Aristophanes Knights 815

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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.) — 824 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.) — 824 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.) — 824 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

815. mvp-tlg0019-tlg002-sanjaya-com-eng1-54

Line 815

καὶ πρὸς τούτοις ἀριστώσῃ τὸν Πειραιᾶ προσέμαξεν,
The verb προσέμαξεν (aorist of προσμάσσω) is a rare hapax legomenon in this specific form within the extant corpus of Aristophanes. While the root μάσσω (to smear) is common, the compound προσμάσσω, meaning 'to smear upon' or 'to besmirch,' is employed here with a specific rhetorical force: it depicts the Paphlagon (the slave) as literally coating the Piraeus with his slanders or corruption. This usage transforms a physical action into a metaphor for the overwhelming nature of his political attacks, a technique characteristic of Aristophanic hyperbole where abstract political influence is rendered as a visceral, material substance.