Aristophanes, Thesmophoriazusae, 785

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Chorus: Let us then speak well of ourselves, having transgressed,

785

Chorus: Yet every sort of female race speaks many evils,

Chorus: How great a evil we are to men, and all things are from us,

Chorus: Strifes, quarrels, faction, painful grief, war. Come now,

Chorus: If we are bad, why do you marry us, if indeed we are bad?

Chorus: and you forbid her both to go out and to be caught while leaning out,

790

Chorus: But do you wish to guard the evil with great earnestness in this way?

Chorus: And if the woman should go out somewhere, then find her at the doors,

Chorus: To be mad with madness, those whom one ought to sacrifice and to rejoice in, if indeed it is true.

Chorus: From inside they found the evil and did not realize it was inside.

Chorus: And even if we get scratched while playing and working at someone else's house,

795

Chorus: Someone is looking for this evil, wandering around the beds.

Chorus: And even if we peek out from a window, you seek to look upon the evil;

Chorus: And even if she is ashamed and withdraws, everyone desires her all the more.

Chorus: again the evil, having leaned over, to see. Thus we openly

Chorus: We are much better than you, and the ordeal is present to be seen.

800

Chorus: let us give a test to see which are worse. For we say that you are,

Chorus: But you [should consider] us. Let us then examine and respond to each one,

Chorus: comparing the name of each woman and of the man.

Chorus: Nausimachos is indeed inferior to Charmos; his deeds are obvious.

Chorus: And indeed, Kleophon is surely altogether worse than Xalabakchos.

805

Chorus: with regard to Aristomache, a long time, with regard to that one [at] Marathon,

Chorus: And no one, not even Stratonicus, attempts to fight against you.

Chorus: But is there any councilor better than Eubouleus, one who served last year?

Chorus: having handed over the government to another? Not even you yourself will say this, indeed.

Chorus: Thus we pray that we are much better than the men.

810

Chorus: Nor would a woman, having stolen, yoke for fifty talents.

Chorus: May they come into the city from the public funds; but if they should have suffered the greatest losses.

Chorus: Stealing the man's sack of grain, she returned it on the very same day.

Thesmophoriazusae. 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)

Θεσμοφοριάζουσαι Perseus (Aristophanes. Aristophanis Comoediae, Vol. 2. Hall, F. W. and Geldart, William M., editors. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1907.) — 785 focus

Χορός

ἡμεῖς τοίνυν ἡμᾶς αὐτὰς εὖ λέξωμεν παραβᾶσαι,
785

καίτοι πᾶς τις τὸ γυναικεῖον φῦλον κακὰ πόλλʼ ἀγορεύει,

ὡς πᾶν ἐσμὲν κακὸν ἀνθρώποις κἀξ ἡμῶν ἐστιν ἅπαντα,

ἔριδες νείκη στάσις ἀργαλέα λύπη πόλεμος. φέρε δή νυν,

εἰ κακόν ἐσμεν, τί γαμεῖθʼ ἡμᾶς, εἴπερ ἀληθῶς κακόν ἐσμεν,

κἀπαγορεύετε μήτʼ ἐξελθεῖν μήτʼ ἐκκύψασαν ἁλῶναι,
790

ἀλλʼ οὑτωσὶ πολλῇ σπουδῇ τὸ κακὸν βούλεσθε φυλάττειν;

κἂν ἐξέλθῃ τὸ γύναιόν ποι, κᾆθʼ εὕρητʼ αὐτὸ θύρασιν,

μανίας μαίνεσθʼ, οὓς χρῆν σπένδειν καὶ χαίρειν, εἴπερ ἀληθῶς

ἔνδοθεν ηὕρετε φροῦδον τὸ κακὸν καὶ μὴ κατελαμβάνετʼ ἔνδον.

κἂν καταδάρθωμεν ἐν ἀλλοτρίων παίζουσαι καὶ κοπιῶσαι,
795

πᾶς τις τὸ κακὸν τοῦτο ζητεῖ περὶ τὰς κλίνας περινοστῶν.

κἂν ἐκ θυρίδος παρακύπτωμεν, τὸ κακὸν ζητεῖτε θεᾶσθαι·

κἂν αἰσχυνθεῖσʼ ἀναχωρήσῃ, πολὺ μᾶλλον πᾶς ἐπιθυμεῖ

αὖθις τὸ κακὸν παρακύψαν ἰδεῖν. οὕτως ἡμεῖς ἐπιδήλως

ὑμῶν ἐσμεν πολὺ βελτίους, βάσανός τε πάρεστιν ἰδέσθαι.
800

βάσανον δῶμεν πότεροι χείρους. ἡμεῖς μὲν γάρ φαμεν ὑμᾶς,

ὑμεῖς δʼ ἡμᾶς. σκεψώμεθα δὴ κἀντιτιθῶμεν πρὸς ἕκαστον,

παραβάλλουσαι τῆς τε γυναικὸς καὶ τἀνδρὸς τοὔνομʼ ἑκάστου.

Ναυσιμάχης μέν γʼ ἥττων ἐστὶν Χαρμῖνος· δῆλα δὲ τἄργα.

καὶ μὲν δὴ καὶ Κλεοφῶν χείρων πάντως δήπου Ξαλαβακχοῦς.
805

πρὸς Ἀριστομάχην δὲ χρόνου πολλοῦ, πρὸς ἐκείνην τὴν Μαραθῶνι,

καὶ Ξτρατονίκην ὑμῶν οὐδεὶς οὐδʼ ἐγχειρεῖ πολεμίζειν.

ἀλλʼ Εὐβούλης τῶν πέρυσίν τις βουλευτής ἐστιν ἀμείνων

παραδοὺς ἑτέρῳ τὴν βουλείαν; οὐδʼ αὐτὸς τοῦτό γε φήσεις.

οὕτως ἡμεῖς πολὺ βελτίους τῶν ἀνδρῶν εὐχόμεθʼ εἶναι.
810

οὐδʼ ἂν κλέψασα γυνὴ ζεύγει κατὰ πεντήκοντα τάλαντα

ἐς πόλιν ἔλθοι τῶν δημοσίων· ἀλλʼ ἢν τὰ μέγισθʼ ὑφέληται

φορμὸν πυρῶν τἀνδρὸς κλέψασʼ, αὐθημερὸν αὔτʼ ἀπέδωκεν.

Translations (1)

Thesmophoriazusae (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Anonymous; 1938 compilation). Migrated from Perseus legacy XML; source wording and notes retained. See TEI header and migration inventory.) — 785 focus

He sits down to wait for Euripides.

The Chorus turns and faces the audience.

Leader of the Chorus

785 Let us address ourselves to the spectators to sing our praises, despite the fact that each one says much ill of women. If the men are to be believed, we are a plague to them; through us come all their troubles, quarrels, disputes, sedition, griefs and wars. But if we are truly such a pest, why marry us? 790 Why forbid us to go out or show ourselves at the window? You want to keep this pest, and take a thousand cares to do it. If your wife goes out and you meet her away from the house, you fly into a fury. Ought you not rather to rejoice and give thanks to the gods? for if the pest has disappeared, you will no longer find it at home. 795 If we fall asleep at friends' houses from the fatigue of playing and sporting, each of you comes prowling round the bed to contemplate the features of this pest. If we seat ourselves at the window, each one wants to see the pest, and if we withdraw through modesty, each wants all the more to see the pest perch herself there again. It is thus clear that we 800 are better than you, and the proof of this is easy. Let us find out which is the worse of the two sexes. We say, “It's you,” while you aver, “it's we.” Come, let us compare them in detail, each individual man with a woman. Charminus is not equal to Nausimache, that's certain. 805 Cleophon is in every respect inferior to Salabaccho. It's a long time now since any of you has dared to contest the prize with Aristomache, the heroine of Marathon, or with Stratonice.
Among the last year's Senators, who have just yielded their office to other citizens, is there one who equals Eubule? Not even Anytus would say that. 810 Therefore we maintain that men are greatly our inferiors. You see no woman who has robbed the state of fifty talents rushing about the city in a magnificent chariot; our greatest peculations are a measure of corn, which we steal from our husbands, and even then we return it to them the very same day.

Aristophanes Thesmophoriazusae 785

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He sits down to wait for Euripides.

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