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Χορός

καὶ μὴν ἡμεῖς ἐπὶ ταῖς σπονδαῖς

καὶ ταῖς εὐχαῖς

φήμην ἀγαθὴν λέξομεν ὑμῖν,
865

ὅτι γενναίως ἐκ τοῦ πολέμου

καὶ τοῦ νείκους ξυνεβήτην.

868

Βδελυκλέων

εὐφημία μὲν πρῶτα νῦν ὑπαρχέτω.

Χορός

ὦ Φοῖβʼ Ἄπολλον Πύθιʼ ἐπʼ ἀγαθῇ τύχῃ

τὸ πρᾶγμʼ ὃ μηχανᾶται
870

ἔμπροσθεν οὗτος τῶν θυρῶν,

ἅπασιν ἡμῖν ἁρμόσαι

παυσαμένοις πλάνων.

ἰήιε Παιάν.

875

Βδελυκλέων

ὦ δέσποτʼ ἄναξ γεῖτον ἀγυιεῦ προθύρου προπύλαιε,
875

δέξαι τελετὴν καινὴν ὦναξ, ἣν τῷ πατρὶ καινοτομοῦμεν,

παῦσόν τʼ αὐτοῦ τοῦτο τὸ λίαν στρυφνὸν καὶ πρίνινον ἦθος,

ἀντὶ σιραίου μέλιτος μικρὸν τῷ θυμιδίῳ παραμείξας·

ἤδη δʼ εἶναι τοῖς ἀνθρώποις

ἤπιον αὐτόν,

τοὺς φεύγοντάς τʼ ἐλεεῖν μᾶλλον
880

τῶν γραψαμένων

κἀπιδακρύειν ἀντιβολούντων,

καὶ παυσάμενον τῆς δυσκολίας

ἀπὸ τῆς ὀργῆς

τὴν ἀκαλήφην ἀφελέσθαι.

885

Χορός

ξυνευχόμεσθα ταὐτά σοι κἀπᾴδομεν
885

νέαισιν ἀρχαῖς ἕνεκα τῶν προλελεγμένων.

εὖνοι γάρ ἐσμεν ἐξ οὗ

τὸν δῆμον ᾐσθόμεσθά σου

φιλοῦντος ὡς οὐδεὶς ἀνὴρ

τῶν γε νεωτέρων.
890

ἰήιε Παιάν.

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.) — 863 focus

Leader of the Chorus

Offer them libations and 865 your vows and we will thank them that a noble agreement has put an end to your bickerings and strife.

Bdelycleon

And first let there be a sacred silence.

Chorus

Oh! god of Delphi ! oh! Phoebus Apollo! convert into the greatest blessing for us all 870 what is now happening before this house, and cure us of our error, oh, Paean, our helper!

Bdelycleon
solemnly

875 Oh! Powerful god, Apollo Aguieus, who watchest at the door of my entrance hall, accept this fresh sacrifice; I offer it that you may deign to soften my father's excessive severity; he is as hard as iron, his heart is like sour wine; do thou pour into it a little honey. Let him become gentle toward other men, 880 let him take more interest in the accused than in the accusers, may he allow himself to be softened by entreaties; calm his acrid humour and deprive his irritable mind of all sting.

Chorus

885 We unite our vows and chants to those of this new magistrate. His words have won our favour and we are convinced that he loves the people more than any of 890 the young men of the present day.

Xanthias brings in two persons costumed as dogs, but with masks that suggest Laches and Cleon.

Bdelycleon

If there be any judge near at hand, let him enter; once the proceedings have opened, we shall admit him no more.

Philocleon

Who is the defendant?

Bdelycleon

This one.

Philocleon
aside

He does not stand a chance.

Bdelycleon

Listen to the indictment. 895 A dog of Cydathenaea doth hereby charge Labes of Aexonia with having devoured a Sicilian cheese by himself without accomplices. Penalty demanded, a collar of fig-tree wood.

Philocleon

Nay, a dog's death, if convicted.

Bdelycleon

This is Labes, the defendant.

Philocleon

900 Oh! what a wretched brute! how entirely he looks the rogue! He thinks to deceive me by keeping his jaws closed. Where is the plaintiff, the dog of Cydathenaea?

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.) — 863 focus

Chorus: And indeed, we are upon the libations

Chorus: and with the prayers

Chorus: We will tell you a good report,

865

Chorus: because they bravely came from the war

Chorus: And they were partners in the quarrel.

Bdelycleon: Let there be silence first of all now.

Chorus: O Phoebus Apollo Pythian, with good fortune

Chorus: the thing which he is contriving

870

Chorus: This man is in front of the doors,

Chorus: to fit for all of us

Chorus: To those who have ceased wandering.

Chorus: Iēiē Paian.

Bdelycléon: Oh master, lord, neighbor, Agylieus, door-keeper of the forecourt,

875

Bdelycleon: Receive a new initiation, O lord, which we are inventing for your father,

Bdeluclēon: stop this excessively sour and uncouth character of his,

Bdelycleon: having mixed a little with the incense instead of the slave's honey.

Bdelucléon: It is already time for the men

Bdelucléon: "Gentle him,"

Bdelycleon: to pity those who are fleeing all the more

880

Bdelycles: of those who were convicted

Bdelucléon: 'and they beg to be wept for too,'

Bdelucleon: "and having ceased from the difficulty"

Bdelycleon: from the anger

Bdelucléon: to take the nettle away.

Chorus: We pray together for the same things as you and we sing too.

885

Chorus: on account of the new beginnings because of the things previously said.

Chorus: For we have been well-disposed since.

Chorus: We have perceived your people.

Chorus: loving as no man [loves]

Chorus: of the younger ones.

890

Chorus: iē, Paean.

Bdelucleon: If any juror is at the doors, let him come in;

Bdelucleon: as often as they say, we will not be sealed.

Philocleon: Who is the one fleeing?

Bdelycleon: this one.

Philocleon: As much as he will be caught.

Bdelycléon: listen now to the indictment. He was indicted.

Bdelucleon: A Cynic of the Kydathenaion district, take the dog Aison.

895

Bdelyclēon: 'He is wronging the cheese because he alone ate it.'

Bdelucleon: the Sicilian one. The price is a fig-syrup goat.

Philocleon: Death, then, is canine, once it is caught.

Bdelycleon: And indeed this fugitive here, Labes, is coming.

Philocleon: O this filthy fellow! How he looks even while stealing,

900

Philocleon: He thinks that, having been bribed, he will deceive me.

Philocleon: Where is the pursuer, the Cynic dog?

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

884. mvp-tlg0019-tlg004-sanjaya-com-eng1-44

Line 884

τὴν ἀκαλήφην ἀφελέσθαι.

The noun ἀκαλήφη (stinging nettle) is used here as a metaphor for the aggressive, stinging nature of the litigious citizenry (the 'wasps') or, more specifically, the malicious lawsuits brought against the elderly. The choice of this specific plant, rather than a generic term for harm, relies on its characteristic stinging hairs and the sudden pain it inflicts, mirroring the experience of being dragged into court by a pro-demos rhetorician. While the plant is common, its metaphorical application to legal harassment in Old Comedy is a specific rhetorical device of Aristophanes, contrasting the organic, natural sting with the artificial, man-made sting of the law.

Aristophanes Wasps 863-890a

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

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Χορός

καὶ μὴν ἡμεῖς ἐπὶ ταῖς σπονδαῖς

καὶ ταῖς εὐχαῖς

φήμην ἀγαθὴν λέξομεν ὑμῖν,
865

ὅτι γενναίως ἐκ τοῦ πολέμου

καὶ τοῦ νείκους ξυνεβήτην.

Βδελυκλέων

εὐφημία μὲν πρῶτα νῦν ὑπαρχέτω.

Χορός

ὦ Φοῖβʼ Ἄπολλον Πύθιʼ ἐπʼ ἀγαθῇ τύχῃ

τὸ πρᾶγμʼ ὃ μηχανᾶται
870

ἔμπροσθεν οὗτος τῶν θυρῶν,

ἅπασιν ἡμῖν ἁρμόσαι

παυσαμένοις πλάνων.

ἰήιε Παιάν.

Current edition Perseus

Leader of the Chorus

Offer them libations and 865 your vows and we will thank them that a noble agreement has put an end to your bickerings and strife.

Bdelycleon

And first let there be a sacred silence.

Chorus

Oh! god of Delphi ! oh! Phoebus Apollo! convert into the greatest blessing for us all 870 what is now happening before this house, and cure us of our error, oh, Paean, our helper!

Chorus

885 We unite our vows and chants to those of this new magistrate. His words have won our favour and we are convinced that he loves the people more than any of 890 the young men of the present day.

Bdelycleon

If there be any judge near at hand, let him enter; once the proceedings have opened, we shall admit him no more.

Philocleon

Who is the defendant?

Bdelycleon

This one.

Philocleon
aside

He does not stand a chance.

Bdelycleon

Listen to the indictment. 895 A dog of Cydathenaea doth hereby charge Labes of Aexonia with having devoured a Sicilian cheese by himself without accomplices. Penalty demanded, a collar of fig-tree wood.

Philocleon

Nay, a dog's death, if convicted.

Bdelycleon

This is Labes, the defendant.

Philocleon

900 Oh! what a wretched brute! how entirely he looks the rogue! He thinks to deceive me by keeping his jaws closed. Where is the plaintiff, the dog of Cydathenaea?

Commentary

Line 884

Stable identifiers

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Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Χορός καὶ μὴν ἡμεῖς ἐπὶ ταῖς σπονδαῖς καὶ ταῖς εὐχαῖς φήμην ἀγαθὴν λέξομεν ὑμῖν, 865 ὅτι γενναίως ἐκ τοῦ πολέμου καὶ τοῦ νείκους ξυνεβήτην.

Βδελυκλέων εὐφημία μὲν πρῶτα νῦν ὑπαρχέτω.

Χορός ὦ Φοῖβʼ Ἄπολλον Πύθιʼ ἐπʼ ἀγαθῇ τύχῃ τὸ πρᾶγμʼ ὃ μηχανᾶται 870 ἔμπροσθεν οὗτος τῶν θυρῶν, ἅπασιν ἡμῖν ἁρμόσαι παυσαμένοις πλάνων. ἰήιε Παιάν.

Current edition Perseus

Leader of the Chorus Offer them libations and 865 your vows and we will thank them that a noble agreement has put an end to your bickerings and strife.

Bdelycleon And first let there be a sacred silence.

Chorus Oh! god of Delphi ! oh! Phoebus Apollo! convert into the greatest blessing for us all 870 what is now happening before this house, and cure us of our error, oh, Paean, our helper!

Chorus 885 We unite our vows and chants to those of this new magistrate. His words have won our favour and we are convinced that he loves the people more than any of 890 the young men of the present day.

Bdelycleon If there be any judge near at hand, let him enter; once the proceedings have opened, we shall admit him no more.

Philocleon Who is the defendant?

Bdelycleon This one.

Philocleon aside He does not stand a chance.

Bdelycleon Listen to the indictment. 895 A dog of Cydathenaea doth hereby charge Labes of Aexonia with having devoured a Sicilian cheese by himself without accomplices. Penalty demanded, a collar of fig-tree wood.

Philocleon Nay, a dog's death, if convicted.

Bdelycleon This is Labes, the defendant.

Philocleon 900 Oh! what a wretched brute! how entirely he looks the rogue! He thinks to deceive me by keeping his jaws closed. Where is the plaintiff, the dog of Cydathenaea?

Commentary

Line 884

Stable identifiers

Χορός

καὶ μὴν ἡμεῖς ἐπὶ ταῖς σπονδαῖς

καὶ ταῖς εὐχαῖς

φήμην ἀγαθὴν λέξομεν ὑμῖν,
865

ὅτι γενναίως ἐκ τοῦ πολέμου

καὶ τοῦ νείκους ξυνεβήτην.

Βδελυκλέων

εὐφημία μὲν πρῶτα νῦν ὑπαρχέτω.

Χορός

ὦ Φοῖβʼ Ἄπολλον Πύθιʼ ἐπʼ ἀγαθῇ τύχῃ

τὸ πρᾶγμʼ ὃ μηχανᾶται
870

ἔμπροσθεν οὗτος τῶν θυρῶν,

ἅπασιν ἡμῖν ἁρμόσαι

παυσαμένοις πλάνων.

ἰήιε Παιάν.

Leader of the Chorus

Offer them libations and 865 your vows and we will thank them that a noble agreement has put an end to your bickerings and strife.

Bdelycleon

And first let there be a sacred silence.

Chorus

Oh! god of Delphi ! oh! Phoebus Apollo! convert into the greatest blessing for us all 870 what is now happening before this house, and cure us of our error, oh, Paean, our helper!

Chorus

885 We unite our vows and chants to those of this new magistrate. His words have won our favour and we are convinced that he loves the people more than any of 890 the young men of the present day.

Bdelycleon

If there be any judge near at hand, let him enter; once the proceedings have opened, we shall admit him no more.

Philocleon

Who is the defendant?

Bdelycleon

This one.

Philocleon
aside

He does not stand a chance.

Bdelycleon

Listen to the indictment. 895 A dog of Cydathenaea doth hereby charge Labes of Aexonia with having devoured a Sicilian cheese by himself without accomplices. Penalty demanded, a collar of fig-tree wood.

Philocleon

Nay, a dog's death, if convicted.

Bdelycleon

This is Labes, the defendant.

Philocleon

900 Oh! what a wretched brute! how entirely he looks the rogue! He thinks to deceive me by keeping his jaws closed. Where is the plaintiff, the dog of Cydathenaea?