Aristophanes Clouds 911b

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.) — 889-1104 focus
Translations (2)
Clouds Perseus (Aristophanes. The Comedies of Aristophanes, Vol. I. Hickie, William James, translator. Bohn: London, 1853.) — 920 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.) — 920 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

911b. mvp-tlg0019-tlg003-sanjaya-com-eng1-63

Line 911b

καὶ πατραλοίας.
The term πατραλοίας (patraloias) is a hapax legomenon in the surviving corpus of Aristophanes, appearing only here in Clouds (line 1027). Derived from πατήρ (father) and ἄλοχος (wife/mistress), it denotes a specific type of parricide or the act of killing one's father, often with the connotation of a son usurping the father's authority or position. In the context of the play, where the Unjust Argument is corrupting the young Strepsiades, this word functions as a concise, shocking label for the ultimate moral inversion being taught: the son's rebellion against the patriarchal order. Its rarity and the compound's structure warrant noting that it encapsulates the play's central anxiety about the breakdown of traditional family hierarchy under the influence of sophistry.