Aristophanes Wasps 496

Wasps. 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)
Σφῆκες Perseus (Aristophanes. Aristophanis Comoediae, Vol. 1. Hall, F. W. and Geldart, William M., editors. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1906.) — 526-728 focus
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.) — 488 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.) — 488 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

496. mvp-tlg0019-tlg004-sanjaya-com-eng1-17

Line 496

ἢν δὲ γήτειον προσαιτῇ ταῖς ἀφύαις ἥδυσμά τι,
The verb προσαιτῇ is an aorist subjunctive of προσαιτέω, here used with a dative of means (ταῖς ἀφύαις) rather than the more common accusative of the thing asked for with a dative of the person. The construction 'προσαιτεῖν τι τινί' (to beg something of someone) is standard, but 'προσαιτεῖν τι τισί' (to beg something *with* something) is rare and reflects the specific imagery of the bees using their stingers (ἀφύαι) as the instrument of their petition. This syntactic choice highlights the grotesque physicality of the bees' mimicry of human legal procedure.