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.
1216.
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Line 1216
τὸν πρόλογον οὐχ ἕξει προσάψαι λήκυθον.
The phrase προσάψαι λήκυθον (to 'attach a lekythos') is a vivid metaphorical idiom derived from the practice of attaching oil flasks (lekythoi) to the handles of wine jugs (oinochoai) or, more likely in this comedic context, the ritual of suspending a lekythos as an offering or a prop in a specific theatrical or ritual performance. Here, Aristophanes uses it to suggest that the prologue will be so short or insignificant that there is no 'handle' or 'hook' to which one can attach a substantial offering or elaboration. This construction relies on the audience's familiarity with the physical culture of symposia and ritual offerings, transforming a mundane object into a metaphor for the lack of substance in the upcoming speech. The verb προσάπτω here carries the specific sense of 'to append' or 'to add on' in a way that is physically impossible given the context, highlighting the absurdity of the situation.
1226.
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Line 1226
The phrase Ἀγήνορος παῖς ('son of Agenor') serves as a periphrastic designation for Cadmus, the founder of Thebes. In the context of the *Frogs*, this allusion is significant: Aristophanes uses this genealogy to evoke the Theban mythological tradition, specifically the lineage that includes the Sphinx and the tragic history of Oedipus. This is not merely a biographical identifier but a deliberate literary allusion to the Theban cycle of myths, which stands in contrast to the Athenian context of the play's action, potentially highlighting the thematic tension between the tragic gravity of the past (represented by Aeschylus) and the contemporary comic present.
1227.
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Line 1227
ὦ δαιμόνιʼ ἀνδρῶν ἀποπρίω τὴν λήκυθον,
The phrase ἀποπρίω τὴν λήκυθον is a proverbial idiom literally meaning 'to split the oil flask,' used here as a metaphor for ruining a situation or ruining someone's plans. The verb ἀποπρίω (from πρίω, to split) combined with λήκυθος (a small oil flask) creates a vivid image of domestic disaster, likely alluding to the practical consequence of breaking a valuable oil container in a household economy. In the context of the Frogs, this is a humorous exclamation directed at a character whose actions are perceived as foolishly destructive.
1229.
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Line 1229
The verb πρίωμαι is a rare, archaic perfect middle form of πρίω (to buy), used here as a present in meaning. In Attic comedy, Aristophanes often employs such archaic or dialectal forms for metrical convenience or to evoke a specific character voice (here, likely a merchant or someone in a transactional context). The form is attested in the manuscript tradition of this passage, though some editors have emended to a more standard present form, but the textual evidence supports the archaic perfect.
1246.
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Line 1246
τὸ ληκύθιον γὰρ τοῦτʼ ἐπὶ τοῖς προλόγοισί σου
The phrase ἐπὶ τοῖς προλόγοισί σου employs a specific comedic pun: while the physical object (a lekythos) is being placed 'upon' or 'at the head of' the prologues as a metaphorical capstone or reward, the idiom ἐπὶ τοῖς + dative can also imply 'in addition to' or 'on top of' the preceding arguments, suggesting that the speaker's previous words have been merely a prelude to this final, perhaps absurd, action. Furthermore, the use of the archaic dative plural form προλόγοισί (rather than the later προλόγοις) is a deliberate archaism characteristic of the comic chorus's meter and style, distinguishing the choral voice from the iambic trimeter of the dialogue.
1264.
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Line 1264
Φθιῶτʼ Ἀχιλλεῦ, τί ποτʼ ἀνδροδάικτον ἀκούων
The vocative 'Φθιῶτ' Ἀχιλλεῦ' addresses Achilles not by his personal name alone but by his patronymic or territorial epithet ('son of the Phthian'), referring to his origin in Phthia (Thessaly). This specific form of address, combining the ethnonym in the vocative with the personal name, functions as a solemn, epic-style invocation typical of the tragic tradition Aristophanes is parodying here. In the context of the play, it is a deliberate mimicry of the opening lines of Euripides' lost tragedy *Bellerophon* (fr. 227 TrGF), where a similar vocative construction is used to summon a hero from the underworld, highlighting the metatheatrical nature of the scene where Dionysus and Xanthias have arrived in Hades.
1286.
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Line 1286
τοφλαττοθρατ τοφλαττοθρατ,
This is an instance of onomatopoeic comic nonsense (barrage of syllables) intended to mimic the croaking of frogs, a hallmark of Aristophanic satire in the parabasis and choral sections. The specific repetition and vowel shifts (alpha, omicron, tau, theta) are not standard lexical items but a phonetic approximation of the frog chorus's sound, serving as a metatheatrical device to parody the solemnity of tragic diction or to signal the absurdity of the chorus's entry.
1288.
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Line 1288
τοφλαττοθρατ τοφλαττοθρατ,
The repetition of 'τοφλαττοθρατ' (a distorted onomatopoeic rendering of 'tōphlattotrāt') constitutes a deliberate parody of the heroic hexameter's dactylic rhythm, collapsing the expected metrical grandeur into a comic, guttural stammer. This is not merely nonsense but a specific rhetorical device where Aristophanes mimics the sound of a tragic hero's entrance or a battle cry while simultaneously undermining it through phonetic degradation, a technique characteristic of his 'tragic parody' in the *Frogs*.
1289.
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Line 1289
σὺν δορὶ καὶ χερὶ πράκτορι θούριος ὄρνις,
The noun πράκτορι is a rare hapax legomenon in this context, functioning as a substantive adjective or noun meaning 'agent' or 'instrumental agent' (literally 'one who brings to pass'). Here, it creates a striking synecdoche or metonymy: the 'bird of fury' (Thourios) is not merely acting with spear and hand, but is identified as the 'agent' of those very weapons, personifying the violence itself. This usage is distinct from the more common adjectival use of πράκτωρ, and the construction σὺν ... πράκτορι ('with the agent') is syntactically unusual, suggesting the spear and hand are the means by which the 'furious bird' acts as an instrument of destruction, or conversely, that the bird is the active principle ('agent') behind the martial tools.
1292.
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Line 1292
τοφλαττοθρατ τοφλαττοθρατ,
This line consists of the onomatopoeic cry of the frogs, a comic device mimicking their croaking sound to establish the setting of the marshy underworld before the arrival of the human characters. The repetition serves as a rhythmic and auditory marker of the chorus's identity, a technique Aristophanes employs to immediately immerse the audience in the grotesque atmosphere of the play's opening.
1293.
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Line 1293
τὸ συγκλινές τʼ ἐπʼ Αἴαντι,
The phrase employs a rare and compressed elliptical construction: τὸ συγκλινές (the 'concave' or 'hollowed-out' part) stands as the subject of an implied verb (likely 'is' or 'lies'), while ἐπ' Αἴαντι functions as a prepositional phrase indicating location. The adjective συγκλινές here is used substantively to denote a specific architectural or topographical feature—a concave slope or hollow—without explicit nominalization, a usage characteristic of Aristophanic comic diction where technical or descriptive terms are often stripped to their barest form for rhythmic or metrical effect. The reference to Aias (Ajax) likely alludes to a specific landmark in Athens, possibly the slope near the sanctuary of Ajax or a topographical feature associated with his mythic burial or cult, requiring knowledge of local Athenian geography to visualize the spatial relationship described.
1295.
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Line 1295
τοφλαττοθρατ τοφλαττοθρατ.
This line consists of the comic character Xanthias mimicking the sound of a frog, an onomatopoeic rendering of the croak 'βρέκεκεξ κοάξ κοάξ' (brekekex koax koax) that permeates the play's climax. The spelling 'τοφλαττοθρατ' represents the guttural, frog-like quality of the sound rather than a lexical word; it is a deliberate phonetic distortion intended to evoke the auditory experience of the chorus of frogs in the Underworld. This is a rare instance in Aristophanic comedy where the text relies almost entirely on non-lexical sound imitation to drive the humor, marking a transition from the human dialogue of the preceding scenes to the surreal, amphibian chorus that concludes the play.
1300.
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Line 1300
λειμῶνα Μουσῶν ἱερὸν ὀφθείην δρέπων·
The optative mood 'ὀφθείην' (aorist passive of ὁράω) functions here as a wish or prayer ('I wish that I might see'), a usage characteristic of the dramatic genre where characters often invoke divine favor or express deep longing for an ideal state. The construction 'λειμῶνα... δρέπων' creates a striking synchysis where the participle 'δρέπων' (gathering/harvesting) governs the accusative 'λειμῶνα' (meadow), metaphorically depicting the poet as a harvester of Muses' inspiration rather than literal crops. This image of the 'meadow of the Muses' is a distinct Aristophanic innovation on the traditional Hesiodic topography of the Muses, transforming the abstract concept of poetic inspiration into a tangible, harvestable landscape.
1301.
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Line 1301
οὗτος δʼ ἀπὸ πάντων †μὲν φέρει, πορνιδίων†,
The text is corrupt at the indicated point, marked by the dagger symbols (†). The phrase 'πορνιδίων' (of prostitutes) is widely regarded by scholars as a later interpolation or a corruption of the original text, likely introduced by a scribe attempting to clarify an obscure reference to the comic character's alleged vices. The original reading is uncertain; some conjectures suggest the word may have been 'πορνῶν' (of harlots) in a different grammatical construction, or that the entire phrase 'πορνιδίων' is a gloss that entered the text. The phrase 'ἀπὸ πάντων ... φέρει' (carries from all) is syntactically difficult without the intervening noun, and the corruption obscures the specific nature of the character's alleged misconduct or the grammatical object of 'φέρει'. This is a genuine crux in the text of the Frogs, with no consensus on the original reading.
1308.
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Line 1308
αὕτη ποθʼ ἡ Μοῦσʼ οὐκ ἐλεσβίαζεν, οὔ.
The verb ἐλεσβίαζεν is a rare hapax legomenon in this context, functioning as a verb of action derived from the geographical epithet 'Lesbian' (or specifically 'Lesbian-style'). While 'Lesbian' poetry is famously associated with sapphic meters and erotic themes, here Aristophanes uses the verb to mean 'to act in a Lesbian manner' or 'to be effeminate/sophisticated in a way associated with Lesbos,' serving as a specific insult against the Muse's current behavior or character. The use of the verb form rather than the adjective is a notable lexical choice for satirical effect.
1314.
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Line 1314
εἱειειειλίσσετε δακτύλοις φάλαγγες
The verb εἱειειειλίσσετε is a comic neologism formed by reduplicating the syllable 'ει' three times to mimic the rapid, rolling sound of the fingers (δακτύλοις) as they strike the lyre or chime the rhythm for the phalanx (φάλαγγες) of frogs. This onomatopoeic construction serves as a phonetic pun, collapsing the distinction between the action of 'rolling' or 'turning' the fingers and the military 'phalanx' formation, thereby satirizing the frogs' attempt to mimic human military drills through their own croaking and limb movements.
1315.
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Line 1315
The phrase ἱστόπονα πηνίσματα is a striking compound adjective paired with a rare noun. ἱστόπονα (warp-weaving) is a coined compound, and πηνίσματα (warp-threads) derives from πηνίς, a term for the warp thread used in weaving, appearing here with metonymic force to denote the loom's threads themselves. The combination is a rare, almost technical, metaphorical usage found only in this passage, where Aristophanes employs weaving terminology to describe the 'threads' of a story or argument, likely alluding to the intricate construction of tragedy or the 'weaving' of a plot.
1327.
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Line 1327
The phrase ἀνὰ τὸ δωδεκαμήχανον refers to a specific prop or stage direction indicating the use of a 'twelve-oared' boat or mechanism, likely a representation of the river Styx or a boat crossing. The term δωδεκαμήχανον is rare and possibly a technical term for a stage apparatus or a metaphorical reference to the number of oars, which may allude to the mythological significance of the number twelve in the context of the journey to the underworld.
1336a.
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Line 1336a
This hapax legomenon (or rare compound) appears in the description of Hades in the Frogs. The term is a compound of μέλας (black), νεκρός (dead), and εἴμων (robe/dweller). While the semantic components are transparent, the specific compound is a striking example of Aristophanic comic invention, likely coined to evoke the grim, shrouded atmosphere of the underworld in a way that is both descriptive and rhythmically suited to the iambic trimeter. The form εἴμων, usually meaning 'garment' or 'dweller', here functions as a substantive epithet for the realm or its inhabitants, creating a dense, allusive image of a 'black-robed-dead' place. This construction exemplifies the poet's tendency to create new compounds for metrical and comic effect, pushing the boundaries of Attic usage.
