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Line 491

σκυτῆς βαλανῆς ἀλφιταμοιβοὶ τορνευτολυρασπιδοπηγοί·

This line presents a notorious crux in Aristophanic scholarship, specifically the attribution of the epithet 'βαλανῆς' (balanēs, 'acorn') to the 'σκυτῆς' (skytēs, 'shoemaker'). While the sentence describes a guild of craftsmen whose names are compounded to satirize the proliferation of new professions in the bird-city (Cloudcuckooland), the phrase 'shoemaker of the acorn' is semantically opaque. Manuscript tradition offers the reading βαλανῆς, but the context of shoemaking (working with leather) makes 'acorn' nonsensical unless it refers to a specific, now-lost, tool or a bizarre mythological association. Many editors, including Meineke and later Dindorf, have conjectured that the text is corrupt, suggesting emendations such as βαλανῆς to βάλανος (a type of leather tool?) or positing a lacuna. The most compelling scholarly consensus, however, treats this not as a literal reference but as a hyperbolic comic invention where the absurdity of the compound itself is the point: the birds have created a profession so specialized and ridiculous that the 'shoemaker' works on an acorn. The difficulty lies in determining whether Aristophanes intended a genuine pun on a lost technical term or if the corruption is genuine, a debate that remains unresolved in the critical apparatus.

Birds. Aristophanes. . 2026-09-08.

Current edition Experimental

Commentary (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)

Ὄρνιθες Perseus (Aristophanes. Aristophanis Comoediae, Vol. 1. Hall, F. W. and Geldart, William M., editors. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1906.) — 499 focus

Πισθέταιρος

ἰκτῖνος δʼ οὖν τῶν Ἑλλήνων ἦρχεν τότε κἀβασίλευεν.

Χορός

τῶν Ἑλλήνων;
500

Πισθέταιρος

καὶ κατέδειξέν γʼ οὗτος πρῶτος βασιλεύων

προκυλινδεῖσθαι τοῖς ἰκτίνοις.

Ἐυελπίδης

νὴ τὸν Διόνυσον, ἐγὼ γοῦν

ἐκυλινδούμην ἰκτῖνον ἰδών· κᾆθʼ ὕπτιος ὢν ἀναχάσκων

ὀβολὸν κατεβρόχθισα· κᾆτα κενὸν τὸν θύλακον οἴκαδʼ ἀφεῖλκον.

Πισθέταιρος

Αἰγύπτου δʼ αὖ καὶ Φοινίκης πάσης κόκκυξ βασιλεὺς ἦν·

χὠπόθʼ ὁ κόκκυξ εἴποι κόκκυ, τότʼ ἂν οἱ Φοίνικες ἅπαντες
505

τοὺς πυροὺς ἂν καὶ τὰς κριθὰς ἐν τοῖς πεδίοις ἐθέριζον.

Ἐυελπίδης

τοῦτʼ ἄρʼ ἐκεῖνʼ ἦν τοὔπος ἀληθῶς· κόκκυψωλοὶ πεδίονδε.

Πισθέταιρος

ἦρχον δʼ οὕτω σφόδρα τὴν ἀρχήν, ὥστʼ εἴ τις καὶ βασιλεύοι

ἐν ταῖς πόλεσιν τῶν Ἑλλήνων Ἀγαμέμνων ἢ Μενέλαος,

ἐπὶ τῶν σκήπτρων ἐκάθητʼ ὄρνις μετέχων ὅ τι δωροδοκοίη.
510

Ἐυελπίδης

τουτὶ τοίνυν οὐκ ᾔδη ʼγώ· καὶ δῆτά μʼ ἐλάμβανε θαῦμα,

ὁπότʼ ἐξέλθοι Πρίαμός τις ἔχων ὄρνιν ἐν τοῖσι τραγῳδοῖς,

ὁ δʼ ἄρʼ εἱστήκει τὸν Λυσικράτη τηρῶν ὅ τι δωροδοκοίη.

Πισθέταιρος

ὃ δὲ δεινότατόν γʼ ἐστὶν ἁπάντων, ὁ Ζεὺς γὰρ ὁ νῦν βασιλεύων

αἰετὸν ὄρνιν ἕστηκεν ἔχων ἐπὶ τῆς κεφαλῆς βασιλεὺς ὤν,
515

ἡ δʼ αὖ θυγάτηρ γλαῦχʼ, ὁ δʼ Ἀπόλλων ὥσπερ θεράπων ἱέρακα.

Ἐυελπίδης

νὴ τὴν Δήμητρʼ εὖ ταῦτα λέγεις. τίνος οὕνεκα ταῦτʼ ἄρʼ ἔχουσιν;

Πισθέταιρος

ἵνʼ ὅταν θύων τις ἔπειτʼ αὐτοῖς ἐς τὴν χεῖρʼ, ὡς νόμος ἐστίν,

τὰ σπλάγχνα διδῷ, τοῦ Διὸς αὐτοὶ πρότεροι τὰ σπλάγχνα λάβωσιν.

ὤμνυ τʼ οὐδεὶς τότʼ ἂν ἀνθρώπων θεόν, ἀλλʼ ὄρνιθας ἅπαντες·
520

Λάμπων δʼ ὄμνυσʼ ἔτι καὶ νυνὶ τὸν χῆνʼ, ὅταν ἐξαπατᾷ τι.

οὕτως ὑμᾶς πάντες πρότερον μεγάλους ἁγίους τʼ ἐνόμιζον,

Translations (3)

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

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.) — 499 focus

Pisthetaerus

Formerly also the kite was ruler and king over the Greeks.

Leader of the Chorus

500 The Greeks?

Pisthetaerus

And when he was king, he was the one who first taught them to fall on their knees before the kites.

Euelpides

By Zeus! that's what I did myself one day on seeing a kite; but at the moment I was on my knees, and leaning backwards with mouth agape, I bolted an obolus and was forced to carry my meal-sack home empty.

Pisthetaerus

The cuckoo was king of Egypt and of the whole of Phoenicia . 505 When he called out “cuckoo,” all the Phoenicians hurried to the fields to reap their wheat and their barley.

Euelpides

Hence no doubt the proverb, “Cuckoo! cuckoo! go to the fields, ye circumcised.”

Pisthetaerus

So powerful were the birds that the kings of Grecian cities, Agamemnon, Menelaus, for instance, 510 carried a bird on the tip of their scepters, who had his share of all presents.

Euelpides

That I didn't know and was much astonished when I saw Priam come upon the stage in the tragedies with a bird, which kept watching Lysicrates to see if he got any present.

Pisthetaerus

But the strongest proof of all is that Zeus, who now reigns, 515 is represented as standing with an eagle on his head as a symbol of his royalty; his daughter has an owl, and Phoebus, as his servant, has a hawk.

Euelpides

By Demeter, the point is well taken. But what are all these birds doing in heaven?

Pisthetaerus

When anyone sacrifices and, according to the rite, offers the entrails to the gods, these birds take their share before Zeus. 520 Formerly men always swore by the birds and never by the gods. And even now Lampon swears by the goose whenever he wishes to deceive someone. Thus it is clear that you were once great and sacred,

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.) — 499 focus

Pisthetairos: And so, at that time, a kite was leading the Greeks and was reigning as king.

Chorus: of the Greeks?

500

Pisthetaerus: And this man was the first to show himself ruling.

Pisthetaerus: to roll like a herring.

Euelpides: By Dionysus, certainly I [will do it].

Euelpides: I was rolling like an owl, having seen it; and then, lying on my back, I was gaping.

Euelpides: I swallowed an obol; then, with the purse empty, I dragged myself home.

Pisthetaerus: And the cuckoo was king of all Egypt and Phoenicia;

Pisthetaerus: And if the cuckoo from then on were to say 'cuckoo', then all the Phoenicians

505

Pisthetaerus: 'If only they were harvesting the wheat and the barley in the fields!'

Euelpides: That was indeed the very same bird; cuckoo-wolves to the plain.

Pisthetaerus: they ruled so violently that even if someone were king

Pisthetaerus: in the cities of the Greeks, Agamemnon or Menelaus,

Pisthetaerus: A bird sits on the scepters, accepting whatever bribes.

510

Euelpides: I certainly did not know this; and indeed I was amazed.

Eupolid: whenever some Priam comes out holding a bird among the tragedians,

Euelpides: And so he stood watching Lysicrates to see what bribe he would take.

Pisthetaerus: But the most terrible thing of all is this: for Zeus is now the king.

Pisthetairos: Even a king, when he is a king, stands holding an eagle-bird upon his head,

515

Pisthetaerus: And again the daughter is an owl, but Apollo is like a hawk, a servant.

Euelpides: By Demeter, you speak well of these things. For what reason, then, do they hold these things?

Pisthetaerus: in order that whenever someone sacrifices and then to them into the hand, as is the custom,

Pisthetaerus: Let him give the entrails, so that they may receive the entrails of Zeus first.

Pisthetaerus: No one then would have sworn by a god, but by all the birds.

520

Pisthetaerus: And Lampon swears even now still by the goose, whenever he deceives someone.

Pisthetaerus: Thus they used to think all of you beforehand great and holy,

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

491. mvp-tlg0019-tlg006-sanjaya-com-eng1-16

Line 491

σκυτῆς βαλανῆς ἀλφιταμοιβοὶ τορνευτολυρασπιδοπηγοί·

Aristophanes Birds 491

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Line 491

Current edition Experimental

Πισθέταιρος

ἰκτῖνος δʼ οὖν τῶν Ἑλλήνων ἦρχεν τότε κἀβασίλευεν.

Χορός

τῶν Ἑλλήνων;
500

Πισθέταιρος

καὶ κατέδειξέν γʼ οὗτος πρῶτος βασιλεύων

προκυλινδεῖσθαι τοῖς ἰκτίνοις.

Ἐυελπίδης

νὴ τὸν Διόνυσον, ἐγὼ γοῦν

ἐκυλινδούμην ἰκτῖνον ἰδών· κᾆθʼ ὕπτιος ὢν ἀναχάσκων

ὀβολὸν κατεβρόχθισα· κᾆτα κενὸν τὸν θύλακον οἴκαδʼ ἀφεῖλκον.

Ἐυελπίδης

τοῦτʼ ἄρʼ ἐκεῖνʼ ἦν τοὔπος ἀληθῶς· κόκκυψωλοὶ πεδίονδε.

Ἐυελπίδης

νὴ τὴν Δήμητρʼ εὖ ταῦτα λέγεις. τίνος οὕνεκα ταῦτʼ ἄρʼ ἔχουσιν;

Pisthetaerus

Formerly also the kite was ruler and king over the Greeks.

Leader of the Chorus

500 The Greeks?

Pisthetaerus

And when he was king, he was the one who first taught them to fall on their knees before the kites.

Euelpides

By Zeus! that's what I did myself one day on seeing a kite; but at the moment I was on my knees, and leaning backwards with mouth agape, I bolted an obolus and was forced to carry my meal-sack home empty.

Pisthetaerus

The cuckoo was king of Egypt and of the whole of Phoenicia . 505 When he called out “cuckoo,” all the Phoenicians hurried to the fields to reap their wheat and their barley.

Euelpides

Hence no doubt the proverb, “Cuckoo! cuckoo! go to the fields, ye circumcised.”

Pisthetaerus

So powerful were the birds that the kings of Grecian cities, Agamemnon, Menelaus, for instance, 510 carried a bird on the tip of their scepters, who had his share of all presents.

Euelpides

That I didn't know and was much astonished when I saw Priam come upon the stage in the tragedies with a bird, which kept watching Lysicrates to see if he got any present.

Pisthetaerus

But the strongest proof of all is that Zeus, who now reigns, 515 is represented as standing with an eagle on his head as a symbol of his royalty; his daughter has an owl, and Phoebus, as his servant, has a hawk.

Euelpides

By Demeter, the point is well taken. But what are all these birds doing in heaven?

Commentary

Line 491

Stable identifiers

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Line 491

Current edition Experimental

Πισθέταιρος ἰκτῖνος δʼ οὖν τῶν Ἑλλήνων ἦρχεν τότε κἀβασίλευεν.

Χορός τῶν Ἑλλήνων; 500

Πισθέταιρος καὶ κατέδειξέν γʼ οὗτος πρῶτος βασιλεύων προκυλινδεῖσθαι τοῖς ἰκτίνοις.

Ἐυελπίδης νὴ τὸν Διόνυσον, ἐγὼ γοῦν ἐκυλινδούμην ἰκτῖνον ἰδών· κᾆθʼ ὕπτιος ὢν ἀναχάσκων ὀβολὸν κατεβρόχθισα· κᾆτα κενὸν τὸν θύλακον οἴκαδʼ ἀφεῖλκον.

Ἐυελπίδης τοῦτʼ ἄρʼ ἐκεῖνʼ ἦν τοὔπος ἀληθῶς· κόκκυψωλοὶ πεδίονδε.

Ἐυελπίδης νὴ τὴν Δήμητρʼ εὖ ταῦτα λέγεις. τίνος οὕνεκα ταῦτʼ ἄρʼ ἔχουσιν;

Pisthetaerus Formerly also the kite was ruler and king over the Greeks.

Leader of the Chorus 500 The Greeks?

Pisthetaerus And when he was king, he was the one who first taught them to fall on their knees before the kites.

Euelpides By Zeus! that's what I did myself one day on seeing a kite; but at the moment I was on my knees, and leaning backwards with mouth agape, I bolted an obolus and was forced to carry my meal-sack home empty.

Pisthetaerus The cuckoo was king of Egypt and of the whole of Phoenicia . 505 When he called out “cuckoo,” all the Phoenicians hurried to the fields to reap their wheat and their barley.

Euelpides Hence no doubt the proverb, “Cuckoo! cuckoo! go to the fields, ye circumcised.”

Pisthetaerus So powerful were the birds that the kings of Grecian cities, Agamemnon, Menelaus, for instance, 510 carried a bird on the tip of their scepters, who had his share of all presents.

Euelpides That I didn't know and was much astonished when I saw Priam come upon the stage in the tragedies with a bird, which kept watching Lysicrates to see if he got any present.

Pisthetaerus But the strongest proof of all is that Zeus, who now reigns, 515 is represented as standing with an eagle on his head as a symbol of his royalty; his daughter has an owl, and Phoebus, as his servant, has a hawk.

Euelpides By Demeter, the point is well taken. But what are all these birds doing in heaven?

Commentary

Line 491

Stable identifiers

Πισθέταιρος

ἰκτῖνος δʼ οὖν τῶν Ἑλλήνων ἦρχεν τότε κἀβασίλευεν.

Χορός

τῶν Ἑλλήνων;
500

Πισθέταιρος

καὶ κατέδειξέν γʼ οὗτος πρῶτος βασιλεύων

προκυλινδεῖσθαι τοῖς ἰκτίνοις.

Ἐυελπίδης

νὴ τὸν Διόνυσον, ἐγὼ γοῦν

ἐκυλινδούμην ἰκτῖνον ἰδών· κᾆθʼ ὕπτιος ὢν ἀναχάσκων

ὀβολὸν κατεβρόχθισα· κᾆτα κενὸν τὸν θύλακον οἴκαδʼ ἀφεῖλκον.

Ἐυελπίδης

τοῦτʼ ἄρʼ ἐκεῖνʼ ἦν τοὔπος ἀληθῶς· κόκκυψωλοὶ πεδίονδε.

Ἐυελπίδης

νὴ τὴν Δήμητρʼ εὖ ταῦτα λέγεις. τίνος οὕνεκα ταῦτʼ ἄρʼ ἔχουσιν;

Pisthetaerus

Formerly also the kite was ruler and king over the Greeks.

Leader of the Chorus

500 The Greeks?

Pisthetaerus

And when he was king, he was the one who first taught them to fall on their knees before the kites.

Euelpides

By Zeus! that's what I did myself one day on seeing a kite; but at the moment I was on my knees, and leaning backwards with mouth agape, I bolted an obolus and was forced to carry my meal-sack home empty.

Pisthetaerus

The cuckoo was king of Egypt and of the whole of Phoenicia . 505 When he called out “cuckoo,” all the Phoenicians hurried to the fields to reap their wheat and their barley.

Euelpides

Hence no doubt the proverb, “Cuckoo! cuckoo! go to the fields, ye circumcised.”

Pisthetaerus

So powerful were the birds that the kings of Grecian cities, Agamemnon, Menelaus, for instance, 510 carried a bird on the tip of their scepters, who had his share of all presents.

Euelpides

That I didn't know and was much astonished when I saw Priam come upon the stage in the tragedies with a bird, which kept watching Lysicrates to see if he got any present.

Pisthetaerus

But the strongest proof of all is that Zeus, who now reigns, 515 is represented as standing with an eagle on his head as a symbol of his royalty; his daughter has an owl, and Phoebus, as his servant, has a hawk.

Euelpides

By Demeter, the point is well taken. But what are all these birds doing in heaven?