Aristophanes Wasps 576

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.) — 576 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.) — 576 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

576. mvp-tlg0019-tlg004-sanjaya-com-eng1-23

Line 576

δεύτερον αὖ σου τουτὶ γράφομαι, τὴν τοῦ πλούτου καταχήνην·
The verb καταχήνην (katakḗnēn) is a hapax legomenon in this form, derived from the rare noun χήνη (goose) with the intensive prefix κατα-. Here it functions as a substantive metaphor for 'the goose of wealth' or 'the fattening of wealth,' a comic neologism unique to this passage where the chorus of wasps, acting as a jury, equates their judicial activity with fattening themselves on the spoils of the wealthy. The term relies on the audience's familiarity with the association of geese with gluttony and the specific Athenian context of 'fattening' the state or oneself through public funds, a metaphor Aristophanes extends to the jury's exploitation of the city's treasury.