1047.
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Line 1047
ὥστε γε καὐτόν σε κατʼ οὖν ἔβαλεν.
The particle combination καὐτόν (καὶ + αὐτόν) with the enclitic γε and the subsequent ἔβαλεν exhibits a specific metrical and syntactic feature of Aristophanic comedy: the elision of the final epsilon in ἔβαλεν before the following vowel (implied or elided in the manuscript tradition) is standard, but the placement of the pronoun αὐτόν immediately after καὶ with the enclitic γε creates a rare rhythmic accentuation pattern often used to heighten the comic emphasis of the action. More critically, the verb ἔβαλεν here is not a standard aorist indicative but likely a form of ἔβαλον (aorist of βάλλω) with the augment elided or the form contracted, a phenomenon attested in papyri and critical editions of Aristophanes where the augment is dropped in the middle of a line to fit iambic trimeter, a feature that requires specific attention in syntactic parsing to avoid misidentifying the tense or mood.
1051.
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Line 1051
κώνεια πιεῖν αἰσχυνθείσας διὰ τοὺς σοὺς Βελλεροφόντας.
The participle αἰσχυνθείσας (aorist passive participle of αἰσχύνομαι) is used with the infinitive πιεῖν in a construction where the subject of the participle (the women, implied by the context of the play's satire on Spartan women) is also the logical subject of the infinitive. This is a standard construction of the genitive absolute or, more precisely here, a genitive participle agreeing with an implied subject in the accusative (the women) that governs the infinitive, a structure common in Aristophanic comedy to denote cause or attendant circumstance. However, the specific phrase 'κώνεια πιεῖν' (to drink water) followed by the participle 'having been ashamed' creates a syntactic ambiguity: does the shame precede the drinking as a cause, or is the shame the result of the drinking? The context of the play (lines 1025-1026) clarifies that the women are ashamed to drink water because of the 'Bellerophons' (a pun on the Spartan soldiers who were supposedly defeated by the 'Bellerophons' of Athens, or a reference to the Spartan practice of drinking wine from water-skins, which is being mocked). The phrase 'διὰ τοὺς σοὺς Βελλεροφόντας' (because of your Bellerophons) is a pointed political allusion: the Spartans, known for their austerity and military prowess, are being mocked by the Athenians for their supposed defeat by the 'Bellerophons' (a reference to the Spartan king Pausanias, who was accused of treason and was associated with the myth of Bellerophon, a hero who was also associated with the city of Argos, a Spartan ally). The commentary must address the syntactic complexity of the participle and the historical allusion to the 'Bellerophons' as a political insult.
The term 'Βελλεροφόντας' (Bellerophons) is a deliberate pun and allusion. In the context of Aristophanes' Frogs, it refers to the Spartan soldiers, but the name 'Bellerophon' is also associated with the myth of the hero who was accused of treason by the Spartans (specifically, the Spartan king Pausanias, who was accused of treason and was associated with the myth of Bellerophon). The pun is that the Spartans are being mocked for their supposed defeat by the 'Bellerophons' (a reference to the Spartan king Pausanias, who was accused of treason and was associated with the myth of Bellerophon, a hero who was also associated with the city of Argos, a Spartan ally). The commentary must address the historical allusion to the 'Bellerophons' as a political insult.
1059.
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Line 1059
μεγάλων γνωμῶν καὶ διανοιῶν ἴσα καὶ τὰ ῥήματα τίκτειν.
The participle τίκτειν ('to bring forth') functions as a complementary infinitive dependent on the implied verb of 'producing' or 'generating' understood from the context of the preceding clause (likely referring to the tragic poet's style). This construction, where a transitive verb of 'bringing forth' takes a direct object (μεγάλων γνωμῶν καὶ διανοιῶν) and a complementary infinitive expressing the action of the object, is a distinctive Aristophanic usage that personifies abstract concepts ('great thoughts and plans') as the offspring of the poet's rhetoric. The phrase ἴσα καὶ τὰ ῥήματα ('equal even to the words') creates a syntactic tension: is ἴσα modifying the thoughts/plans themselves as being 'equal' to the words, or is it a predicate adjective with the infinitive, suggesting the 'birth' of thoughts is equal to the 'birth' of words? The genitive absolute construction is absent here, relying instead on a compressed comparative structure typical of the play's satirical tone regarding the 'greatness' of Euripides' new-fangled vocabulary versus traditional tragic diction.
1071.
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Line 1071
τῶν μειρακίων στωμυλλομένων, καὶ τοὺς Παράλους ἀνέπεισεν
The phrase τῶν μειρακίων στωμυλλομένων utilizes the genitive absolute construction with the present active participle of στωμυλλέω. This verb is a hapax legomenon in this specific form within Aristophanes and carries a specialized, pejorative nuance of 'mumbling' or 'speaking in an unintelligible, muttering fashion,' distinct from the more common ὀμυλλέω or generic terms for talking. The construction effectively isolates the behavior of the youths as the causal or circumstantial backdrop for the main verb, highlighting the specific, disruptive nature of their speech which Xanthias or Dionysus (depending on the immediate context) overcomes by convincing the Paraloí (a specific corps of rowers) to intervene.
1084.
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Line 1084
The verb ἀνεμεστώθη (aorist passive indicative of ἀνεμιοῦν, attested only here in the extant corpus of Aristophanes) is a hapax legomenon constructed from ἀνήμι ('to empty') and the intensive or causative prefix ἀνέ-. In this context, it functions as a vivid, comic neologism describing the scribes' stomachs as having been 'emptied out' or 'hollowed' by hunger, playing on the physical sensation of the 'scribes' (ὑπογραμματέων) being so impoverished they are literally air-filled or empty. The form is a rare instance of Aristophanic morphological invention where a compound verb is formed on the spot to suit the metrical and comic necessity of describing a state of extreme destitution.
1106.
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Line 1106
λέγετον ἔπιτον ἀνά τε δέρετον
The imperative forms λέγετον, ἔπιτον, and δέρετον are plural second-person imperatives with the enclitic particle -ν added for emphasis or rhythmic closure, a feature common in comic verse to mark a collective command. However, the form δέρετον is particularly noteworthy: while the standard Attic imperative plural of δέρω is δέρεσθε (present) or δάρετε (aorist), the form δέρετον represents a Doric or comic variant of the present imperative, reflecting the dialectal mixture often found in Aristophanic choral or comic speech. This usage highlights the play's engagement with dialectal variation for comic effect, especially in the context of the frog chorus or a rustic scene.
1111.
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Line 1111
λεπτὰ μὴ γνῶναι λεγόντοιν,
The phrase λεγόντοιν represents a rare and specific morphological form: the dual optative of λέγω (λέγοιτοιν) used as a passive participle (or potentially a contracted form of λέγοιτοιν in a periphrastic construction), which is highly irregular for Aristophanes. While the dual optative exists, its usage here with the infinitive γνῶναι to express a prohibitive or potential nuance ('lest they be understood to speak thin things') is syntactically complex and likely involves a dialectal or poetic contraction not found in Attic prose. This construction is not merely an intermediate grammatical exercise but a deliberate archaism or metrical adjustment that challenges standard parsing of the dual optative in a comedic context.
1118.
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Line 1118
πάντʼ ἐπέξιτον θεατῶν γʼ οὕνεχʼ ὡς ὄντων σοφῶν.
The relative clause ὡς ὄντων σοφῶν functions as a causal explanation for the preceding assertion, relying on the construction ὡς with the genitive absolute (or more precisely, a genitive of cause following ὡς) to mean 'since they were wise.' While ὡς with the genitive is common in later Greek, its use here by Aristophanes to introduce a subjective, ironic justification ('since they [thought themselves] to be wise') is a specific syntactic feature of the comic diction that distinguishes the playwright's handling of causal particles from the more rigid structures found in Attic tragedy or prose.
1149.
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Line 1149
οὕτω γʼ ἂν εἴη πρὸς πατρὸς τυμβωρύχος.
The phrase πατρὸς τυμβωρύχος is a striking, hyperbolic self-description by Dionysus (or the character speaking) that relies on a specific historical and cultural pun. While τυμβωρύχος literally means 'grave-digger,' in the context of Old Comedy and the specific rivalry between Aristophanes and Euripides, it likely alludes to the accusation that Euripides 'dug up' or excavated the noble, tragic traditions of Aeschylus (and by extension, the 'father' of tragedy) to create his own, more 'barbarous' or modern style. Alternatively, it may refer to the physical act of digging graves for the dead, implying that Dionysus's current actions (mimicking Aeschylus or engaging in the underworld) are so futile or grotesque they resemble grave-robbing. The genitive πατρὸς here functions as a genitive of the object of the action, but the force is metaphorical: 'a grave-digger of the father,' where 'the father' is either the deceased Aeschylus (the 'father' of the tragedy being revived) or, more likely in the context of the play's satire, a reference to the 'father' of the household or the traditional moral order, which Dionysus is now violating. The use of the future conditional ἂν εἴη suggests a hypothetical scenario where this role becomes the speaker's defining characteristic, highlighting the absurdity of the situation.
1196.
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Line 1196
εἰ κἀστρατήγησέν γε μετʼ Ἐρασινίδου.
The phrase 'κἀστρατήγησεν' (καὶ + ἐστρατήγησεν) is a colloquial contraction typical of Old Comedy, where the final -ν of the enclitic καί is elided before the initial vowel of the verb. The verb στρατηγέω here functions as a perfective aorist, but the use of the present stem with aorist meaning (a phenomenon known as the 'aorist of the present stem' or 'mixed aorist') is a distinct feature of the Attic dialect found in comedy and later Koine, though rare in classical prose. The phrase 'μετʼ Ἐρασινίδου' refers to the historical figure Erasistratus, a general known for his role in the Peloponnesian War, specifically his involvement in the Sicilian Expedition. The use of the preposition μετά with the genitive case here indicates 'alongside' or 'in the company of,' which is a standard construction but carries a specific connotation of shared military command in this context.
The reference to Erasistratus (Ἐρασινίδου) is historically significant as he was a prominent Athenian general during the Peloponnesian War, particularly noted for his role in the Sicilian Expedition. The mention of his name in this context likely alludes to a specific historical event or a well-known anecdote about his military leadership, which would have been familiar to the original audience but may require clarification for modern readers.
1201.
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Line 1201
ἀπὸ ληκυθίου σὺ τοὺς ἐμούς;
The phrase ἀπὸ ληκυθίου σὺ τοὺς ἐμούς is a proverbial idiom meaning 'Do you think you can get away with it?' or 'Are you trying to pull the wool over my eyes?' (literally, 'Do you think I am a lekythos from which you can take my things?'). The construction uses the preposition ἀπό with the genitive to denote the source from which something is taken, but here it is used metaphorically to express the speaker's suspicion of the addressee's deceit. The word ληκύθιον (lekythos) refers to a small oil flask, often used in funerary contexts, and its mention here is a deliberate allusion to the idea of theft or trickery. The sentence is a rhetorical question that highlights the speaker's awareness of the addressee's attempt to deceive him.
1208.
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Line 1208
The participle κατασχών (from κατασχεῖν) functions as a causal or explanatory adjunct to the implied action of the subject (Dionysus), indicating that he secured Argos as the strategic basis for his subsequent military operations against Sparta. This construction relies on the audience's knowledge of the immediate historical context: the Sicilian Expedition's aftermath and the subsequent Spartan occupation of Decelea, which left Athens vulnerable. The specific choice of κατασχών rather than a simpler aorist indicative emphasizes the completed, decisive nature of the seizure, a detail critical to Aristophanes' satirical contrast between Dionysus' 'great' achievements and his actual incompetence. The phrase alludes to the real historical event where Argos was a key Athenian ally, and its control was pivotal in the Peloponnesian War's final phase, though the play was written before the war's conclusion, making this a pointed reference to contemporary political anxieties.
