Aristophanes Lysistrata 706

ed. F. W. Hall, ed. William M. Geldart

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Lysistrata. Aristophanes. ed. F. W. Hall, ed. William M. Geldart. Oxford. 1907.

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by The Annenberg CPB/Project.

Current edition Perseus

Λυσιστράτη (Greek) (Aristophanes. Aristophanis Comoediae, Vol. 2. Hall, F. W. and Geldart, William M., editors. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1907.)

Translations (2)
Lysistrata (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Jack Lindsay). Migrated from Perseus legacy XML; source wording and notes retained. See TEI header and migration inventory.) — 706 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.) — 706 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

721. mvp-tlg0019-tlg007-sanjaya-com-eng1-28

Line 721

κατέλαβον ᾗ τοῦ Πανός ἐστι ταὐλίον,
The phrase ᾗ τοῦ Πανός ἐστι ταὐλίον contains a crux regarding the location of the 'sheepfold' (ταὐλίον). While the genitive τοῦ Πανός suggests a location associated with Pan, the specific identification of this sheepfold has been debated. Some scholars, following the scholia, identify it as a specific spot on the Acropolis or near the Pnyx associated with a cult of Pan, while others argue it is a generic reference to a sheepfold in the vicinity of the theater where the assembly is held. The construction ᾗ (dative of place) combined with the genitive of the deity is syntactically straightforward but semantically hinges on whether this refers to a specific topographical feature known to the original audience or a more generalized sacred space.

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Line 723

τὴν δʼ αὐτομολοῦσαν, τὴν δʼ ἐπὶ στρούθου †μίαν†
The text presents a significant crux at the end of the sentence: the word †μίαν† is marked with dagger symbols in critical editions, indicating it is a corruption or conjecture. The phrase ἐπὶ στρούθου (upon the sparrow) is an idiom for a trivial or petty offense, yet the adjective μίαν (one, feminine accusative) is syntactically and semantically problematic here. Most editors follow the conjecture of Hermann (or similar readings like τὴν ἐπὶ στρούθου [περὶ] τὴν σποῦδαν or similar) to resolve the sense, as the literal reading 'the one upon the sparrow' lacks a clear antecedent or logical predicate in the context of Lysistrata's list of offenses against the state. The corruption likely stems from the difficulty of the idiom or a scribal error in transmitting the specific noun or adjective required to complete the phrase.

735. mvp-tlg0019-tlg007-sanjaya-com-eng1-30

Line 735

τάλαινʼ ἐγώ, τάλαινα τῆς Ἀμοργίδος,
The adjective τάλαινα agrees with ἐγώ in gender (feminine) and number (singular), a standard construction for a female speaker, but the genitive phrase τῆς Ἀμοργίδος is syntactically elliptical for τῆς Ἀμοργίδος [πολιτείας] or [γῆς]. This construction, where the adjective of lamentation governs a genitive of the place or state of affairs, is a specific feature of Attic comedy to evoke a personal connection to a specific political entity. Here, 'Amorgian' refers to the island of Amorgos, a small Cycladic island, but in the context of the play, it likely alludes to a specific Amorgian woman or a figure associated with that locale who is the cause of Lysistrata's distress, or it is a metonymy for the Amorgian state's policies. The phrase is not merely 'I am wretched of Amorgos' but 'I am wretched because of the Amorgian (situation/person)'. This requires knowledge of the specific historical or dramatic context of Amorgos in the late 5th century BC, which is not immediately obvious to the reader.