Aristophanes Knights 1059b

Knights. Aristophanes. . 2026-09-08.

Current edition Experimental

Commentary (Sanjaya, generated; selected passages) (OCR draft) (English) (Source: pnadelofficial/aristophanes-sanjaya, commit c319590c139e5603e71f0699caa0663d823af8ad. Machine-generated source annotations retained; see Sanjaya import audit for coverage and limitations.)

Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.

Editions (1)
Ἱππῆς Perseus (Aristophanes. Aristophanis Comoediae, Vol. 1. Hall, F. W. and Geldart, William M., editors. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1906.) — 1060 focus
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

1059b. mvp-tlg0019-tlg002-sanjaya-com-eng1-83

Line 1059b

τί τοῦτο λέγει, πρὸ Πύλοιο;
The phrase πρὸ Πύλοιο is a clear allusion to the Homeric formulaic expression προ Πύλοιο (Il. 2.572, Od. 3.274), where it appears in the dative case as part of the fixed epithet 'Pylos' in epic hexameter. Here, Aristophanes adapts it into the genitive (Πύλοιο) to fit the syntactic requirements of the preceding preposition πρό, while simultaneously invoking the epic tone to mock the Socratic habit of quoting Homer indiscriminately. This metrical and syntactic displacement serves to highlight the comic contrast between the solemnity of Homeric diction and the triviality of the context, a technique characteristic of Aristophanic parody of intellectual pretension.