Aristophanes Birds 723

ed. Eugene O'Neill, Jr.

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Birds. Aristophanes. ed. Eugene O'Neill, Jr.. New York. 1938.

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Current edition Experimental

Birds (OCR draft) (English) (Anonymous translation, 1938 compilation; legacy Perseus source migration. Preserved separately from the revised canonical perseus-eng2 at the project owner's request.)

Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.

Editions (1)
Ὄρνιθες Perseus (Aristophanes. Aristophanis Comoediae, Vol. 1. Hall, F. W. and Geldart, William M., editors. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1906.) — 723 focus
Translations (2)
Birds Perseus (Aristophanes. The Complete Greek Drama, Vol. 2. Anonymous, translator. O'Neill, Eugene; Oates, Whitney Jennings, editors. New York: Random House, 1938 (printing).)

No corresponding passage available

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.) — 723 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

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Line 728

παρὰ ταῖς νεφέλαις ὥσπερ χὠ Ζεύς·
The particle χὠ here functions as a contraction of καὶ ὡς (or καὶ ὡς in some readings, though the text usually reads ὥσπερ... ὡς), creating a comparative 'just as' structure. However, the specific form χὠ is a colloquial contraction of καὶ ὡς (or καὶ ὅς) common in Old Comedy and the Attic dialect of the 5th century BCE, reflecting the rapid, rhythmic speech patterns of the stage. Its presence alongside ὥσπερ ('just as') creates a tautological emphasis ('just as... just as...') that is characteristic of Aristophanic hyperbole, underscoring the ridiculousness of the birds' claim to be superior even to Zeus.

737. mvp-tlg0019-tlg006-sanjaya-com-eng1-39

Line 737

Μοῦσα λοχμαία,
The epithet λοχμαία (lokhmaia), meaning 'hairy' or 'shaggy,' is a rare and deliberately incongruous application to the Muse. It appears to be a comic distortion of the Homeric epithet λωτοφόρος (lotophoros) or a playful reference to the shaggy hair of the satyrs or wild nature, contrasting sharply with the conventional image of the polished, divine Muse. This specific adjective is otherwise unattested in the canon of Greek literature prior to this passage, marking it as a unique Aristophanic coinage designed to evoke the rustic, chaotic energy of the bird-society.