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Chorus: Then if you consider us gods,

Chorus: You will have to make use of the Muses as seers.

Chorus: with breezes, seasons, winter, summer

725

Chorus: he chokes with a moderate breath; and they do not escape

Chorus: let us sit down above, dignifying ourselves.

Chorus: near the clouds, just as even Zeus [does].

Chorus: but being present we will give to you

Chorus: to them, to children, to children of children,

730

Chorus: health and wealth.

Chorus: happy life, peace.

Chorus: youth, laughter, dances, revels

Chorus: and milk of the birds. So it will be available.

Chorus: you will grow weary from the good men;

735

Chorus: Thus you will all become rich.

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.) — 723 focus

Χορός

ἢν οὖν ἡμᾶς νομίσητε θεούς,

ἕξετε χρῆσθαι μάντεσι Μούσαις

αὔραις ὥραις χειμῶνι θέρει
725

μετρίῳ πνίγει· κοὐκ ἀποδράντες

καθεδούμεθʼ ἄνω σεμνυνόμενοι

παρὰ ταῖς νεφέλαις ὥσπερ χὠ Ζεύς·

ἀλλὰ παρόντες δώσομεν ὑμῖν

αὐτοῖς, παισίν, παίδων παισίν,
730

πλουθυγιείαν

εὐδαιμονίαν βίον εἰρήνην

νεότητα γέλωτα χοροὺς θαλίας

γάλα τʼ ὀρνίθων. ὥστε παρέσται

κοπιᾶν ὑμῖν ὑπὸ τῶν ἀγαθῶν·
735

οὕτω πλουτήσετε πάντες.

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.) — 723 focus

Chorus
More and more rapidly from here on.

If you recognize us as gods, we shall be your divining Muses, through us you will know the winds and the seasons, summer, 725 winter, and the temperate months. We shall not withdraw ourselves to the highest clouds like Zeus, but shall be among you and shall give to you 730 and to your children and the children of your children, health and wealth, long life, peace, youth, laughter, songs and feasts; in short, you will all be so well off, 735 that you will be weary and cloyed with enjoyment.

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

728. mvp-tlg0019-tlg006-sanjaya-com-eng1-38

Line 728

παρὰ ταῖς νεφέλαις ὥσπερ χὠ Ζεύς·

The particle χὠ here functions as a contraction of καὶ ὡς (or καὶ ὡς in some readings, though the text usually reads ὥσπερ... ὡς), creating a comparative 'just as' structure. However, the specific form χὠ is a colloquial contraction of καὶ ὡς (or καὶ ὅς) common in Old Comedy and the Attic dialect of the 5th century BCE, reflecting the rapid, rhythmic speech patterns of the stage. Its presence alongside ὥσπερ ('just as') creates a tautological emphasis ('just as... just as...') that is characteristic of Aristophanic hyperbole, underscoring the ridiculousness of the birds' claim to be superior even to Zeus.

Aristophanes Birds 723

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Commentary

Line 728

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