Aristophanes Clouds 1180

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Clouds. 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)
Νεφέλαι Perseus (Aristophanes. Aristophanis Comoediae, Vol. 1. Hall, F. W. and Geldart, William M., editors. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1906.) — 1131-1302 focus
Translations (2)
Clouds Perseus (Aristophanes. The Comedies of Aristophanes, Vol. I. Hickie, William James, translator. Bohn: London, 1853.) — 1170 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.) — 1170 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

1180. mvp-tlg0019-tlg003-sanjaya-com-eng1-85

Line 1180

εἰς ἥν γε θήσειν τὰ πρυτανεῖά φασί μοι.
The construction ἥν γε θήσειν represents a striking example of the 'future infinitive of the passive' (or more accurately here, a future infinitive in the accusative case functioning as the subject of the infinitive clause) used in a relative clause dependent on an implied verb of motion or direction ('into which they say they will place...'). However, the specific syntactic oddity lies in the use of the future infinitive θήσειν (from τίθημι) with the article ἥν (accusative feminine singular of ὅς) functioning as the object of the preposition εἰς, yet appearing in a position where one might expect a finite verb or a different infinitive construction. This usage is rare in Aristophanes and likely reflects a deliberate comic distortion of high-style oracular or legalistic Greek, where the future infinitive is used to express a future action that is the object of the main verb's assertion (φασί). The particle γε adds a tone of emphasis or concession, typical of the comic exaggeration of the Sophists' pretensions to precision. The phrase essentially means 'into which, they say, they will place the prytaneia,' but the syntactic arrangement mimics the convoluted, often nonsensical legal or philosophical jargon that Aristophanes parodies in the Clouds.