Aristophanes Wasps 687

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.) — 729-759 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.) — 696 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.) — 696 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

687. mvp-tlg0019-tlg004-sanjaya-com-eng1-33

Line 687

ὅταν εἰσελθὸν μειράκιόν σοι κατάπυγον, Χαιρέου υἱός,
The phrase μειράκιόν σοι κατάπυγον is a rare and vivid example of a 'dative of reference' or 'dative of interest' combined with a compound adjective that literally means 'butt-wearing' or 'having a prominent posterior.' While μειράκιον (youth) is standard, the compound κατάπυγος is exceptionally rare in extant comedy outside of this passage and its immediate scholia, functioning here as a specific insult implying effeminacy or a specific physical type associated with the 'eromenos' (beloved) in pederastic contexts, rather than merely describing a fat youth. The syntax places the dative σοι (to you) between the noun and its modifier, a hypermetric or emphatic arrangement typical of Aristophanic wordplay, where the physical description 'κατάπυγον' serves as a punchline to the legalistic setup of 'Χαιρέου υἱός' (son of Chaereus).