Aristophanes Lysistrata 683

Lysistrata. 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)
Λυσιστράτη Perseus (Aristophanes. Aristophanis Comoediae, Vol. 2. Hall, F. W. and Geldart, William M., editors. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1907.) — 683 focus
Translations (1)
Lysistrata (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Jack Lindsay). Migrated from Perseus legacy XML; source wording and notes retained. See TEI header and migration inventory.) — 683 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

695. mvp-tlg0019-tlg007-sanjaya-com-eng1-27

Line 695

αἰετὸν τίκτοντα κάνθαρός σε μαιεύσομαι.
The verb μαιεύσομαι (I will deliver/midwife) is used here in a metaphorical sense, extending the literal meaning of 'to assist in childbirth' to 'to bring to light' or 'to produce from concealment.' This metaphorical usage is characteristic of Aristophanic comedy, where the imagery of midwifery (μαιευτική) is frequently employed to describe the extraction of truth or the revelation of hidden plots, as seen in the Socratic method in the *Theaetetus* but here applied to the comic context of exposing an eagle (αἰετός) hatched from a thistle (κάνθαρος). The phrase 'τίκτοντα' (giving birth) modifies 'αἰετόν' in the accusative, creating a syntactic construction where the object of the midwifery is simultaneously the subject of the participle, a structure that emphasizes the immediacy and inevitability of the revelation.