Aristophanes Clouds 658

William James Hickie (Translator)

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Clouds. Aristophanes. William James Hickie (Translator). London. 1853.

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by The Annenberg CPB/Project.

Current edition Perseus

Clouds (English) (Aristophanes. The Comedies of Aristophanes, Vol. I. Hickie, William James, translator. Bohn: London, 1853.)

Editions (1)
Νεφέλαι Perseus (Aristophanes. Aristophanis Comoediae, Vol. 1. Hall, F. W. and Geldart, William M., editors. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1906.) — 627-888a focus
Translations (1)
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.) — 658 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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Line 669

διαλφιτώσω σου κύκλῳ τὴν κάρδοπον.
The verb διαλφιτώσω (future of διαλφιτόω) is a hapax legomenon in Aristophanes, formed from the noun ἀλφιτῶν (barley-meal) with the prefix δια- implying a distribution or scattering. The construction 'I will scatter barley-meal around you' serves as a specific threat of ritual exclusion or pollution, where the scattering of grain was associated with both purification rites and, in a comic context, the humiliation of the victim by treating them as an object of a ritual rather than a person. The use of the dative κύκλῳ (around) with the accusative κάρδοπον (a type of cake or bread, here likely a specific term for a coarse or ritually significant cake) highlights the physical action intended to isolate the addressee within a circle of grain.

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Line 674

ταὐτὸν δύναταί σοι κάρδοπος Κλεωνύμῳ.
The dative Κλεωνύμῳ is not merely a standard indirect object but a dative of disadvantage (dativus incommodi), emphasizing the specific, ironic harm inflicted upon the notoriously spendthrift Cleonymus. The verb δύναταί (from δύναμαι) here takes a dative of the person affected rather than the more common dative of advantage or simple agentive dative, highlighting the active capacity of the 'chaff' to cause him ruin. This construction underscores the satirical point that his financial ruin is not a passive occurrence but an active force uniquely suited to his character.

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Line 680

ἐκεῖνο δʼ ἦν ἄν, καρδόπη, Κλεωνύμη.
The vocative 'κάρδοπη' is a rare, dialectal form of the common noun κάρδοπος ('cardoon'), here used as a term of abuse or a specific epithet for Cleonymus, whose cowardice (reflected in the historical tradition of his throwing away his shield) is being mocked. The use of the plant name as a personal address in comedy is a distinct rhetorical device, likely alluding to the plant's prickly nature or perhaps its commonality, contrasting with the gravity of the situation.