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Euripides: And indeed, I shall turn to your very prologues,

Euripides: in order that the first part of the tragedy

1120

Euripides: I will first torture his right hand.

Euripides: for the expression of the things was unclear.

Dionysus: And what torture will you inflict on him?

Euripides: very many.

Euripides: First, tell me the one from Orestias.

Dionysus: Come now, let every man be silent. Speak, Aeschylus.

1125

Aeschylus: Hermes, chthonic one, looking upon the ancestral power,

Aeschylus: become my savior and ally as I ask.

Aeschylus: For I have come to this land and am descending.

Dionysus: Do you have anything to criticize about these things?

Euripides: more than twelve.

Dionysus: But not all these things are so, but only three.

1130

Euripides: But each of them has twenty and three faults.

Dionysus: Aeschylus, I advise you to be silent; but if not,

Dionysus: Having a debt of three iambics, he shall appear.

Aeschylus: 'Am I to be silent with him?'

Dionysus: If he persuades me, then.

Euripides: for he has erred at once with a heavenly fault.

1135

Aeschylus: Do you see that you are talking nonsense?

Dionysus: But it concerns me only a little.

Aeschylus: How do you say that I have made a mistake?

Euripides: Speak again from the beginning.

Aeschylus: Hermes, chthonian, watching over your father's power.

Euripides: So Orestes does not say this at the tomb.

Euripides: 'When his father had died?'

1140

Aeschylus: I do not speak otherwise.

Euripides: Then, what happened to Hermes, since the father perished?

Euripides: by force from a woman's hand

Euripides: "He said that he would keep watch over these by secret treacheries?"

Aeschylus: Not that one, but Erionius.

Aeschylus: 'He addressed the underworld Hermes, while speaking of the manifest'.

1145

Aeschylus: for this is a hereditary honor—

Euripides: You have erred even more than I wished;

Euripides: for if he has the hereditary honor of the underworld—

Dionysus: So that would be how it is, with a grave robber for a father.

Aeschylus: Dionysus, you drink wine that does not smell of flowers.

1150

Dionysus: Tell him another one; but you keep watch for the injury.

Aeschylus: be a savior and an ally to me, the one asking.

Aeschylus: For I have come to this land and am descending—

Euripides: The wise Aeschylus has said the same thing to us twice.

Dionysus: 'How twice?'

1155

Euripides: Consider the verb; and I will tell you.

Euripides: 'For I have come into the land,' he says, 'and I am descending.'

Euripides: 'I have come, and it is the same as "I am going down".'

Frogs. Aristophanes. . 2026-09-08.

Current edition Experimental

English (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.) — 1119 focus

Εὐριπίδης

καὶ μὴν ἐπʼ αὐτοὺς τοὺς προλόγους σου τρέψομαι,

ὅπως τὸ πρῶτον τῆς τραγῳδίας μέρος
1120

πρώτιστον αὐτοῦ βασανιῶ τοῦ δεξιοῦ.

ἀσαφὴς γὰρ ἦν ἐν τῇ φράσει τῶν πραγμάτων.

Διόνυσος

καὶ ποῖον αὐτοῦ βασανιεῖς;

Εὐριπίδης

πολλοὺς πάνυ.

πρῶτον δέ μοι τὸν ἐξ Ὀρεστείας λέγε.

Διόνυσος

ἄγε δὴ σιώπα πᾶς ἀνήρ. λέγʼ Αἰσχύλε.
1125

Αἰσχύλος

Ἑρμῆ χθόνιε πατρῷʼ ἐποπτεύων κράτη,

σωτὴρ γενοῦ μοι σύμμαχός τʼ αἰτουμένῳ.

ἥκω γὰρ ἐς γῆν τήνδε καὶ κατέρχομαι.

Διόνυσος

τούτων ἔχεις ψέγειν τι;

Εὐριπίδης

πλεῖν ἢ δώδεκα.

Διόνυσος

ἀλλʼ οὐδὲ πάντα ταῦτά γʼ ἔστʼ ἀλλʼ ἢ τρία.
1130

Εὐριπίδης

ἔχει δʼ ἕκαστον εἴκοσίν γʼ ἁμαρτίας.

Διόνυσος

Αἰσχύλε παραινῶ σοι σιωπᾶν· εἰ δὲ μή,

πρὸς τρισὶν ἰαμβείοισι προσοφείλων φανεῖ.

Αἰσχύλος

ἐγὼ σιωπῶ τῷδʼ;

Διόνυσος

ἐὰν πείθῃ γʼ ἐμοί.

Εὐριπίδης

εὐθὺς γὰρ ἡμάρτηκεν οὐράνιόν γʼ ὅσον.
1135

Αἰσχύλος

ὁρᾷς ὅτι ληρεῖς;

Διόνυσος

ἀλλʼ ὀλίγον γέ μοι μέλει.

Αἰσχύλος

πῶς φῄς μʼ ἁμαρτεῖν;

Εὐριπίδης

αὖθις ἐξ ἀρχῆς λέγε.

Αἰσχύλος

Ἑρμῆ χθόνιε πατρῷʼ ἐποπτεύων κράτη.

Εὐριπίδης

οὔκουν Ὀρέστης τοῦτʼ ἐπὶ τῷ τύμβῳ λέγει

τῷ τοῦ πατρὸς τεθνεῶτος;
1140

Αἰσχύλος

οὐκ ἄλλως λέγω.

Εὐριπίδης

πότερʼ οὖν τὸν Ἑρμῆν, ὡς ὁ πατὴρ ἀπώλετο

αὐτοῦ βιαίως ἐκ γυναικείας χερὸς

δόλοις λαθραίοις, ταῦτʼ ἐποπτεύειν ἔφη;

Αἰσχύλος

οὐ δῆτʼ ἐκεῖνον, ἀλλὰ τὸν Ἐριούνιον

Ἑρμῆν χθόνιον προσεῖπε, κἀδήλου λέγων
1145

ὁτιὴ πατρῷον τοῦτο κέκτηται γέρας—

Εὐριπίδης

ἔτι μεῖζον ἐξήμαρτες ἢ ʼγὼ ʼβουλόμην·

εἰ γὰρ πατρῷον τὸ χθόνιον ἔχει γέρας—

Διόνυσος

οὕτω γʼ ἂν εἴη πρὸς πατρὸς τυμβωρύχος.

Αἰσχύλος

Διόνυσε πίνεις οἶνον οὐκ ἀνθοσμίαν.
1150

Διόνυσος

λέγʼ ἕτερον αὐτῷ· σὺ δʼ ἐπιτήρει τὸ βλάβος.

Αἰσχύλος

σωτὴρ γενοῦ μοι σύμμαχός τʼ αἰτουμένῳ.

ἥκω γὰρ ἐς γῆν τήνδε καὶ κατέρχομαι—

Εὐριπίδης

δὶς ταὐτὸν ἡμῖν εἶπεν ὁ σοφὸς Αἰσχύλος.

Διόνυσος

πῶς δίς;
1155

Εὐριπίδης

σκόπει τὸ ῥῆμʼ· ἐγὼ δέ σοι φράσω.

ἥκω γὰρ ἐς γῆν, φησί, καὶ κατέρχομαι·

ἥκω δὲ ταὐτόν ἐστι τῷ κατέρχομαι.

Translations (1)

Frogs (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Matthew Dillon). Migrated from Perseus legacy XML; source wording and notes retained. See TEI header and migration inventory.) — 1119 focus

Euripides

All right then, I'll turn to your prologues themselves,

so that first of all I can test the first section

of this clever poet's tragedy.

For he was unclear in the explanation of events.

Dionysus

Which one of his will you test?
1295

Euripides

Quite a lot.

First, recite to me the start of the Oresteia.

Dionysus

Now silence, every one! Speak, Aeschylus.

Aeschylus

“Subterranean Hermes, guardian of my father's realms,

Become my savior and my ally, in answer to my prayer.
1300

For I am come and do return to this my land.”

Dionysus

Do you have something to criticize in this?

Euripides

More than a dozen.

Dionysus

But the whole thing wasn't more than three lines.

Euripides

And each one has twenty mistakes.
1305

Dionysus

I warn you to keep quiet, Aeschylus—if not,

on top of these three verses you'll wind up owing more.

Aeschylus

ME be quiet for HIM?

Dionysus

If you take my advice.

Euripides

Right off he made mistakes as high as heaven.
1310

Aeschylus

You see that you're ranting!

Euripides

Doesn't bother me in the least.

Aeschylus

What mistakes do you claim I make?

Euripides

Repeat it from the start one more time.

Aeschylus

“Subterranean Hermes, guardian of my father's realms,”—
1315

Euripides

Doesn't Orestes say this at the grave

Of his dead father?

Aeschylus

I grant that much.

Euripides

Well, seeing that his father died a death

of violence, slain by a woman's hand,
1320

in a secret plot, how can he say that Hermes guarded anything?

Dionysus

Not that one, but the Luck-Bringer

Hermes he called “Subterranean”, and he made it clear by saying

that he has this function from his father.

Euripides

You made an even bigger mistake than I imagined.
1325

For if he has this underground junction from his father—

Dionysus

Then he'd be a grave robber on his father's side.

Aeschylus

Dionysus, the wine you drink doesn't smell too good.

Dionysus

Recite another for him. And you watch out for damage.

Aeschylus

“Become my savior and my ally, in answer to my prayer.
1330

For I am come and do return to this my land.”

Euripides

Sage Aeschylus has said the same thing twice.

Dionysus

How twice?

Euripides

Look at his words and I'll tell you.

“I am come to this my land”, he says, “and do return.”
1335

To come is the same thing as to return.

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

1149. mvp-tlg0019-tlg009-sanjaya-com-eng1-56

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.

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Current edition Experimental

Διόνυσος καὶ ποῖον αὐτοῦ βασανιεῖς;

Εὐριπίδης πολλοὺς πάνυ. πρῶτον δέ μοι τὸν ἐξ Ὀρεστείας λέγε.

Διόνυσος ἄγε δὴ σιώπα πᾶς ἀνήρ. λέγʼ Αἰσχύλε. 1125

Αἰσχύλος Ἑρμῆ χθόνιε πατρῷʼ ἐποπτεύων κράτη, σωτὴρ γενοῦ μοι σύμμαχός τʼ αἰτουμένῳ. ἥκω γὰρ ἐς γῆν τήνδε καὶ κατέρχομαι.

Διόνυσος τούτων ἔχεις ψέγειν τι;

Εὐριπίδης πλεῖν ἢ δώδεκα.

Διόνυσος ἀλλʼ οὐδὲ πάντα ταῦτά γʼ ἔστʼ ἀλλʼ ἢ τρία. 1130

Εὐριπίδης ἔχει δʼ ἕκαστον εἴκοσίν γʼ ἁμαρτίας.

Διόνυσος Αἰσχύλε παραινῶ σοι σιωπᾶν· εἰ δὲ μή, πρὸς τρισὶν ἰαμβείοισι προσοφείλων φανεῖ.

Αἰσχύλος ἐγὼ σιωπῶ τῷδʼ;

Διόνυσος ἐὰν πείθῃ γʼ ἐμοί.

Εὐριπίδης εὐθὺς γὰρ ἡμάρτηκεν οὐράνιόν γʼ ὅσον. 1135

Αἰσχύλος ὁρᾷς ὅτι ληρεῖς;

Διόνυσος ἀλλʼ ὀλίγον γέ μοι μέλει.

Αἰσχύλος πῶς φῄς μʼ ἁμαρτεῖν;

Εὐριπίδης αὖθις ἐξ ἀρχῆς λέγε.

Αἰσχύλος Ἑρμῆ χθόνιε πατρῷʼ ἐποπτεύων κράτη.

Εὐριπίδης οὔκουν Ὀρέστης τοῦτʼ ἐπὶ τῷ τύμβῳ λέγει τῷ τοῦ πατρὸς τεθνεῶτος; 1140

Αἰσχύλος οὐκ ἄλλως λέγω.

Εὐριπίδης πότερʼ οὖν τὸν Ἑρμῆν, ὡς ὁ πατὴρ ἀπώλετο αὐτοῦ βιαίως ἐκ γυναικείας χερὸς δόλοις λαθραίοις, ταῦτʼ ἐποπτεύειν ἔφη;

Αἰσχύλος οὐ δῆτʼ ἐκεῖνον, ἀλλὰ τὸν Ἐριούνιον Ἑρμῆν χθόνιον προσεῖπε, κἀδήλου λέγων 1145 ὁτιὴ πατρῷον τοῦτο κέκτηται γέρας—

Εὐριπίδης ἔτι μεῖζον ἐξήμαρτες ἢ ʼγὼ ʼβουλόμην· εἰ γὰρ πατρῷον τὸ χθόνιον ἔχει γέρας—

Διόνυσος οὕτω γʼ ἂν εἴη πρὸς πατρὸς τυμβωρύχος.

Αἰσχύλος Διόνυσε πίνεις οἶνον οὐκ ἀνθοσμίαν. 1150

Διόνυσος λέγʼ ἕτερον αὐτῷ· σὺ δʼ ἐπιτήρει τὸ βλάβος.

Αἰσχύλος σωτὴρ γενοῦ μοι σύμμαχός τʼ αἰτουμένῳ. ἥκω γὰρ ἐς γῆν τήνδε καὶ κατέρχομαι—

Εὐριπίδης δὶς ταὐτὸν ἡμῖν εἶπεν ὁ σοφὸς Αἰσχύλος.

Διόνυσος πῶς δίς; 1155

Εὐριπίδης σκόπει τὸ ῥῆμʼ· ἐγὼ δέ σοι φράσω. ἥκω γὰρ ἐς γῆν, φησί, καὶ κατέρχομαι· ἥκω δὲ ταὐτόν ἐστι τῷ κατέρχομαι.

Euripides All right then, I'll turn to your prologues themselves, so that first of all I can test the first section of this clever poet's tragedy. For he was unclear in the explanation of events.

Dionysus Which one of his will you test? 1295

Euripides Quite a lot. First, recite to me the start of the Oresteia.

Dionysus Now silence, every one! Speak, Aeschylus.

Aeschylus “Subterranean Hermes, guardian of my father's realms, Become my savior and my ally, in answer to my prayer. 1300 For I am come and do return to this my land.”

Dionysus Do you have something to criticize in this?

Euripides More than a dozen.

Dionysus But the whole thing wasn't more than three lines.

Euripides And each one has twenty mistakes. 1305

Dionysus I warn you to keep quiet, Aeschylus—if not, on top of these three verses you'll wind up owing more.

Aeschylus ME be quiet for HIM?

Dionysus If you take my advice.

Euripides Right off he made mistakes as high as heaven. 1310

Aeschylus You see that you're ranting!

Euripides Doesn't bother me in the least.

Aeschylus What mistakes do you claim I make?

Euripides Repeat it from the start one more time.

Aeschylus “Subterranean Hermes, guardian of my father's realms,”— 1315

Euripides Doesn't Orestes say this at the grave Of his dead father?

Aeschylus I grant that much.

Euripides Well, seeing that his father died a death of violence, slain by a woman's hand, 1320 in a secret plot, how can he say that Hermes guarded anything?

Dionysus Not that one, but the Luck-Bringer Hermes he called “Subterranean”, and he made it clear by saying that he has this function from his father.

Euripides You made an even bigger mistake than I imagined. 1325 For if he has this underground junction from his father—

Dionysus Then he'd be a grave robber on his father's side.

Aeschylus Dionysus, the wine you drink doesn't smell too good.

Dionysus Recite another for him. And you watch out for damage.

Aeschylus “Become my savior and my ally, in answer to my prayer. 1330 For I am come and do return to this my land.”

Euripides Sage Aeschylus has said the same thing twice.

Dionysus How twice?

Euripides Look at his words and I'll tell you. “I am come to this my land”, he says, “and do return.” 1335 To come is the same thing as to return.

Commentary

Line 1149

Stable identifiers

Διόνυσος

καὶ ποῖον αὐτοῦ βασανιεῖς;

Εὐριπίδης

πολλοὺς πάνυ.

πρῶτον δέ μοι τὸν ἐξ Ὀρεστείας λέγε.

Διόνυσος

ἄγε δὴ σιώπα πᾶς ἀνήρ. λέγʼ Αἰσχύλε.
1125

Αἰσχύλος

Ἑρμῆ χθόνιε πατρῷʼ ἐποπτεύων κράτη,

σωτὴρ γενοῦ μοι σύμμαχός τʼ αἰτουμένῳ.

ἥκω γὰρ ἐς γῆν τήνδε καὶ κατέρχομαι.

Διόνυσος

τούτων ἔχεις ψέγειν τι;

Εὐριπίδης

πλεῖν ἢ δώδεκα.

Διόνυσος

ἀλλʼ οὐδὲ πάντα ταῦτά γʼ ἔστʼ ἀλλʼ ἢ τρία.
1130

Εὐριπίδης

ἔχει δʼ ἕκαστον εἴκοσίν γʼ ἁμαρτίας.

Διόνυσος

Αἰσχύλε παραινῶ σοι σιωπᾶν· εἰ δὲ μή,

πρὸς τρισὶν ἰαμβείοισι προσοφείλων φανεῖ.

Αἰσχύλος

ἐγὼ σιωπῶ τῷδʼ;

Διόνυσος

ἐὰν πείθῃ γʼ ἐμοί.

Εὐριπίδης

εὐθὺς γὰρ ἡμάρτηκεν οὐράνιόν γʼ ὅσον.
1135

Αἰσχύλος

ὁρᾷς ὅτι ληρεῖς;

Διόνυσος

ἀλλʼ ὀλίγον γέ μοι μέλει.

Αἰσχύλος

πῶς φῄς μʼ ἁμαρτεῖν;

Εὐριπίδης

αὖθις ἐξ ἀρχῆς λέγε.

Αἰσχύλος

Ἑρμῆ χθόνιε πατρῷʼ ἐποπτεύων κράτη.

Εὐριπίδης

οὔκουν Ὀρέστης τοῦτʼ ἐπὶ τῷ τύμβῳ λέγει

τῷ τοῦ πατρὸς τεθνεῶτος;
1140

Αἰσχύλος

οὐκ ἄλλως λέγω.

Εὐριπίδης

πότερʼ οὖν τὸν Ἑρμῆν, ὡς ὁ πατὴρ ἀπώλετο

αὐτοῦ βιαίως ἐκ γυναικείας χερὸς

δόλοις λαθραίοις, ταῦτʼ ἐποπτεύειν ἔφη;

Αἰσχύλος

οὐ δῆτʼ ἐκεῖνον, ἀλλὰ τὸν Ἐριούνιον

Ἑρμῆν χθόνιον προσεῖπε, κἀδήλου λέγων
1145

ὁτιὴ πατρῷον τοῦτο κέκτηται γέρας—

Εὐριπίδης

ἔτι μεῖζον ἐξήμαρτες ἢ ʼγὼ ʼβουλόμην·

εἰ γὰρ πατρῷον τὸ χθόνιον ἔχει γέρας—

Διόνυσος

οὕτω γʼ ἂν εἴη πρὸς πατρὸς τυμβωρύχος.

Αἰσχύλος

Διόνυσε πίνεις οἶνον οὐκ ἀνθοσμίαν.
1150

Διόνυσος

λέγʼ ἕτερον αὐτῷ· σὺ δʼ ἐπιτήρει τὸ βλάβος.

Αἰσχύλος

σωτὴρ γενοῦ μοι σύμμαχός τʼ αἰτουμένῳ.

ἥκω γὰρ ἐς γῆν τήνδε καὶ κατέρχομαι—

Εὐριπίδης

δὶς ταὐτὸν ἡμῖν εἶπεν ὁ σοφὸς Αἰσχύλος.

Διόνυσος

πῶς δίς;
1155

Εὐριπίδης

σκόπει τὸ ῥῆμʼ· ἐγὼ δέ σοι φράσω.

ἥκω γὰρ ἐς γῆν, φησί, καὶ κατέρχομαι·

ἥκω δὲ ταὐτόν ἐστι τῷ κατέρχομαι.

Euripides

All right then, I'll turn to your prologues themselves,

so that first of all I can test the first section

of this clever poet's tragedy.

For he was unclear in the explanation of events.

Dionysus

Which one of his will you test?
1295

Euripides

Quite a lot.

First, recite to me the start of the Oresteia.

Dionysus

Now silence, every one! Speak, Aeschylus.

Aeschylus

“Subterranean Hermes, guardian of my father's realms,

Become my savior and my ally, in answer to my prayer.
1300

For I am come and do return to this my land.”

Dionysus

Do you have something to criticize in this?

Euripides

More than a dozen.

Dionysus

But the whole thing wasn't more than three lines.

Euripides

And each one has twenty mistakes.
1305

Dionysus

I warn you to keep quiet, Aeschylus—if not,

on top of these three verses you'll wind up owing more.

Aeschylus

ME be quiet for HIM?

Dionysus

If you take my advice.

Euripides

Right off he made mistakes as high as heaven.
1310

Aeschylus

You see that you're ranting!

Euripides

Doesn't bother me in the least.

Aeschylus

What mistakes do you claim I make?

Euripides

Repeat it from the start one more time.

Aeschylus

“Subterranean Hermes, guardian of my father's realms,”—
1315

Euripides

Doesn't Orestes say this at the grave

Of his dead father?

Aeschylus

I grant that much.

Euripides

Well, seeing that his father died a death

of violence, slain by a woman's hand,
1320

in a secret plot, how can he say that Hermes guarded anything?

Dionysus

Not that one, but the Luck-Bringer

Hermes he called “Subterranean”, and he made it clear by saying

that he has this function from his father.

Euripides

You made an even bigger mistake than I imagined.
1325

For if he has this underground junction from his father—

Dionysus

Then he'd be a grave robber on his father's side.

Aeschylus

Dionysus, the wine you drink doesn't smell too good.

Dionysus

Recite another for him. And you watch out for damage.

Aeschylus

“Become my savior and my ally, in answer to my prayer.
1330

For I am come and do return to this my land.”

Euripides

Sage Aeschylus has said the same thing twice.

Dionysus

How twice?

Euripides

Look at his words and I'll tell you.

“I am come to this my land”, he says, “and do return.”
1335

To come is the same thing as to return.