Aristophanes Birds 833

Table of Contents

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

← Previous Next →

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.) — 851 focus
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.) — 851 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.) — 851 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

833. mvp-tlg0019-tlg006-sanjaya-com-eng1-53

Line 833

ὄρνις ἀφʼ ἡμῶν τοῦ γένους τοῦ Περσικοῦ,
The phrase τοῦ γένους τοῦ Περσικοῦ relies on a specific historical pun: the bird 'ὄρνις' (ornis) is being presented as the eponymous ancestor of the Persian dynasty, which Aristophanes etymologizes or conflates with the bird name for satirical effect. This is a deliberate, absurd prosopographical claim where the 'Persian race' is humorously traced to a bird, subverting the standard genealogical tropes found in tragic or historical prologues. The joke hinges on the audience recognizing the 'Persian' reference as a marker of the enemy (likely Alluding to the Achaemenid line or the Persian Wars context) and the absurdity of a bird being the progenitor of such a human lineage.