Aristophanes Frogs 496

Frogs. Aristophanes. . 2026-09-08.

Current edition Experimental

Commentary (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)
Βάτραχοι Perseus (Aristophanes. Aristophanis Comoediae, Vol. 2. Hall, F. W. and Geldart, William M., editors. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1907.) — 503 focus
Translations (2)
Frogs (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Matthew Dillon). Migrated from Perseus legacy XML; source wording and notes retained. See TEI header and migration inventory.) — 503 focus
English (Sanjaya, generated; selected passages) (OCR draft) Experimental (Source: pnadelofficial/aristophanes-sanjaya, commit c319590c139e5603e71f0699caa0663d823af8ad. Machine-generated source annotations retained; see Sanjaya import audit for coverage and limitations.) — 503 focus

Commentary

Commentary (Sanjaya, generated; selected passages) (OCR draft) (Source: pnadelofficial/aristophanes-sanjaya, commit c319590c139e5603e71f0699caa0663d823af8ad. Machine-generated source annotations retained; see Sanjaya import audit for coverage and limitations.) focus

496. mvp-tlg0019-tlg009-sanjaya-com-eng1-17

Line 496

καὶ τὴν λεοντῆν, εἴπερ ἀφοβόσπλαγχνος εἶ·
The compound adjective ἀφοβόσπλαγχνος is a hapax legomenon in extant literature, constructed with the privative alpha and the rare noun σπλάγχνον (meaning 'heart' or 'inner organs' as the seat of courage) to mean 'without fear in one's heart' or 'fearless'. Aristophanes' coinage here is a deliberate parody of the epic diction, as the phrase echoes Homeric descriptions of heroes (e.g., Iliad 3.224, where Menelaus is described as having a 'fearless heart'), but applies it to a character (Hercules) who is currently being mocked for his cowardice or inaction in this scene.