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Second Semi-Chorus
Singing.

So the swans on the banks of the Hebrus ,

tiotiotiotiotiotinx, mingle their voices to serenade Apollo, tiotiotiotinx, flapping their wings the while,
770

tiotiotiotinx; their notes reach beyond the clouds of heaven; they startle the various tribes of the beasts; a windless sky calms the waves, totototototototototinx;
775

all Olympus resounds, and astonishment seizes its rulers; the Olympian graces and Muses cry aloud the strain, tiotiotiotinx.
780

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.) — 769 focus

Χορός

τοιάδε κύκνοι,

τιὸ τιὸ τιὰ τιὸ τιὸ τιοτίγξ,
770

συμμιγῆ βοὴν ὁμοῦ

πτεροῖς κρέκοντες ἴακχον Ἀπόλλω,

τιὸ τιὸ τιὸ τιοτίγξ,

ὄχθῳ ἐφεζόμενοι παρʼ Ἕβρον ποταμόν,

τιὸ τιὸ τιὸ τιοτίγξ,
775

διὰ δʼ αἰθέριον νέφος ἦλθε βοά·

πτῆξε δὲ φῦλά τε ποικίλα θηρῶν,

κύματά τʼ ἔσβεσε νήνεμος αἴθρη,

τοτοτοτοτοτοτοτοτοτίγξ·

πᾶς δʼ ἐπεκτύπησʼ Ὄλυμπος·
780

εἷλε δὲ θάμβος ἄνακτας· Ὀλυμπιάδες δὲ μέλος Χάριτες

Μοῦσαί τʼ ἐπωλόλυξαν.

τιὸ τιὸ τιὸ τιοτίγξ.

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.) — 769 focus

Second Semi-Chorus
Singing.

So the swans on the banks of the Hebrus , 770 tiotiotiotiotiotinx, mingle their voices to serenade Apollo, tiotiotiotinx, flapping their wings the while, 775 tiotiotiotinx; their notes reach beyond the clouds of heaven; they startle the various tribes of the beasts; a windless sky calms the waves, totototototototototinx; 780 all Olympus resounds, and astonishment seizes its rulers; the Olympian graces and Muses cry aloud the strain, tiotiotiotinx.

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.) — 769 focus

Chorus: Such things, swans,

Chorus: tiò tiò tià tiò tiò tiotíngx,

770

Chorus: a mixed clamor together

Chorus: shaking the Bacchic cry of Apollo with wings,

Chorus: tiô tiô tiô tiotigx,

Chorus: sitting on the bank by the river Hebrus,

Chorus: tiō tiō tiō tiotíngx,

775

Chorus: For through an ethereal cloud came a shout;

Chorus: Fly away, then, the diverse tribes of beasts,

Chorus: and a windless sky extinguished the waves,

Chorus: totototototototototigx.

Chorus: and the whole of Olympus has been struck!

780

Chorus: and awe seized the rulers; and the Olympian Graces sang a song.

Chorus: And the Muses have cried out.

Chorus: tiò tiò tiò tiotíngx.

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

770. mvp-tlg0019-tlg006-sanjaya-com-eng1-45

Line 770

τιὸ τιὸ τιὰ τιὸ τιὸ τιοτίγξ,

This is an onomatopoeic representation of bird calls (specifically thrushes or finches) rather than intelligible language. Aristophanes employs 'comic onomatopoeia' here, utilizing the guttural and plosive sounds (τ, ξ, γ) to mimic the harsh, repetitive notes of the birds, a device used throughout the play to establish the chorus's avian identity and the absurdity of their new city, Nephelococcygia.

Aristophanes Birds 769

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

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Commentary

Line 770

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