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Line 772

καὶ τῇ κρεάγρᾳ τῶν ὀρχιπέδων ἑλκοίμην ἐς Κεραμεικόν.

The phrase τῶν ὀρχιπέδων (of the testicles) is a striking example of Aristophanic grotesque realism, where the abstract concept of punishment is concretized through the most vulnerable part of the male body. While the genitive is grammatically standard for possession or reference, the semantic force here relies on the specific cultural understanding of the κρεάγρα (meat-market) not merely as a place of commerce, but as a location of slaughter and dismemberment. The humor derives from the hyperbolic threat of being dragged by one's testicles to the potters' quarter (Κεραμεικόν), a district associated with the production of pottery and, in a grimly literal sense, the burial of the dead, thereby combining physical mutilation with social death.

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.) — 763 focus

Κλέων

τῇ μὲν δεσποίνῃ Ἀθηναίᾳ τῇ τῆς πόλεως μεδεούσῃ

εὔχομαι, εἰ μὲν περὶ τὸν δῆμον τὸν Ἀθηναίων γεγένημαι

βέλτιστος ἀνὴρ μετὰ Λυσικλέα καὶ Κύνναν καὶ Σαλαβακχώ,
765

ὥσπερ νυνὶ μηδὲν δράσας δειπνεῖν ἐν πρυτανείῳ·

εἰ δέ σε μισῶ καὶ μὴ περὶ σοῦ μάχομαι μόνος ἀντιβεβηκώς,

ἀπολοίμην καὶ διαπρισθείην κατατμηθείην τε λέπαδνα.

Ἀλλαντοπώλης

κἄγωγʼ ὦ Δῆμʼ, εἰ μή σε φιλῶ καὶ μὴ στέργω, κατατμηθεὶς

ἑψοίμην ἐν περικομματίοις· κεἰ μὴ τούτοισι πέποιθας,
770

ἐπὶ ταυτησὶ κατακνησθείην ἐν μυττωτῷ μετὰ τυροῦ,

καὶ τῇ κρεάγρᾳ τῶν ὀρχιπέδων ἑλκοίμην ἐς Κεραμεικόν.

Κλέων

καὶ πῶς ἂν ἐμοῦ μᾶλλόν σε φιλῶν ὦ Δῆμε γένοιτο πολίτης;

ὃς πρῶτα μὲν ἡνίκʼ ἐβούλευον σοὶ χρήματα πλεῖστʼ ἀπέδειξα

ἐν τῷ κοινῷ, τοὺς μὲν στρεβλῶν τοὺς δʼ ἄγχων τοὺς δὲ μεταιτῶν,
775

οὐ φροντίζων τῶν ἰδιωτῶν οὐδενός, εἰ σοὶ χαριοίμην.

Ἀλλαντοπώλης

τοῦτο μὲν ὦ Δῆμʼ οὐδὲν σεμνόν· κἀγὼ γὰρ τοῦτό σε δράσω.

ἁρπάζων γὰρ τοὺς ἄρτους σοι τοὺς ἀλλοτρίους παραθήσω.

ὡς δʼ οὐχὶ φιλεῖ σʼ οὐδʼ ἔστʼ εὔνους, τοῦτʼ αὐτό σε πρῶτα διδάξω,

ἀλλʼ ἢ διὰ τοῦτʼ αὔθʼ ὁτιή σου τῆς ἀνθρακιᾶς ἀπολαύει.
780

σὲ γάρ, ὃς Μήδοισι διεξιφίσω περὶ τῆς χώρας Μαραθῶνι,

καὶ νικήσας ἡμῖν μεγάλως ἐγγλωττοτυπεῖν παρέδωκας,

ἐπὶ ταῖσι πέτραις οὐ φροντίζει σκληρῶς σε καθήμενον οὕτως,

οὐχ ὥσπερ ἐγὼ ῥαψάμενός σοι τουτὶ φέρω. ἀλλʼ ἐπαναίρου,

κᾆτα καθίζου μαλακῶς, ἵνα μὴ τρίβῃς τὴν ἐν Σαλαμῖνι.
785

Δῆμος

ἄνθρωπε τίς εἶ; μῶν ἔκγονος εἶ τῶν Ἁρμοδίου τις ἐκείνων;

τοῦτό γέ τοί σου τοὔργον ἀληθῶς γενναῖον καὶ φιλόδημον.

Κλέων

ὡς ἀπὸ μικρῶν εὔνους αὐτῷ θωπευματίων γεγένησαι.

Ἀλλαντοπώλης

καὶ σὺ γὰρ αὐτὸν πολὺ μικροτέροις τούτων δελεάσμασιν εἷλες.

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.) — 763 focus

Cleon

Oh! guardian goddess of our city! oh! Athena if it be true 765 that next to Lysicles, Cynna and Salabaccho none have done so much good for the Athenian people as I, suffer me to continue to be fed at the Prytaneum without working; but if I hate you, if I am not ready to fight in your defence alone and against all, may I perish, be sawn to bits alive and my skin cut up into thongs.

Sausage-Seller

And I, Demos, if it be not true, that I love and cherish you, 770 may I be cooked in a stew; and if that is not saying enough, may I be grated on this table with some cheese and then hashed, may a hook be passed through my balls and let me be dragged thus to the Ceramicus!

Cleon

Is it possible, Demos, to love you more than I do? And firstly, as long as you have governed with my consent, have I not filled your 775 treasury, putting pressure on some, torturing others or begging of them, indifferent to the opinion of private individuals, and solely anxious to please you?

Sausage-Seller

There is nothing so wonderful in all that, Demos; I will do as much; I will thieve the bread of others to serve up to you. No, he has neither love for you nor kindly feeling; 780 his only care is to warm himself with your wood, and I will prove it. You, who, sword in hand, saved Attica from the Median yoke at Marathon; you, whose glorious triumphs we love to extol unceasingly, look, he cares little whether he sees you seated uncomfortably upon a stone; whereas I, I bring you this cushion, which I have sewn with my own hands. 785 Rise and try this nice soft seat. Did you not put enough strain on your bottom at Salamis ?

He gives Demos the cushion; Demos sits on it.

Demos

Who are you then? Can you be of the race of Harmodius? Upon my faith, that is nobly done and like a true friend of Demos.

Cleon

Petty flattery to prove him your goodwill!

Sausage-Seller

But you have caught him with even smaller baits!

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.) — 763 focus

Cleon: To the mistress Athena, who rules the city.

Cleon: I pray, if indeed I have become [something] concerning the people of the Athenians

Cleon: the best man after Lysicles and Cynna and Salabaccho,

765

Cleon: just as now, having done nothing, to dine in the prytaneion;

Cleon: but if I hate you and do not fight for you alone having advanced to the front,

Cleon: May I perish and may I be sliced up and cut into pieces.

Sausage-Seller: And I too, O Demos, if I do not love you and do not cherish you, may I be cut to pieces.

Sausage-seller: I would be cooked in chopped pieces; and if you do not trust in these,

770

Sausage-seller: 'May I be gnawed on this very spot in a mortar with cheese!'

Sausage-seller: And may I be dragged to the Kerameikos with the orchid-sellers' meat-seller.

Cleon: And how could you, O Demos, become a citizen if I loved you more?

Cleon: who, first of all, whenever I was deliberating, showed you the greatest sums of money

Cleon: In the common [assembly], twisting some, hanging some, and some beheading,

775

Cleon: Not caring for any of the common people, if I were to win your favor.

Sausage-Seller: This, O Demos, is nothing solemn; for I too shall do this to you.

Bread-Seller: For I will hand over to you the loaves of bread belonging to others, snatching them.

Sausage-Seller: But since he does not love you nor is he well-disposed, I will teach you that very thing first,

Sausage-seller: But does this very thing, for this reason, please you in any way from your charcoal-burning?

780

Sausage-seller: For you, who out-thrust the Medes concerning the territory of Marathon,

Sausage-Seller: And having greatly defeated us, you handed over a great beating.

Sausage-seller: "He does not worry much about you sitting like this on the rocks."

Sausage-Seller: Not as I have just stitched this for you do I bring it. But take it up,

Sausage-seller: And then sit down gently, so that you do not rub the [bump] in Salamis.

785

Demos: Man, who are you? Or are you one of those descendants of Harmodius?

Demus: This, then, is truly your noble and democratic work.

Cleon: As you have become well-disposed to him from small flatteries.

Sausage-seller: For you also have seduced him with baits much smaller than these.

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

772. mvp-tlg0019-tlg002-sanjaya-com-eng1-45

Line 772

καὶ τῇ κρεάγρᾳ τῶν ὀρχιπέδων ἑλκοίμην ἐς Κεραμεικόν.

Aristophanes Knights 772

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Line 772

Current edition Experimental

Δῆμος

ἄνθρωπε τίς εἶ; μῶν ἔκγονος εἶ τῶν Ἁρμοδίου τις ἐκείνων;

τοῦτό γέ τοί σου τοὔργον ἀληθῶς γενναῖον καὶ φιλόδημον.

Κλέων

ὡς ἀπὸ μικρῶν εὔνους αὐτῷ θωπευματίων γεγένησαι.

Ἀλλαντοπώλης

καὶ σὺ γὰρ αὐτὸν πολὺ μικροτέροις τούτων δελεάσμασιν εἷλες.

Sausage-Seller

And I, Demos, if it be not true, that I love and cherish you, 770 may I be cooked in a stew; and if that is not saying enough, may I be grated on this table with some cheese and then hashed, may a hook be passed through my balls and let me be dragged thus to the Ceramicus!

Demos

Who are you then? Can you be of the race of Harmodius? Upon my faith, that is nobly done and like a true friend of Demos.

Cleon

Petty flattery to prove him your goodwill!

Sausage-Seller

But you have caught him with even smaller baits!

Commentary

Line 772

Stable identifiers

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Line 772

Current edition Experimental

Δῆμος ἄνθρωπε τίς εἶ; μῶν ἔκγονος εἶ τῶν Ἁρμοδίου τις ἐκείνων; τοῦτό γέ τοί σου τοὔργον ἀληθῶς γενναῖον καὶ φιλόδημον.

Κλέων ὡς ἀπὸ μικρῶν εὔνους αὐτῷ θωπευματίων γεγένησαι.

Ἀλλαντοπώλης καὶ σὺ γὰρ αὐτὸν πολὺ μικροτέροις τούτων δελεάσμασιν εἷλες.

Sausage-Seller And I, Demos, if it be not true, that I love and cherish you, 770 may I be cooked in a stew; and if that is not saying enough, may I be grated on this table with some cheese and then hashed, may a hook be passed through my balls and let me be dragged thus to the Ceramicus!

Demos Who are you then? Can you be of the race of Harmodius? Upon my faith, that is nobly done and like a true friend of Demos.

Cleon Petty flattery to prove him your goodwill!

Sausage-Seller But you have caught him with even smaller baits!

Commentary

Line 772

Stable identifiers

Δῆμος

ἄνθρωπε τίς εἶ; μῶν ἔκγονος εἶ τῶν Ἁρμοδίου τις ἐκείνων;

τοῦτό γέ τοί σου τοὔργον ἀληθῶς γενναῖον καὶ φιλόδημον.

Κλέων

ὡς ἀπὸ μικρῶν εὔνους αὐτῷ θωπευματίων γεγένησαι.

Ἀλλαντοπώλης

καὶ σὺ γὰρ αὐτὸν πολὺ μικροτέροις τούτων δελεάσμασιν εἷλες.

Sausage-Seller

And I, Demos, if it be not true, that I love and cherish you, 770 may I be cooked in a stew; and if that is not saying enough, may I be grated on this table with some cheese and then hashed, may a hook be passed through my balls and let me be dragged thus to the Ceramicus!

Demos

Who are you then? Can you be of the race of Harmodius? Upon my faith, that is nobly done and like a true friend of Demos.

Cleon

Petty flattery to prove him your goodwill!

Sausage-Seller

But you have caught him with even smaller baits!