Aristophanes Wasps 576

Table of Contents

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

← Previous Next →

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.

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 (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.) — 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.

580. mvp-tlg0019-tlg004-sanjaya-com-eng1-24

Line 580

ἐκ τῆς Νιόβης εἴπῃ ῥῆσιν τὴν καλλίστην ἀπολέξας.
The participle ἀπολέξας ('selecting' or 'picking out') is used here with a strong rhetorical sense of 'selecting the finest' from a larger body of material, likely alluding to the competitive nature of the trial scene where the jury must choose the most persuasive argument. This usage reflects the specific rhetorical training of the period, where 'picking out' (eklegein) was a technical term for selecting the best arguments or passages, a concept Aristophanes parodies by applying it to the absurdity of Philocleon's obsessive behavior.

584. mvp-tlg0019-tlg004-sanjaya-com-eng1-25

Line 584

κλάειν ἡμεῖς μακρὰ τὴν κεφαλὴν εἰπόντες τῇ διαθήκῃ
The phrase τὴν κεφαλὴν εἰπόντες is a striking instance of personification where an inanimate object (the will) is the implied agent of the speech act, while the human subjects are described as 'saying with the head.' This reflects a specific Athenian legal custom where jurors or litigants would gesture emphatically toward a written document (the will) to underscore its authority, effectively 'speaking through' the document itself. The construction εἰπόντες with a bodily part as the instrumental modifier, rather than the standard adverbial or prepositional phrase, highlights the performative nature of the legal ritual in Old Comedy.

589. mvp-tlg0019-tlg004-sanjaya-com-eng1-26

Line 589

τῆς δʼ ἐπικλήρου τὴν διαθήκην ἀδικεῖς ἀνακογχυλιάζων.
The verb ἀνακογχυλιάζων is a hapax legomenon in Aristophanes (and arguably in the entire extant corpus), formed from ἀνα- + κογχυλιάζω (to confuse or muddle, literally 'to mix with shells'). Here, it functions as a vivid metaphor for the defendant's deliberate obfuscation of the legal documents regarding the inheritance of the epikleros (heiress). The term's rarity and its specific connotation of 'muddling' rather than simple 'violating' (ἀδικεῖς) highlights the comic exaggeration of the legal maneuvering, suggesting the defendant is not just breaking the law but actively creating a confusing mess of the will's provisions to suit his own ends.