Aristophanes Wasps 1518

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Wasps. Aristophanes. . 2026-09-08.

Current edition Experimental

English (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.

Translations (1)
Wasps (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Anonymous; 1938 compilation). Migrated from Perseus legacy XML; source wording and notes retained. See TEI header and migration inventory.) — 1518 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

1521. mvp-tlg0019-tlg004-sanjaya-com-eng1-91

Line 1521

καὶ θῖνʼ ἁλὸς ἀτρυγέτου,
The phrase ἀτρυγέτου (genitive singular of ἀτρυγέτος) is a hapax legomenon in the surviving corpus of Aristophanes and a rare poetic adjective elsewhere, literally meaning 'unharvested' or 'unreaped.' Here it functions as a substantive metaphor for the sea, characterizing it as a field that yields no crops. This oxymoronic usage relies on the metaphorical equation of the sea with a fertile plain (a common motif in the play's depiction of the jury's insatiable appetite), but the specific formation and application to the sea in this context are unique enough to warrant noting its lexical singularity and the specific metaphorical logic it employs within the parabasis.