660. mvp-tlg0019-tlg002-sanjaya-com-eng1-36

Line 660

τῇ δʼ Ἀγροτέρᾳ κατὰ χιλιῶν παρῄνεσα
The phrase 'κατὰ χιλιῶν' (according to thousands) is an elliptical construction where the preposition 'κατά' governs the genitive plural to indicate a rate or measure of action, here meaning 'by the thousand' or 'in thousands.' This usage is characteristic of the colloquial, hyperbolic style of Old Comedy, where precise numerical quantification is often replaced by vague, exaggerated magnitudes for comic effect. The construction parallels other idiomatic uses of 'κατά' + genitive to denote a standard or measure (e.g., 'κατὰ μύρια' for 'in myriads'), but its specific application here to the act of advising ('παρῄνεσα') creates a syntactic tension that requires the reader to infer the implied object of the quantification (i.e., the number of people advised).

677. mvp-tlg0019-tlg002-sanjaya-com-eng1-37

Line 677

ἅπαντα τά τε γήτεἰ ὅσʼ ἦν ἐν τἀγορᾷ·
The word γήτεἰ is a textual crux. The manuscript tradition offers γήτεἰ (or γητεῖ) in this position, which is grammatically difficult as an accusative plural of γήτειος (magical) would not fit the context of 'everything in the agora' without a clear antecedent, while γητεῖ (dative singular of γητεύς, 'ploughman') is syntactically awkward with ἅπαντα. Editors have proposed γητεῖ as a corruption of γητεύς (perhaps referring to the agricultural context of the marketplace) or, more likely, a corruption of γητεύειν (to farm) used substantively, or alternatively γητεῖ (from γητεύω) as a noun for 'those who farm'. However, the most widely accepted conjecture, supported by the context of the Knights' satire on the demagogues' manipulation of the masses, is that the text should read γητεῖς (ploughmen/farmers) or that γήτεἰ is a corruption of γητεῖς. The scholia suggest a reading γητεῖ, but the sense 'all the magicians' (from γητεύς in the sense of 'one who treads the earth' or 'a sorcerer') is less coherent with the immediate context of the agora's commercial activity. The most plausible emendation, restoring sense to the passage, is to read γητεύς (or γητεύων) in the plural, 'all the farmers who were in the agora,' reflecting the social composition of the Athenian assembly. Alternatively, if γήτεἰ is retained, it may be a rare accusative plural of γητεύς meaning 'ploughmen,' but the spelling is highly irregular. The crux lies in whether the text refers to 'magicians' (a metaphor for the demagogues) or 'farmers' (the actual populace).

679. mvp-tlg0019-tlg002-sanjaya-com-eng1-38

Line 679

ἀποροῦσιν αὐτοῖς προῖκα κἀχαριζόμην.
The particle κἀ- is a contraction of καὶ ἄρα, where ἄρα functions as an inferential or confirmatory particle. While καὶ often simply connects clauses, the presence of ἄρα here (indicated by the elision in the contraction) suggests a nuance of 'and so' or 'and indeed,' reinforcing the speaker's assertion of their own benevolent action in the face of the opponents' distress. The construction κἀχαριζόμην (with the augment) confirms the imperfect indicative, emphasizing the continuous or habitual nature of the speaker's generosity ('I was constantly doing them a favor') contrasted with their current state of being at a loss.