Aristophanes Knights 997

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.) — 997 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.) — 997 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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Γλάνιδος, ἀδελφοῦ τοῦ Βάκιδος γεραιτέρου.
The phrase γεραιτέρου is the comparative of γέρων, but here it functions not merely as an adjective meaning 'older' but as a substantive title or nickname. In the context of the Knights, Aristophanes is satirizing the demagogues by assigning them ridiculous, often animalistic or diminutive names. Γλάνις (Glanis) and Βάκις (Bakis) are not historical figures of note but are likely invented or caricatured names. The use of the comparative here, 'Glanis, Bakis's older brother,' suggests a specific familial relationship that serves the comic logic of the play, possibly alluding to a real or perceived rivalry or hierarchy among the lower-class Athenian populace, which Aristophanes is mocking. The grammatical construction is straightforward, but the semantic weight lies in the deliberate absurdity of the names and the triviality of the relationship being highlighted for comic effect.