Aristophanes Birds 1224

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

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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.) — 1224 focus
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.) — 1224 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.) — 1224 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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οἷς θυτέον αὐτούς, ἀλλὰ μὰ Δίʼ οὐ τῷ Διί.
The sentence presents a deliberate pun (paronomasia) on the word Δίʼ (Zeus) and Διί (Zeus), exploiting the distinction between the accusative plural αὐτούς (them) and the dative singular Διί (to Zeus). The speaker, likely a bird in the play, argues that the birds should be sacrificed to (as victims), not *to* Zeus (as the recipient of sacrifice), playing on the ambiguity of the preposition ἀλλά and the context of ritual. This is a classic example of Aristophanic wordplay that hinges on the grammatical case of the divine name.

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μέλαθρα μὲν αὐτοῦ καὶ δόμους Ἀμφίονος
The phrase 'μέλαθρα μὲν αὐτοῦ καὶ δόμους Ἀμφίονος' alludes to the legendary Theban king Amphion, who, according to myth, built the walls of Thebes with the magic of his lyre. Here, Aristophanes uses the plural 'μέλαθρα' (mansions/palaces) and 'δόμους' (dwellings) to ironically suggest that the birds are constructing their new city, Cloudcuckooland, with the same effortless, musical prowess as Amphion, contrasting the grandeur of the myth with the absurdity of the bird city's location and nature. This is a deliberate literary allusion (Commentary type 7) that relies on the audience's familiarity with the Amphion myth to underscore the comic inversion of heroic construction.

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καταιθαλώσω πυρφόροισιν αἰετοῖς;
The verb καταιθαλώσω is a unique compound form found only here in Aristophanes. It combines the preverb κατά (down) with the root of αἰθαλόω (to smoke or make black), creating a vivid, coined meaning: 'I will blacken with smoke' or 'I will engulf in smoke.' While αἰθαλώ is attested, the specific compound καταιθαλώ is a rare example of Aristophanic wordplay, likely invented for the comic effect of describing the birds' strategy to smother the fire-bearing eagles.