Line 529
ᾆσαι δʼ οὐκ ἦν ἐν ξυμποσίῳ πλὴν Δωροῖ συκοπέδιλε,
The vocative form Δωροῖ is irregular; the standard vocative of the proper name Δῶρος is Δῶρε. This form is attested elsewhere in Attic comedy (e.g., Aristophanes, *Knights* 1333) as a deliberate metrical adjustment or a colloquialism, though some editors have conjectured Δῶρε or treated it as a corruption. The adjective συκοπέδιλε (sycopede) is a rare compound, literally 'fig-shoe,' functioning as a pejorative epithet for a thief or informer who steals figs (a common small-time crime in Athens) or, more broadly, a low-class swindler. The term is highly specific to the social satire of the period, targeting the informer Hyperbolus (or a type of informer) with a pun on his alleged lowly origins or criminal past.
Knights. Aristophanes. . 2026-09-08.