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μηδὲ Κρατίνου τοῦ ταυροφάγου γλώττης Βακχεῖʼ ἐτελέσθη,
The phrase 'Κρατίνου τοῦ ταυροφάγου' (of the bull-eating Cratinus) is a notorious textual crux. While the scholia offer no alternative reading, the epithet 'ταυροφάγος' is otherwise unattested for Cratinus and semantically anomalous in a literary context. Scholars have long debated whether this represents a genuine, albeit obscure, biographical detail (perhaps alluding to a specific lost play or a physical characteristic), a corruption of a different word (such as 'ταυροκτόνου' or a reference to a specific ritual), or a deliberate, ironic distortion by the chorus to mock the poet's perceived gluttony or the violence of his old comedy. The lack of manuscript variants heightens the difficulty of resolving whether this is an authentic, albeit rare, contemporary nickname or a scribal error that has become canonical.
Frogs. Aristophanes. . 2026-09-08.