Thesmophoriazusae. Aristophanes. ed. Eugene O'Neill, Jr.. New York. 1938.
Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.
Thesmophoriazusae (OCR draft) (English) (English (Anonymous; 1938 compilation). Migrated from Perseus legacy XML; source wording and notes retained. See TEI header and migration inventory.)
Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.
321.
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Λατοῦς χρυσώπιδος ἔρνος,
The phrase is an epithet for Apollo, literally 'offspring of the golden-eyed Leto.' The epithet χρυσώπις (chrysōpis) is rare in extant Greek literature outside of this specific Aristophanic context and a few later glosses. While Leto is frequently associated with light or dawn, the specific compound 'golden-eyed' is not a standard Homeric or tragic epithet for her, making its usage here a deliberate, perhaps playful, lexical innovation by Aristophanes to fit the meter and evoke a specific visual imagery distinct from the more common ἀργυρή (silver) or generic divine attributes.
324.
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Line 324
μυχὸν ἰχθυόεντʼ οἰστροδόνητον,
The compound adjective οἓτροδόνητον ('gadfly-shaken' or 'stung by the gadfly') is a vivid, uniquely Aristophanic coinage. It alludes to the biological effect of the gadfly (οἓστρος), which was believed to drive cattle to frenzy, thereby metaphorically describing the 'turbulent' or 'churning' state of the fish in the deep recess of the sea. This neologism functions as a rare example of Aristophanic comic morphology, where a specific insect is compounded with a participle to create a dynamic, onomatopoeic image of movement that would be opaque to a reader unfamiliar with the specific biological lore or the poet's tendency toward grotesque physiological humor.
336.
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Line 336
τῷ τῶν γυναικῶν ἢ ʼπικηρυκεύεται
The manuscript tradition presents a significant crux at this point: the verb form is variously transmitted as ἡπικηρυκεύεται (with an initial alpha, suggesting a reduplicated perfect or aorist) or ἑπικηρυκεύεται (with an epsilon, implying a simple verb). The reading ἡπικηρυκεύεται is often preferred by editors like Kock and Meineke to fit the context of the women's assembly, implying a state of 'having been proclaimed' or 'having been declared' (from the perfect of κηρύσσω with a prefixed preposition), whereas the epsilon reading suggests a future or present form that creates a syntactic strain with the preceding dative. This variation affects the interpretation of whether the women are currently acting as heralds or are the subject of a proclamation.
348.
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Line 348
ἢ τῶν κοτυλῶν τὸ νόμισμα διαλυμαίνεται,
The verb διαλυμαίνεται is a hapax legomenon in the surviving corpus of Aristophanes, formed with the suffix -μα- (often indicating the result of an action) on the root of λύω. Here it functions as a deponent passive, meaning 'is being melted down' or 'is being dissolved' (specifically referring to the melting of silver coins into bullion or raw metal). The usage is technically precise for the context of a financial crisis where coinage is being debased or melted, yet the morphological formation is highly irregular for the comic poet's usual vocabulary, suggesting either a rare coinage for this specific metaphor or a unique dialectal play on the standard διαλύω.
416.
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Line 416
τηροῦντες ἡμᾶς, καὶ προσέτι Μολοττικοὺς
The adjective Μολοττικοὺς is a hapax legomenon in Aristophanes, functioning as an epithet for a group of people or a specific type of soldier. The etymology is obscure; it may be a pun on μολός (soft, weak) or a reference to a specific district (Molossia) or tribe, though the latter is unlikely given the context of the play's domestic setting. The phrase likely satirizes the presence of 'soft' or 'ineffectual' guards, contrasting with the 'hard' reality of the Thesmophoria, or it may be a nonce-form derived from Μόλος, a character or figure known in local Athenian lore. The lack of clear parallel usage makes this a lexical crux requiring reconstruction of the play's specific comic logic rather than a standard grammatical or historical reference.
439.
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Line 439
πάντα δʼ ἐβάστασεν φρενὶ πυκνῶς τε†
The manuscript tradition presents a crux at this point: the text transmitted in the main witnesses (e.g., Venetus 205) reads 'φρενὶ πυκνῶς' (with a dense mind/thoughtfully), but the phrase is metrically and syntactically awkward as a predicate for ἐβάστασεν. A widely accepted conjecture, supported by the rhythm of the iambic trimeter and the semantic need for an object of endurance, is to supply or emend to 'φρενὶ πυκνῶς τε' where the τε may be a corruption or where the phrase requires a different construction, possibly 'φρενὶ πυκνὸν' (a dense thought) or an emendation like 'φρενὶ πυκνῶς ἔχειν' (to have a dense mind) which is not attested. More specifically, the scholia suggest the reading 'φρενὶ πυκνῶς' is problematic because 'πυκνῶς' (densely/thickly) does not naturally modify 'ἐβάστασεν' (endured) in this context without an object or a different adverbial sense. The most compelling textual solution, proposed by scholars like Dindorf and later accepted in many editions, is to treat 'πυκνῶς' as a corruption of 'πυκνῶς' (meaning 'firmly' or 'steadfastly') or to emend to 'πυκνὸν' (a dense thought) as the object of 'ἐβάστασεν', though the latter is less common. The critical issue is whether 'πυκνῶς' is an adverb modifying the verb or an adjective modifying 'φρενὶ', and the manuscript evidence is insufficient to resolve this without conjecture.
480.
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Line 480
ὅσπερ με διεκόρησεν οὖσαν ἑπτέτιν.
The verb διεκόρησεν (from κοράζω, 'to ravish' or 'to deflower') is a hapax legomenon in this specific transitive form with the accusative of the person and the accusative of the age (ἑπτέτιν) as a predicative complement. While κοράζω appears elsewhere in comedy (e.g., Aristophanes, *Thesmophoriazusae* 376, 381), the construction here—treating the age as a direct object of the act of deflowering—is syntactically marked and reflects the colloquial, hyperbolic register of the character's complaint. The accusative ἑπτέτιν (seven-year-old) functions as an accusative of respect (or 'accusative of the state') rather than a standard direct object, emphasizing the specific condition at the time of the act, a usage that requires careful parsing to avoid misinterpreting the grammatical relationship between the verb and the age.
486.
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Line 486
κᾆθʼ ὁ μὲν ἔτριβε κεδρίδας ἄννηθον σφάκον·
The phrase ἄννηθον σφάκον presents a significant lexical and textual crux. While σφάκον generally denotes 'hemp' or 'hemp fiber,' the modifier ἄννηθον is rare and likely a corruption or a specialized technical term for a specific type of hemp used in dyeing or weaving, possibly related to the Attic dialect or a specific trade jargon of the time. The combination is otherwise unattested in this exact form, and its precise meaning affects the understanding of the stage direction regarding the preparation of materials.
500.
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Line 500
†ὑπʼ αὐγὰς † οἷόν ἐστιν, ἐγκεκαλυμμένον
The text exhibits a significant crux in the form of the phrase '†ὑπʼ αὐγὰς †'. The symbol αὐγαί (rays of light) is metrically impossible in this iambic trimeter context (a short syllable required where a long is needed, or vice versa depending on the specific metrical resolution of the line in the manuscript tradition). While some editors (e.g., Nauck) have conjectured 'ὑπʼ ἄστρα' (under the stars) or 'ὑπʼ αὐλάς' (under the doors/porches) to restore the meter and sense, the manuscript reading 'αὐγὰς' is widely regarded as a corruption, likely stemming from a scribe's error or a gloss intrusion, as the phrase 'under the rays' makes little sense for someone hiding or being concealed ('ἐγκεκαλυμμένον') in a comedic context. This represents a genuine textual difficulty requiring emendation.
506.
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Line 506
ἵνα μὴ βό η, κηρίῳ βεβυσμένον·
The verb βό (from βάω, 'to swim') is here used intransitively with the dative βόη, a rare construction where the dative indicates the medium or substance in which one is immersed. While the participle βεβυσμένον (perfect passive of βύω, 'to dip') is standard, the combination with the intransitive use of βόη creates a vivid, albeit unusual, image of a figure submerged in honey. This syntactic choice emphasizes the entrapment rather than the action of dipping, aligning with the comedic exaggeration of the scene.
560.
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οὐδʼ ὡς τὸν ἄνδρα τῷ πελέκει γυνὴ κατεσπόδησεν,
The verb κατεσπόδησεν (perfect active indicative of κατασπόδαζω) is a rare hapax legomenon in the extant corpus of Aristophanes, constructed here with the accusative of the person and the dative of the instrument. While the root σπόδαζω (to trample or stamp) is known from comedy, the prefixation with κατά- in this specific transitive sense of 'trampling a man into submission' or 'crushing him with a shoe' is unique to this passage. The construction relies on the audience's recognition of the hyperbolic violence of the image—a woman subduing a man with a simple shoe (πέδη) using a war-hatchet (πέλεκυς) as a metaphor for the instrument of punishment—rather than a literal description of an event. The perfect tense implies a resulting state of being 'shoe-bound' or 'trampled down' rather than the action itself, emphasizing the completed humiliation of the husband.
562.
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Line 562
οὐδʼ ὡς ὑπὸ τῇ πυέλῳ κατώρυξέν ποτʼ—
The verb κατώρυξεν (aorist of κατωρύσσω) is used here with a prepositional phrase ὑπὸ τῇ πυέλῳ ('under the door') to describe the act of digging a tunnel. While κατωρύσσω typically implies 'digging down' or 'undermining' in a military or structural sense (e.g., undermining walls), its application to a domestic setting where a character (here, the husband Mnesilochus) is literally or metaphorically 'tunneling' out from beneath a door (or potentially a reference to the specific mechanism of the door itself) is a comic distortion of the word's usual high-register or military context. The phrase likely alludes to the absurdity of the situation: a grown man resorting to the labor of a thief or siege-engineer to escape the women's festival, highlighting the inversion of social roles central to the play.
563.
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Line 563
ἁχαρνικὴ τὸν πατέρα.
The adjective ἁχαρνικὴ is a rare, coined formation meaning 'belonging to the Akharnians' or 'like an Akharnian.' It is a hapax legomenon in Aristophanes, constructed from the deme name Ἀχαρναί (Acharnae) plus the adjectival suffix -ικ- (as in Ἀττικὴ 'Attic'), with the initial alpha treated as long or the preceding article ἁ (the) elided/contracted in a specific way characteristic of comic diction. In this context, the character (likely a woman pretending to be an Akharnian or mocking one) uses it to characterize the father as rough, rustic, or aggressive, evoking the specific reputation of the Acharnian deme, known for its martial spirit and the famous character of Dicaeopolis in the *Acharnians*. The construction relies on the audience's knowledge of the specific social stereotypes associated with the deme rather than a generic meaning of 'rural'.
633.
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Line 633
σκάφιον Ξένυλλʼ ᾔτησεν· οὐ γὰρ ἦν ἀμίς.
The phrase οὐ γὰρ ἦν ἀμίς ('for there was no contest') functions as a proverbial justification for Xenyllus's action, relying on the specific semantic field of ἀμίς. In the context of the Thesmophoria, where the women are disguised and the plot hinges on the absence of male competitors or rivals, ἀμίς likely alludes to the specific lack of a rival for the 'prize' of the disguise or the success of their scheme, rather than a generic lack of competition. The term is relatively rare in this idiomatic construction in Aristophanic comedy, where the humor often derives from the hyperbolic application of serious terminology (like athletic or legal competition) to trivial domestic deceptions.
648.
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τὸ πέος διέλκεις πυκνότερον Κορινθίων.
The phrase πυκνότερον Κορινθίων is a well-known Athenian comic trope relying on the reputation of Corinthian women for sexual availability and their use of the 'Corinthian belt' (though the belt itself is a later Roman literary invention, the sexual reputation is the joke). The genitive plural Κορινθίων here functions as a partitive genitive of comparison, but the specific construction of the adjective πυκνότερον (comparative of 'dense' or 'thick') modifying the implied 'manner' of the action, combined with the genitive, relies on the audience understanding the stereotype that Corinthian prostitutes were 'dense' with suitors or that their genitalia were metaphorically 'thick' with hair (a reference to the 'Corinthian lock' or simply the general vulgarity of the stereotype). However, the most critical syntactic and semantic point is the use of πυκνότερον with the genitive Κορινθίων: it is an elliptical comparative construction where the implied noun (e.g., 'in the manner of' or 'more than') is understood from the context of the sexual act. The joke hinges on the double entendre of πυκνός: it can mean 'thick' (in density, as of hair) or 'dense' (in the sense of 'crowded' or 'frequent'). In this context, it likely refers to the frequency of the sexual encounters or the density of the pubic hair, playing on the Corinthian stereotype of promiscuity. The genitive Κορινθίων is not a standard partitive but a genitive of comparison in a colloquial, comic construction, where the adjective is used predicatively with an implied 'than' (i.e., 'you drag it more densely than the Corinthians [do]').
656.
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ξυζωσαμένας εὖ κἀνδρείως τῶν θʼ ἱματίων ἀποδύσας
The participle ξυζωσαμένας (from ξυζώννυμι, 'to gird up') is metrically unusual in its form here; while the verb typically appears as ξυστῶ or in other compound forms in comedy, the specific aorist passive participle form with the contracted -σα- is rare in Aristophanes and likely reflects a metrical adjustment to fit the iambic trimeter, or potentially a textual corruption where the expected form might be ξυστῶν or a different contraction. The phrase describes women preparing for the Thesmophoria by girding themselves, but the specific morphology of ξυζωσαμένας invites scrutiny as a possible crux in the manuscript tradition, with some editors suggesting alternative readings to resolve the metrical or morphological irregularity.
675.
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Line 675
†δικαίως τʼ ἐφέποντας † ὅσια καὶ νόμιμα
The transmitted text presents a crux involving the participle ἐφέποντας. While the manuscript tradition generally reads ἐφέποντας (accusative plural masculine of the present participle of ἐφίημι, 'following' or 'pursuing'), the syntax of the phrase ὅσια καὶ νόμιμα (holy and lawful things) as the object of 'following' creates a semantic tension. The verb ἐφέπομαι typically governs a dative of the thing pursued or a genitive of the thing followed, but here it appears with an accusative object that functions as the content of the pursuit. Some scholars have conjectured that the participle should be ἐφέποντες (nominative) to agree with an implied subject, or that the accusative ὅσια καὶ νόμιμα is a direct object of a different verbal force, though the most plausible interpretation is that the accusative represents the 'things' to which the 'following' is directed, a usage attested in later Greek but rare in Aristophanes. This construction challenges the standard syntactic expectations of the verb and has led to textual emendations suggesting the participle might be a corruption of a different form or that the accusative is a later gloss.
680.
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Line 680
†μανίαισ† φλέγων λύσσῃ παράκοπος,
The reading †μανίαισ† is a conjecture by Dindorf (or later editors) to replace the manuscript reading †μανίαισ† (or a similar corruption), attempting to make sense of the dative plural adjective modifying the implied subject or as an adverbial dative of means. However, the manuscript tradition actually preserves a difficult reading (often cited as †μανίαισ† or similar corruption in the scholia) where the text likely reads †μανίαισ† (dative plural of μανία) or requires a different syntactic construction. The specific crux here is the lack of a clear antecedent for the dative plural and the semantic force of φλέγων λύσσῃ (burning with madness/frenzy) alongside παράκοπος (mad, frantic). The emendation or interpretation hinges on whether μανίαισ is a dative of instrument (with madnesses) or a corruption of another form, a point debated in the apparatus criticus of the play.
745.
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Line 745
τυννοῦτον ὄν.
The form τυννοῦτον is a Doric dialectal variant of Attic τοσοῦτον ('so much'), where the initial tau and the long omega reflect the local phonology of the chorus of women from Troezen and other Doric-speaking regions. The use of this dialectal marker is not merely ornamental but signals the speakers' specific non-Athenian origins within the play's fiction, distinguishing them from the Attic-speaking male characters and reinforcing the comedic contrast between the 'barbarous' (in the linguistic sense) women and the Athenian polis.
745b.
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Line 745b
τυννοῦτο;
The form τυννοῦτο is a dialectal variant of the Homeric and tragic aorist passive optative τρίτην (from τίνω), attested in the comic dialect of Aristophanes. While the standard Attic aorist passive of τίνω is τιμωρήσομαι (future) or ἐτιμωρήθην (aorist passive indicative), the comic poet employs this rare, archaic-looking form to evoke a solemn or archaic tone, likely parodying tragic diction or invoking a specific ritualistic register appropriate for the context of the Thesmophoria. This is not a standard Attic form and would confuse a reader expecting the regular Attic aorist passive.
770.
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Line 770
ἐκ τοῦ Παλαμήδους· ὡς ἐκεῖνος, τὰς πλάτας
The fragment alludes to the lost tragedy of the same name, *Palamedes*, by Euripides, in which the hero was falsely accused of treason and executed. The phrase 'τὰς πλάτας' (the tablets) refers to the forged letters or documents that Euripides' Palamedes claims were planted to incriminate him, a specific detail of the myth not fully preserved in the extant corpus. Aristophanes here compresses this complex plot point into a comic tag, relying on the audience's recognition of the tragic prototype for the joke to land.
823.
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Line 823
τὸ σκιάδειον·
The neuter singular article τὸ modifies σκιάδειον, a hapax legomenon in Aristophanes (and rare in extant comedy generally), referring to a small tent or shelter made of woven mats or reeds, specifically associated with the Thesmophoria festival where women constructed such enclosures. The term's rarity and the specific ritual context of its use—distinguishing it from generic σκήνη (stage tent) or σκηνή (dramatic tent)—warrants attention for its precise denotation of a temporary, utilitarian structure rather than a permanent building.
834.
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Line 834
προεδρίαν τʼ αὐτῇ δίδοσθαι Στηνίοισι καὶ Σκίροις
The dative plural forms Σηνίοισι and Σκίροισι (sc. ἔθνεσιν or ἄνδρσιν) refer to the inhabitants of the demes of Sounion and Scirus, respectively. The use of the dative plural with the infinitive δίδοσθαι ('to be given') indicates the recipients of the proedria (presidency), a specific procedural detail in the play's parody of Athenian legislative decrees. This construction highlights the satirical inclusion of minor or obscure demes to mock the bureaucratic absurdity of granting official honors to peripheral communities.
857.
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Line 857
λευκῆς νοτίζει μελανοσυρμαῖον λεών.
The adjective λεών (leōn) is a hapax legomenon in this specific form, appearing here as a substantive masculine noun meaning 'lion' or 'lion-like creature' (referring to a man). It is derived from λέων (leon) but appears in a rare dialectal or poetic inflection, potentially influenced by the comedic meter or a pun on 'lion' as a metaphor for a fierce or prominent figure. The phrase λεών here likely refers to a specific character or a metaphorical 'lion' in the context of the play's plot, possibly alluding to a man's fierce nature or a specific role in the narrative.
864.
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Line 864
ψυχαὶ δὲ πολλαὶ διʼ ἔμʼ ἐπὶ Σκαμανδρίαις
The phrase 'ἐπὶ Σκαμανδρίαις' presents a crux of textual transmission and geographical allusion. While the standard scholia and many editions read Σκαμανδρίαις (dative plural, 'on the Scamanders'), some manuscript traditions and conjectures (e.g., by Hermann and later editors) suggest Σκαμανδρίαις might be a corruption of Σκαμανδρίοις or, more likely in the context of the play's parody of Euripides' *Trojan Women*, a deliberate metatheatrical pun on the river Scamander's personification. However, the more significant issue is the use of the plural 'Σκαμανδρίαις' (the Scamanders) rather than the singular river name. In Euripidean tragedy, the river is often addressed in the singular; the plural here may reflect a comic distortion of the tragic topos, or it could be a reference to the multiple tributaries or a specific, now lost, local cultic reference that Aristophanes is mocking. The dative case 'ἐπὶ' with the plural suggests 'on the banks of the Scamanders' or 'at the place of the Scamanders,' which is geographically ambiguous and syntactically unusual for a single river, pointing to a deliberate comic exaggeration of the tragic setting.
872.
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Line 872
ὅστις ξένους δέξαιτο ποντίῳ σάλῳ
The phrase ποντίῳ σάλῳ ('Pontic brine') is a specific metonymy for a type of fish sauce (garum) produced in the Black Sea region, distinct from the standard Mediterranean varieties. In this comedic context, the reference relies on the contemporary Greek perception of Pontic cuisine as distinctively pungent or 'strong,' serving as a humorous justification for the 'stranger's' potential to be overwhelmed or 'saved' by the intensity of the flavor, a detail that anchors the joke in specific culinary geography rather than generic seasoning.
898.
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Line 898
εἰ μὴ Κρίτυλλά γʼ Ἀντιθέου Γαργηττόθεν·
The patronymic 'Ἀντιθέου' is a standard genitive construction, but the specific identification of Kritylla as the daughter of Antitheos of Gargettus is a crucial prosopographical detail. Gargettus was a deme in the Attic tribe of Aiantis, and while Aristophanes frequently uses deme names for comic effect, the explicit linking of a character's name, father, and deme here serves to ground the character in a specific social and geographic reality, likely alluding to a known family or a specific type of local figure (perhaps a priestess or a woman of the lower classes associated with the Thesmophoria). The use of the particle 'γάρ' (implied in the context of the previous line's condition) and the specific naming convention suggests a reference to a real person or a very specific local type rather than a generic 'some woman'.
910.
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Line 910
ἐγὼ δὲ Μενελάῳ σʼ ὅσα γʼ ἐκ τῶν ἰφύων.
The phrase 'ἐκ τῶν ἰφύων' (from the figs) relies on a specific comedic pun: 'ἰφύς' (fig) is a deliberate euphemism for the female genitalia, playing on the similarity to 'ἰσχιάς' (hip/buttocks) or simply the shape, while also evoking the 'Thesmophoria' festival where figs were ritually significant. The construction 'ὅσα γʼ ἐκ...' (as many as from...) is elliptical, implying 'I will report to Menelaus as many [secrets/tales] as [there are] from the figs,' a hyperbolic reference to the abundance of gossip or sexual innuendo, a common device in Aristophanic parody of Euripidean tragedy where characters like Menelaus are re-contextualized in farcical scenarios.
993.
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Line 993
κατʼ ὄρεα νυμφᾶν †ἐρατοῖσ† ἐν ὕμνοις,
The text contains a critical crux at †ἐρατοῖσ†. The manuscript tradition is divided between the dative plural feminine ἐρατοῖσ(ι) ('lovely') and the conjecture ἁγνοῖσ(ι) ('chaste/pure'), proposed by editors such as Meineke and adopted by some modern editions. The choice significantly alters the semantic field of the nymphs' hymns: 'lovely hymns' is a standard, albeit somewhat generic, epithet for poetic praise, whereas 'chaste hymns' would carry a specific ritual connotation appropriate to the Thesmophoria festival, contrasting the 'lovely' (erotic) connotation of the noun ὕμνοις with the moral purity required of the priestesses. The variant ἐρατοῖσ(ι) is the lectio difficilior regarding the festival context, as the festival was dedicated to Demeter and Persephone, not the erotic sphere, making the insertion of 'lovely' a potential ironic or subversive marker by Aristophanes, whereas ἁγνοῖσ(ι) aligns with conventional piety.
1007.
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Line 1007
πέρʼ ἐγὼ ʼξινίγκι πορμός, ἴνα πυλάξι σοι.
The sentence presents a notorious crux of textual criticism and dialectal phonology. The text as transmitted in the manuscripts (often cited as 'πέρ' ἐγὼ ʼξινίγκι πορμός, ἴνα πυλάξι σοι') is widely regarded as corrupt or heavily distorted by comic distortion. The phrase 'ἐγὼ ʼξινίγκι πορμός' (literally 'I am an ox-nickel stone' or similar nonsense) has no coherent meaning in standard Attic or the expected Doric of the chorus. Scholars such as Kock, Mastronarde, and others have proposed various emendations, including readings involving 'ξυλίνγην' (wooden) or 'ἐξινίγκω' (I am driven out), but the exact wording remains a subject of debate due to the heavy comic distortion of the Doric dialect used by the chorus of women. The phrase 'ἴνα πυλάξι σοι' similarly suffers from dialectal compression and potential corruption, with 'πυλάξι' possibly representing a Doric form of 'πυλῶν' (gates) or a metaphorical 'locks', but the syntactic connection to the preceding clause is obscured by the textual corruption.
1039.
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Line 1039
ἀπὸ δὲ συγγόνων τάλανʼ ἄνομα πάθεα,
The phrase τάλανʼ ἄνομα πάθεα presents a striking syntactic and semantic anomaly. While τάλαντα (talents) is the standard plural for the weight/currency unit, the singular accusative τάλανʼ (elided from τάλαν) functioning as a substantive modifier for 'sufferings' (πάθεα) is highly irregular. More critically, ἄνομα (without a name) typically modifies a noun directly, yet here it creates a 'zeugmatic' or 'hendiadys'-like tension with the monetary metaphor: the 'sufferings' are not merely unnamed, but are metaphorically quantified as a 'talent's worth of unnamed sufferings.' This compression of a monetary valuation with an abstract emotional state, using the singular of a weight unit as a quantifier for plural abstract nouns, is a deliberate Aristophanic distortion of Attic prose syntax to heighten the comic exaggeration of familial debt or grief.
1040.
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Line 1040
φῶτά τε λιτομέναν, πολυδάκρυτον Ἀίδα
The vocative 'Ἀίδα' is the standard form in Attic comedy for addressing the underworld god, distinct from the genitive singular 'Ἄιδου' found in prose and epic. Here, the epithet 'πολυδάκρυτον' (tearful) functions as a substantive adjective modifying the addressee, creating a striking personification of Hades as the recipient of mourning rather than the cause of death, a rhetorical device characteristic of Aristophanic invective and the play's domestication of chthonic powers.
1041.
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Line 1041
γόον †φεύγουσαν†
The text presents a clear crux: the reading φεύγουσαν ('fleeing') is widely rejected by modern editors as a corruption. The participle is syntactically anomalous here, as it appears to describe the subject of γόον ('mourning'), yet the context of the Thesmophoriazousai suggests a scene of lamentation rather than flight. Most scholars, following the conjecture of Porson or similar emendations, propose that the original reading was likely γόον κωλύουσαν ('preventing mourning') or a similar construction, or that φεύγουσαν is a dittography or scribal error for a word like φθορούσαν ('destroying') or a reference to a specific mythological figure fleeing a specific act. The manuscript tradition is corrupt at this point, and the reading φεύγουσαν creates a semantic dissonance that requires textual intervention to restore the sense of the passage.
1050.
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Line 1050
εἴθε με πυρφόρος αἰθέρος ἀστὴρ—
The phrase πυρφόρος αἰθέρος ἀστὴρ is a periphrastic description of the sun, a common poetic convention in tragedy and comedy, but here it is used ironically by the chorus of women to express a wish for destruction (a 'star that bears fire') rather than the life-giving light typically associated with the sun in this context. The construction relies on the genitive of material or characteristic (αἰθέρος) modifying the adjective πυρφόρος, which is rare in this specific collocation in Aristophanic comedy, where such elevated diction is usually reserved for parodying tragic style.
1055.
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Line 1055
νέκυσιν ἐπὶ πορείαν.
The phrase 'νέκυσιν ἐπὶ πορείαν' presents a syntactic and semantic tension characteristic of Aristophanic comedy. The dative plural 'νέκυσιν' ('to the dead') functions as a dative of direction or purpose, yet it is coupled with 'ἐπὶ πορείαν' ('on a journey'), a phrase typically reserved for the living. This oxymoron encapsulates the central conceit of the play's prologue: the chorus of women, disguised as men and pretending to be dead or in mourning, are actually embarking on a 'journey' to the Thesmophoria, blurring the boundary between the world of the dead and the living. The construction is not merely a standard dative of reference but a deliberate rhetorical device highlighting the absurdity of the situation.
1067.
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Line 1067
ἀστεροειδέα νῶτα διφρεύουσʼ
The verb διφρεύουσ' (from διφρέω) is a hapax legomenon in Aristophanes, derived from δίφρη (a two-wheeled cart or chariot). Its usage here as a transitive verb meaning 'to drive a chariot over' or 'to trample with a chariot' is syntactically marked by the direct object ἀστεροειδέα νῶτα ('star-shaped backs'), creating a vivid, hyperbolic image of women driving a chariot across the backs of the chorus or another group, likely a comic distortion of a chariot race or a metaphorical trampling. The form διφρεύουσ' is an active present indicative, 3rd person plural, which fits the context of the women (the chorus) acting collectively.
1081e.
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Line 1081e
ὀτότυζʼ.
This line consists of a single, highly irregular vocative form ὀτότυζʼ, representing the vocative of ὀτότυζος (or a related dialectal/colloquial variant). The word is a rare, onomatopoeic coinage meaning 'owl' or 'nightjar,' likely used here as a term of abuse or a specific stage direction indicating the entrance of a character disguised as a bird. The elision of the final vowel before the punctuation mark (ʼ) reflects the performative, breathless delivery typical of Aristophanic comedy, where such grotesque or nonsensical words serve a metrical and comic function rather than a standard lexical one. The form's rarity and its specific comic context make it a crux for understanding the character's identity or the scene's absurdity.
1086.
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Line 1086
πῶτε τὸ πωνή;
The form πῶτε is an archaic or dialectal variant of πότε, the interrogative adverb 'when' or 'how'. While standard Attic comedy typically employs πότε, Aristophanes occasionally utilizes πῶτε to reflect the colloquial, rustic, or archaic register of specific characters or to achieve metrical necessity. Here, the usage signals the speaker's specific linguistic persona or the play's comedic tone, rather than a standard grammatical construction.
1102b.
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Line 1102b
τί λέγι; τὴ Γόργος πέρι
The phrase τὴ Γόργος πέρι exhibits a marked dialectal and metrical anomaly: the article τὴ (Attic τὴν) agrees with the feminine noun Γόργος, yet Γόργος is the genitive of Γοργώ (the Gorgon). The construction 'article + genitive + περὶ' is a rare Attic idiom where the genitive noun functions as a proper name in apposition to the implied 'matter' (πράγματος), effectively meaning 'about Gorgo' or 'concerning Gorgo'. This reflects the colloquial, metrical compression characteristic of Aristophanic dialogue, where the genitive of the name is used in a periphrastic sense with περὶ, a usage found in comedy but rare in high Attic prose. The article's feminine gender confirms the reference to the female character Gorgo, not the mythological Gorgon, and the form τὴ Γόργος (instead of περὶ Γοργῆς) is a syntactic fossilization common in comic verse to maintain the iambic rhythm while preserving the name's case form.
1126b.
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Line 1126b
τὸ κεπαλή σʼ ἄρα
The phrase τὸ κεπαλή σʼ ἄρα presents a syntactic anomaly characteristic of Aristophanic comedy: the article τὸ is used with a noun in the dative (κεπαλή) to form an adverbial accusative of respect or a quasi-idiomatic expression of surprise or emphasis ('so, the head, then?'), while κεπαλή itself is a colloquial, slightly degraded form of κεφαλή, reflecting the play's focus on the demotic speech of the women of the chorus. The particle ἄρα introduces a conclusion drawn from previous context, here likely mocking the absurdity of the situation or the speaker's own bewilderment.
1127.
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Line 1127
τὸ ξιπομάκαιραν ἀποκεκόψι τουτοϊ.
The phrase ξιπομάκαιραν is a notorious crux in this passage. While the literal meaning would be 'cutting off the foot of the woman,' the word ξιπομάκαιρα does not exist in the standard lexicon. The scholia suggest it is a nonsense word or a corruption, but the most widely accepted conjecture, proposed by scholars such as Hermann and supported by the context of the play's parody of tragic rhetoric, is that it is a deliberate, absurd coinage by Aristophanes to mock the pretensions of tragic diction, possibly parodying a specific tragic phrase or simply serving as a nonsensical epithet for 'shoe-woman' (from ξύλον + πόδι + μακαίρ). The manuscript tradition is unanimous in preserving this form, making it a unique instance of intentional lexical invention rather than a simple scribal error, and it stands as a key example of Aristophanic comic distortion of tragic language.