Aristophanes Birds 1646

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Birds. Aristophanes. . 2026-09-08.

Current edition Experimental

English (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.) — 1646 focus
Translations (2)
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.) — 1646 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

1669. mvp-tlg0019-tlg006-sanjaya-com-eng1-99

Line 1669

ἤδη σʼ ὁ πατὴρ εἰσήγαγʼ ἐς τοὺς φράτερας;
The accusative plural τοὺς φράτερας refers to the members of a φράτρα (fraternity), a social and religious subdivision of an Athenian deme. In the context of Aristophanic comedy, this term is significant because admission to a φράτρα was a prerequisite for full citizenship and the right to participate in the Assembly. The joke hinges on the absurdity of the character's father having introduced him to this exclusive body, implying a sudden, perhaps illegitimate, elevation to civic status or a satirical take on the ease with which political boundaries could be crossed in the chaotic world of the Birds.

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Line 1677

ἐν τῷ Τριβαλλῷ πᾶν τὸ πρᾶγμα. τί σὺ λέγεις;
The phrase 'ἐν τῷ Τριβαλλῷ' (in the Trabelles) functions as an idiom meaning 'completely' or 'totally,' a usage unique to this passage in Aristophanes. The Trabelles (or Triballi) were a Thracian tribe, but here the reference is likely a pun on the Greek word τριβή (tribē), meaning 'friction' or 'rubbing,' suggesting the situation is a 'mess' or 'tangled up.' This wordplay relies on the audience's familiarity with the tribe and the phonetic similarity to the concept of a 'tangled' or 'friction-filled' situation.

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Line 1679

ὄρνιτο παραδίδωμι.
The verb παραδίδωμι is here used in a transitive sense with the accusative ὄρνιτο (a rare, possibly poetic or metrical variant of ὄρνιθας) to mean 'deliver up' or 'surrender' the birds, a specific legal or dramatic action central to the plot's resolution where the birds are handed over to the chorus or the protagonist. This usage is distinct from the more common intransitive or passive forms and requires the accusative of the thing delivered.

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Line 1681

εἰ μὴ † βαδίζειν † ωἅσπερ αἱ χελιδόσιν λέγει.
The transmitted text is corrupt and widely recognized as a crux. The phrase 'βαδίζειν' (to walk) makes little sense in the context of birds, and the dative 'χελιδόσιν' (to swallows) lacks a governing preposition or verb of motion compatible with 'βαδίζειν'. Most editors, following the suggestion of Hermann and others, conjecture that 'βαδίζειν' should be replaced with 'πετοῦν' (to fly) or that the verb is missing entirely, with 'ὡσπερ' introducing a comparison to the flight of swallows. The phrase 'λέγει' (says) is also problematic here; some suggest it is a corruption of 'ἕπει' (follows) or that the sentence is a fragment of a larger dialogue where the verb is elliptical. The current text as transmitted is syntactically and semantically incoherent without significant emendation.