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ἢ τοὺς μισθοὺς τῶν ποιητῶν ῥήτωρ ὢν εἶτʼ ἀποτρώγει,
The phrase ῥήτωρ ὢν (being a rhetor) is not merely descriptive but functions as a pointed ironic contrast to the subject's identity as a poet. In the context of the *Ranae*, Aristophanes satirizes the figure of the 'new' orator (likely targeting a contemporary like Hyperbolus or the general rhetorical shift in Athens) who, by encroaching on the poetic sphere or its patronage, commits a sort of intellectual gluttony. The verb ἀποτρώγει (devours/consumes) is used metaphorically here to suggest the orator is 'eating up' the poets' wages or perhaps the poets themselves, a vivid image of the orator's predatory nature in the competitive landscape of late 5th-century Athenian public life.
Frogs. Aristophanes. . 2026-09-08.