Aristophanes Frogs 1378

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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.) — 1378 focus
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.) — 1378 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

1379. mvp-tlg0019-tlg009-sanjaya-com-eng1-84

Line 1379

καὶ λαβομένω τὸ ῥῆμʼ ἑκάτερος εἴπατον,
The form εἴπατον is a dual aorist indicative active of λέγω, used here to indicate that the two speakers (Dionysus and Xanthias) spoke in unison or simultaneously. This dual form is rare in Attic comedy, where the plural is more common even for pairs, but it serves a specific dramatic function here to emphasize the coordinated action of the two characters as they take the turn to speak.

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Line 1384

κόκκυ, μέθεσθε· καὶ πολύ γε κατωτέρω
The imperative 'μέθεσθε' (let go) is addressed to the chorus, who in performance are likely representing the birds or the underworld spirits accompanying the descent, while 'κόκκυ' functions as an interjection mimicking the cuckoo's cry or a specific call to the bird-characters. This line occurs during the descent into Hades, where the chorus sings of the underworld's sounds; the adverb 'κατωτέρω' (lower down) signals the physical progression of the characters' movement in the staging, emphasizing the verticality of the journey into the depths of Hades, a motif central to the play's comic geography.

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Line 1388

σὺ δʼ εἰσέθηκας τοὔπος ἐπτερωμένον.
The phrase ἐπτερωμένον modifies τοὔπος (τὸ ὄψος) in the accusative, yet the verb εἰσέθηκας (you brought in) takes a direct object. This construction relies on the accusative of respect (or accusative of the predicate) where the participle describes the state of the object upon its arrival, rather than a standard accusative of the thing brought. The imagery of 'speech' (ὄψος, here meaning 'report' or 'news') being 'winged' is a direct allusion to the Homeric motif of winged words (e.g., *Iliad* 2.340), but Aristophanes applies it ironically to the arrival of a specific, perhaps trivial or scandalous, report in the context of the play's satire on contemporary Athenian politics and the recent execution of generals.

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Line 1408

αὐτὸς τὰ παιδίʼ ἡ γυνὴ Κηφισοφῶν
The phrase 'ἡ γυνὴ Κηφισοφῶν' is a standard nominative appositive construction identifying the wife of the character Kallias (the 'Cleisthenes' of the play is his father, but the wife is Kallias's wife, Kallipides's wife, or simply a reference to the wife of Kallias). The specific name 'Kephisophon' refers to the wife of Kallias, a prominent Athenian general and politician during the Peloponnesian War. The phrase is not a grammatical anomaly but a clear identification of a specific historical figure, which is crucial for understanding the satirical context of the play, where Aristophanes mocks the political and social elite of Athens. The use of the definite article 'ἡ' before the noun 'γυνὴ' and the name 'Κηφισοφῶν' is typical for such appositional constructions, where the name is in apposition to the noun, clarifying the identity of the person being referred to.