Aristophanes Wasps 897

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.) — 891-1008b 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.) — 903 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.) — 903 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

897. mvp-tlg0019-tlg004-sanjaya-com-eng1-46

Line 897

τὸν Σικελικόν. τίμημα κλῳὸς σύκινος.
The phrase κλῳὸς σύκινος (a fig-tree's fleece) is a strikingly rare and ironic metaphor. The adjective σύκινος (from σύκον, 'fig') modifies κλῶν (fleece/wool) to denote a garment woven from the fibers of the fig tree, which was a known, albeit archaic or rustic, material in Greek tradition, often associated with the earliest, pre-wool clothing of heroes or a rustic simplicity. Here, it serves as a hyperbolic, mock-serious valuation of the Sicilian war's cost, reducing a massive military expenditure to the value of a humble, perhaps mythical, garment, highlighting the absurdity of the Chorus's (and the play's) obsession with petty financial details in the face of imperial overreach.