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Χορός

παρθένοι ὀμβροφόροι

ἔλθωμεν λιπαρὰν χθόνα Παλλάδος, εὔανδρον γᾶν
300

Κέκροπος ὀψόμεναι πολυήρατον·

οὗ σέβας ἀρρήτων ἱερῶν, ἵνα

μυστοδόκος δόμος

ἐν τελεταῖς ἁγίαις ἀναδείκνυται,

οὐρανίοις τε θεοῖς δωρήματα,
305

ναοί θʼ ὑψερεφεῖς καὶ ἀγάλματα,

καὶ πρόσοδοι μακάρων ἱερώταται,

εὐστέφανοί τε θεῶν θυσίαι θαλίαι τε,

παντοδαπαῖς ἐν ὥραις,
310

ἦρί τʼ ἐπερχομένῳ Βρομία χάρις,

εὐκελάδων τε χορῶν ἐρεθίσματα,

καὶ μοῦσα βαρύβρομος αὐλῶν.

Clouds. Aristophanes. ed. F. W. Hall, ed. William M. Geldart. Oxford. 1906.

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by The Annenberg CPB/Project.

Current edition Perseus

Νεφέλαι (Greek) (Aristophanes. Aristophanis Comoediae, Vol. 1. Hall, F. W. and Geldart, William M., editors. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1906.)

Translations (2)

Clouds Perseus (Aristophanes. The Comedies of Aristophanes, Vol. I. Hickie, William James, translator. Bohn: London, 1853.) — 298 focus

Chorus.

Ye rain-bringing virgins,

let us come to the fruitful land of Pallas, to view the much-loved country of Cecrops, abounding in brave men; where is reverence for sacred rites not to be divulged; where the house that receives the initiated is thrown open in holy mystic rites;
300

and gifts to the celestial gods; and high-roofed temples, and statues; and most sacred processions in honour of the blessed gods; and well-crowned sacrifices to the gods,
305

and feasts, at all seasons; and with the approach of spring the Bacchic festivity, and the rousings of melodious choruses, and the loud-sounding music of flutes.
310

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.) — 298 focus

Chorus: rain-bearing maidens

Chorus: Let us go to the fertile land of Pallas, the man-nurturing earth.

300

Chorus: to see the most lovely son of Cecrops.

Chorus: Where is the reverence of unspeakable mysteries, that

Chorus: a house that receives the mystic offerings.

Chorus: in holy initiations it is revealed,

Chorus: to the heavenly gods, gifts,

305

Chorus: ten temples reaching high to the sky and statues,

Chorus: And most holy processions of the blessed ones,

Chorus: and the well-crowned sacrifices of the gods and the feasts,

Chorus: at all times,

310

Chorus: And to the approaching spring, grace from Bromia,

Chorus: the provocations of the softly murmuring choruses,

Chorus: and the Muse, thunderous of the pipes.

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

303. mvp-tlg0019-tlg003-sanjaya-com-eng1-20

Line 303

μυστοδόκος δόμος

The compound μυστοδόκος (mystodokos) is a hapax legomenon in Aristophanes, formed from μύστος (unripe grape) and δέχομαι. The phrase refers to the 'unripe-grape receiving house,' a specific architectural feature of the Athenian household where the harvest was stored. Its inclusion here, likely in the context of the Clouds' critique of Socrates or the sophists' rejection of traditional agricultural values, highlights the tension between the new intellectualism and the preservation of the oikos. The term is not merely descriptive but carries the semantic weight of the entire agricultural cycle, which the sophists are accused of undermining.

Aristophanes Clouds 298

ed. F. W. Hall, ed. William M. Geldart

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Commentary

Line 303

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