Aristophanes Wasps 1292

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

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Wasps. 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

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

Translations (2)
Wasps (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Anonymous; 1938 compilation). Migrated from Perseus legacy XML; source wording and notes retained. See TEI header and migration inventory.) — 1292 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.) — 1292 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 1293

καὶ τρὶς μακάριαι τοῦ ʼπὶ ταῖς πλευραῖς τέγους.
The phrase 'Ἐπὶ ταῖς πλευραῖς' (on the sides) is a technical architectural term referring to the lateral walls of a house, specifically the walls supporting the roof tiles (τέγους). In the context of the play, the chorus of wasps, who have been trained to act as jurors, ironically applies the language of domestic architecture to their own 'nest' (the jury court), highlighting the comic conflation of the wasps' hive and the Athenian law courts. The genitive 'τέγους' is a partitive genitive dependent on the implied 'οἰκίας' (house) or 'οἴκου' understood from the context of the 'sides' being the walls of a roofed structure.

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ὡς εὖ κατηρέψασθε καὶ νουβυστικῶς
The adverb νουβυστικῶς is a hapax legomenon derived from νουβύσσις (or νουβύσσω), a term of uncertain etymology but clearly carrying the sense of 'slyly,' 'cunningly,' or 'with a sly wink.' In this context, the character Bdelycleon uses it to sarcastically praise his father's ability to 'dig' (κατηρέψασθε) into the affairs of the jury, implying that the old man has mastered the art of the 'sly dig' or 'cunning probing' characteristic of a professional informer or a shrewd litigant. The word is a comic coinage, likely reflecting the specific jargon of the courtroom or the street, and its rarity makes it a prime example of Aristophanic neologism.

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Line 1307

κἄτυπτεν ἐμὲ νεανικῶς παῖ παῖ καλῶν.
The adverb νεανικῶς ('youthfully') is a rare hapax legomenon in Aristophanes, occurring only here. While the standard adjective νεανικός is common, the adverbial form is unusual in this context of physical violence. The term likely carries a specific connotation beyond mere 'youthful energy,' possibly implying the reckless, unreflective, or perhaps even 'inexperienced' manner of the beating, contrasting with the calculated violence of an adult or the specific aggression of the 'dog' in the play's metaphors. The repetition of παῖ ('boy') as a vocative intensifier, combined with the adverb, creates a complex characterization of the aggressor as both a youthful peer and a figure of specific, perhaps mocking, aggression.