Aristophanes Frogs 822

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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.) — 822 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.) — 822 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

824. mvp-tlg0019-tlg009-sanjaya-com-eng1-32

Line 824

ῥήματα γομφοπαγῆ πινακηδὸν ἀποσπῶν
The adjective γομφοπαγῆ (gomphopagḗ) is a hapax legomenon in extant literature, formed by the scholar-philologist Aristophanes from γόμφος ('peg') and πάσσω ('to fasten'). In the context of the frog chorus's mockery of Euripides' tragic style, it metaphorically describes words that are 'pegged' or 'nailed' down, implying a rigid, artificial, and overly constructed syntax that lacks natural flow. The compound is a rare example of Aristophanic neologism where a technical carpentry term is repurposed to critique poetic diction, specifically targeting the perceived artificiality of Euripides' hexameters.