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Leader of Second Semi-Chorus

I want now to speak to the judges about the prize they are going to award; if they are favourable to us, we will load them with benefits far greater than those Paris received.

Firstly, the owls of Laurium , which every judge desires above all things, shall never be wanting to you; you shall see them homing with you, building their nests in your money-bags and laying coins. Besides, you shall be housed like the gods,
1105

for we shall erect gables over your dwellings; if you hold some public post and want to do a little pilfering, we will give you the sharp claws of a hawk. Are you dining in town, we will provide you with stomachs as capacious as a bird's crop. But, if your award is against us, don't fail to have metal covers fashioned for yourselves,
1110

like those they place over statues; else, look out! for the day you wear a white tunic all the birds will soil it with their droppings.
1115

Birds. Aristophanes. Anonymous (Translator), ed. Eugene O'Neill, Jr., ed. Whitney J. Oates, ed. Eugene O'Neill, Jr.. New York. 1938.

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by The Annenberg CPB/Project.

Current edition Perseus

Birds (English) (Aristophanes. The Complete Greek Drama, Vol. 2. Anonymous, translator. O'Neill, Eugene; Oates, Whitney Jennings, editors. New York: Random House, 1938 (printing).)

Editions (1)

Ὄρνιθες Perseus (Aristophanes. Aristophanis Comoediae, Vol. 1. Hall, F. W. and Geldart, William M., editors. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1906.) — 1102 focus

Χορός

τοῖς κριταῖς εἰπεῖν τι βουλόμεσθα τῆς νίκης πέρι,

ὅσʼ ἀγάθʼ, ἢν κρίνωσιν ἡμᾶς, πᾶσιν αὐτοῖς δώσομεν,

ὥστε κρείττω δῶρα πολλῷ τῶν Ἀλεξάνδρου λαβεῖν.

πρῶτα μὲν γὰρ οὗ μάλιστα πᾶς κριτὴς ἐφίεται,
1105

γλαῦκες ὑμᾶς οὔποτʼ ἐπιλείψουσι Λαυρειωτικαί·

ἀλλʼ ἐνοικήσουσιν ἔνδον, ἔν τε τοῖς βαλλαντίοις

ἐννεοττεύσουσι κἀκλέψουσι μικρὰ κέρματα.

εἶτα πρὸς τούτοισιν ὥσπερ ἐν ἱεροῖς οἰκήσετε·

τὰς γὰρ ὑμῶν οἰκίας ἐρέψομεν πρὸς αἰετόν·
1110

κἂν λαχόντες ἀρχίδιον εἶθʼ ἁρπάσαι βούλησθέ τι,

ὀξὺν ἱερακίσκον ἐς τὰς χεῖρας ὑμῖν δώσομεν.

ἢν δέ που δειπνῆτε, πρηγορεῶνας ὑμῖν πέμψομεν.

ἢν δὲ μὴ κρίνητε, χαλκεύεσθε μηνίσκους φορεῖν

ὥσπερ ἀνδριάντες· ὡς ὑμῶν ὃς ἂν μὴ μῆνʼ ἔχῃ,
1115

ὅταν ἔχητε χλανίδα λευκήν, τότε μάλισθʼ οὕτω δίκην

δώσεθʼ ἡμῖν, πᾶσι τοῖς ὄρνισι κατατιλώμενοι.

Translations (2)

Birds (OCR draft) Experimental (Anonymous translation, 1938 compilation; legacy Perseus source migration. Preserved separately from the revised canonical perseus-eng2 at the project owner's request.) — 1102 focus

Leader of Second Semi-Chorus

I want now to speak to the judges about the prize they are going to award; if they are favourable to us, we will load them with benefits far greater than those Paris received. 1105 Firstly, the owls of Laurium , which every judge desires above all things, shall never be wanting to you; you shall see them homing with you, building their nests in your money-bags and laying coins. Besides, you shall be housed like the gods, 1110 for we shall erect gables over your dwellings; if you hold some public post and want to do a little pilfering, we will give you the sharp claws of a hawk. Are you dining in town, we will provide you with stomachs as capacious as a bird's crop. But, if your award is against us, don't fail to have metal covers fashioned for yourselves, 1115 like those they place over statues; else, look out! for the day you wear a white tunic all the birds will soil it with their droppings.

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.) — 1102 focus

Chorus: We wish to say something to the judges concerning the victory,

Chorus: All the good things that they may judge us to be, we will give to all of them,

Chorus: so as to receive greater gifts than those of Alexander by far.

Chorus: For first of all, no judge is especially eager for it,

1105

Chorus: The Attic owls will never abandon you;

Chorus: But they will dwell inside, and in the purses.

Chorus: they will be nine years old and they will steal small coins.

Chorus: And then, in addition to this, you will live as in sacred places;

Chorus: For we will plaster your houses against an eagle;

1110

Chorus: And if you should draw lots for a small office, then would you wish to seize it?

Chorus: We will give you a sharp little hawk into your hands.

Chorus: But if you ever dine, we will send you heralds.

Chorus: If you do not judge, you will be forged to wear crescent-moons.

Chorus: like statues; as long as anyone among you does not hold a grudge,

1115

Chorus: When you have a white cloak, then especially thus you will have justice.

Chorus: give it to us, all of you birds, while you pay the levy.

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

1106. mvp-tlg0019-tlg006-sanjaya-com-eng1-71

Line 1106

γλαῦκες ὑμᾶς οὔποτʼ ἐπιλείψουσι Λαυρειωτικαί·

The adjective Λαυρειωτικαί (from Λαυρεωτικός) specifies the origin of the owls as the silver mines of Laurion. In the context of Aristophanic comedy, this is a specific satirical allusion: the Athenian owl (the coin) was the standard currency, and the 'Laurian owls' represent the wealth derived from the mines, which the chorus of birds promises to preserve or perhaps implies a threat of economic dominance by their new avian city. The term is a technical geographical designation for the mining district, distinct from the generic 'Athenian' owl, grounding the metaphor in the specific economic geography of late 5th-century Athens.

Aristophanes Birds 1102

Anonymous (Translator), ed. Eugene O'Neill, Jr., ed. Whitney J. Oates, ed. Eugene O'Neill, Jr.

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Line 1106

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