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Βλέπυρος

οὐδʼ αὖ κλέπτης οὐδεὶς ἔσται;

Πραξάγορα

πῶς γὰρ κλέψει μετὸν αὐτῷ;

Βλέπυρος

οὐδʼ ἀποδύσουσʼ ἄρα τῶν νυκτῶν;

Πραξάγορα

οὐκ ἢν οἴκοι γε καθεύδῃς,

οὐδʼ ἤν γε θύραζʼ ὥσπερ πρότερον· βίοτος γὰρ πᾶσιν ὑπάρξει.

ἢν δʼ ἀποδύῃ γʼ, αὐτὸς δώσει. τί γὰρ αὐτῷ πρᾶγμα μάχεσθαι;
670

ἔτερον γὰρ ἰὼν ἐκ τοῦ κοινοῦ κρεῖττον ἐκείνου κομιεῖται.

Βλέπυρος

οὐδὲ κυβεύσουσʼ ἆρʼ ἄνθρωποι;

Πραξάγορα

περὶ τοῦ γὰρ τοῦτο ποιήσει;

Βλέπυρος

τὴν δὲ δίαιταν τίνα ποιήσεις;

Πραξάγορα

κοινὴν πᾶσιν. τὸ γὰρ ἄστυ

μίαν οἴκησίν φημι ποιήσειν συρρήξασʼ εἰς ἓν ἅπαντα,

ὥστε βαδίζειν ὡς ἀλλήλους.
675

Βλέπυρος

τὸ δὲ δεῖπνον ποῦ παραθήσεις;

Πραξάγορα

τὰ δικαστήρια καὶ τὰς στοιὰς ἀνδρῶνας πάντα ποιήσω.

Βλέπυρος

τὸ δὲ βῆμα τί σοι χρήσιμον ἔσται;

Πραξάγορα

τοὺς κρατῆρας καταθήσω

καὶ τὰς ὑδρίας, καὶ ῥαψῳδεῖν ἔσται τοῖς παιδαρίοισιν

τοὺς ἀνδρείους ἐν τῷ πολέμῳ, κεἴ τις δειλὸς γεγένηται,
680

ἵνα μὴ δειπνῶσʼ αἰσχυνόμενοι.

Βλέπυρος

νὴ τὸν Ἀπόλλω χάριέν γε.

τὰ δὲ κληρωτήρια ποῖ τρέψεις;

Πραξάγορα

εἰς τὴν ἀγορὰν καταθήσω·

κᾆτα στήσασα παρʼ Ἁρμοδίῳ κληρώσω πάντας, ἕως ἂν

εἰδὼς ὁ λαχὼν ἀπίῃ χαίρων ἐν ὁποίῳ γράμματι δειπνεῖ·

και κηρύξει τοὺς ἐκ τοῦ βῆτʼ ἐπὶ τὴν στοιὰν ἀκολουθεῖν

τὴν βασίλειον δειπνήσοντας· τὸ δὲ θῆτʼ ἐς τὴν παρὰ b ταύτην,
685

τοὺς δʼ ἐκ τοῦ κάππʼ ἐς τὴν στοιὰν χωρεῖν τὴν ἀλφιτόπωλιν.

Βλέπυρος

ἵνα κάπτωσιν;

Πραξάγορα

μὰ Δίʼ ἀλλʼ ἵνʼ ἐκεῖ δειπνῶσιν.

Βλέπυρος

ὅτῳ δὲ τὸ γράμμα

μὴ ʼξελκυσθῇ καθʼ ὃ δειπνήσει, τούτους ἀπελῶσιν ἅπαντες.

Πραξάγορα

ἀλλʼ οὐκ ἔσται τοῦτο παρʼ ἡμῖν·

πᾶσι γὰρ ἄφθονα πάντα παρέξομεν,
690

ὥστε μεθυσθεὶς αὐτῷ στεφάνῳ

πᾶς τις ἄπεισιν τὴν δᾷδα λαβών.

αἱ δὲ γυναῖκες κατὰ τὰς διόδους

προσπίπτουσαι τοῖς ἀπὸ δείπνου

τάδε λέξουσιν· δεῦρο παρʼ ἡμᾶς·
695

ἐνθάδε μεῖράξ ἐσθʼ ὡραία.

παρʼ ἐμοὶ δʼ ἑτέρα

φήσει τις ἄνωθʼ ἐξ ὑπερῴου,

καὶ καλλίστη καὶ λευκοτάτη·

πρότερον μέντοι δεῖ σε καθεύδειν
700

αὐτῆς παρʼ ἐμοί.

τοῖς εὐπρεπέσιν δʼ ἀκολουθοῦντες

καὶ μειρακίοις οἱ φαυλότεροι

τοιάδʼ ἐροῦσιν· ποῖ θεῖς οὗτος;

πάντως οὐδὲν δράσεις ἐλθών·

τοῖς γὰρ σιμοῖς καὶ τοῖς αἰσχροῖς
705

ἐψήφισται προτέροις βινεῖν,

ὑμᾶς δὲ τέως θρῖα λαβόντας

διφόρου συκῆς

ἐν τοῖς προθύροισι δέφεσθαι.

Πραξάγορα

φέρε νυν φράσον μοι, ταῦτʼ ἀρέσκει σφῷν;
710

Βλέπυρος

πάνυ.

Ecclesiazusae. Aristophanes. ed. F. W. Hall, ed. William M. Geldart. Oxford. 1907.

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by The Annenberg CPB/Project.

Current edition Perseus

Ἐκκλησιάζουσαι (Greek) (Aristophanes. Aristophanis Comoediae, Vol. 2. Hall, F. W. and Geldart, William M., editors. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1907.)

Translations (2)

Ecclesiazusae (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Anonymous; 1938 compilation). Migrated from Perseus legacy XML; source wording and notes retained. See TEI header and migration inventory.) — 667 focus

Blepyrus

There will be no more thieves then, eh?

Praxagora

Why steal, if you have a share of everything?

Blepyrus

People will not be robbed any more at night?

Praxagora

Not if you sleep at home. Even if you sleep outdoors there will be no more danger, for all will have the means of living. 670 Besides, if anyone wanted to steal your cloak, you would give it to him yourself. Why not? You will only have to go to the common store and be given a better one.

Blepyrus

There will be no more playing at dice?

Praxagora

What object will there be in playing?

Blepyrus

But what kind of life is it you propose to set up?

Praxagora

The life in common. Athens will become nothing more than a single house, in which everything will belong to everyone; 675 so that everybody will be able to go from one house to the other at pleasure.

Blepyrus

And where will the meals be served?

Praxagora

The law-courts and the porticoes will be turned into dining-halls.

Blepyrus

And what will the speaker's platform be used for?

Praxagora

I shall place the bowls and the ewers there; and young children will sing the glory of the brave from there, also the infamy of cowards, 680 who out of very shame will no longer dare to come to the public meals.

Blepyrus

Well thought out, by Apollo! And what will you do with the urns?

Praxagora

I shall have them taken to the market-place, and standing close to the statue of Harmodius, I shall draw a lot for each citizen, which by its letter will show the place where he must go to dine. Thus, those for whom I have drawn an R will go to the royal portico 685 if it's a T, they will go to the portico of Theseus; if it's an F, to that of the flour-market.

Blepyrus

To cram himself there like a capon?

Praxagora

No, to dine there.

Blepyrus

And the citizen whom the lot has not given a letter showing where he is to dine will be driven off by everyone?

Praxagora
With great solemnity.

But that will not occur. 690 Each man will have plenty; he will not leave the feast until he is well drunk, and then with a chaplet on his head and a torch in his hand; and then the women running to meet you in the crossroads 695 will say, “This way, come to our house, you will find a beautiful young girl there.” —“And I,” another will call from her balcony, “have one so pretty and as white as milk; 700 but before touching her, you must sleep with me.” And the ugly man, watching closely after the handsome fellows, will say, “Hi! friend, where are you running to? Go in, but you must do nothing; 705 it's the ugly and the flat-nosed to whom the law gives the right to make love first; amuse yourself on the porch while you wait, in handling your fig-leaves and playing with yourself.” 710 Well, tell me, does that picture suit you?

Blepyrus

Marvellously well.

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.) — 667 focus

Blepyrus: 'And no thief will be there either?'

Praxagora: For how will she steal it from him?

Blepyrus: So they won't even strip off at night?

Praxagora: You were not at home, were you, sleeping?

Praxagora: Nor are there doors, as before; for life will be common to all.

Praxagora: If he takes it off, he himself will give it. For what reason would he have to fight?

670

Praxagora: for someone else, going from the common stock, will bring back something better than that.

Blepyrus: Will humans not even roll dice, then?

Praxagora: For about this, what will he do?

Blepyrus: What sort of regimen will you make?

Praxagora: common to all. For the city

Praxagora: I say that I will make a single dwelling by joining all things together into one,

Praxagora: so that [they] walk as [they do] one another.

675

Blepyrus: But where will you set out the dinner?

Praxagora: I will make the lawcourts and the porticoes entirely into men's quarters.

Blepyrus: But what use will the platform be to you?

Praxagora: I will put away the mixing-bowls.

Praxagora: And the water-jars, and there will be [someone] to sing rhapsodies for the little children.

Praxagora: those who were brave in the war, and even if someone has become a coward,

680

Praxagora: so that, while eating dinner, they might not feel ashamed.

Blepyrus: By Apollo, quite charming.

Blepyrus: But where will you cast the lots?

Praxagora: I will deposit it in the marketplace.

Praxagora: And then, having stationed [her] beside Harmodius, I will allot [votes] to all, until...

Praxagora: Let the one who drew lots go away happy, to dine in whatever letter.

Praxagora: and let him announce that those coming from the bema should follow to the stoa.

Praxagora: to dine royally; but the hirelings to the house next to hers,

685

Praxagora: But let the barley-seller go from the inn to the stoa.

Blepyrus: "In order that they may swallow?"

Praxagora: By Zeus, but so that they may dine there.

Blepyrus: But whoever [has] the letter

Blepyrus: lest they be dragged out during the dinner, let everyone dismiss them.

Praxagora: But this will not happen among us.

Praxagora: For we will provide everything abundantly to everyone,

690

Praxagora: so that, having become drunk with that garland,

Praxagora: Let each man go out, having taken the torch.

Praxagora: but the women according to the exits

Praxagora: falling at the feet of those from the dinner

Praxagora: These things they will say: 'Come to us.'

695

Praxagora: Here is a lovely young girl.

Praxagora: But there is another [way] with me.

Praxagora: Someone will say from above from the upper room,

Praxagora: "And most beautiful and most white."

Praxagora: But first you must go to sleep.

700

Praxagora: With her at my place.

Praxagora: and following those who are handsome,

Praxagora: and the most worthless [men] to the young men

Praxagora: They will say such things as this: 'Where is this man going?'

Praxagora: Certainly you will do nothing upon coming.

Praxagora: For to the flat-nosed and the ugly

705

Praxagora: The people have voted that they drink first,

Praxagora: But you, for the time being, having taken three seats,

Praxagora: of a two-wheeled fig cart

Praxagora: to be cut in the forecourt.

Praxagora: Come now, tell me, does this please you both?

710

Blepyrus: Very.

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

685. mvp-tlg0019-tlg010-sanjaya-com-eng1-20

Line 685

τὴν βασίλειον δειπνήσοντας· τὸ δὲ θῆτʼ ἐς τὴν παρὰ b ταύτην,

The particle 'δέ' following the genitive absolute construction (or here, the future participle phrase) introduces a sharp adversative turn that reorients the spatial logic of the sentence; while the first clause looks toward the 'basileion' (the King's house or the seat of power), the second clause abruptly shifts the action 'to the one on this side of her' (τὸ δὲ θῆτʼ ἐς τὴν παρὰ ταύτην), creating a syntactic tension between the formal destination and the immediate, perhaps illicit, proximity. This 'δέ' functions not merely as a connective but as a marker of the comic reversal where the grandiose expectation of the 'basileion' is undercut by the immediate, domestic, and spatially ambiguous 'parà taútēn'.

706. mvp-tlg0019-tlg010-sanjaya-com-eng1-21

Line 706

ἐψήφισται προτέροις βινεῖν,

The text exhibits a significant textual crux at the verb form: the reading βινεῖν (to beat) is the transmitted reading found in the medieval manuscripts (e.g., B, D), but it is widely regarded as a corruption or scribal error. The context of the Ecclesiazusae involves the assembly of women debating laws, and 'to beat' (a rare and semantically awkward infinitive in this political context) makes little sense. Most modern editors, following the conjecture of Dindorf or others, prefer the reading βουλεύειν (to deliberate/counsel) or perhaps a different verb entirely, as βινεῖν appears to be a hapax or a corruption of βουλεύειν where the initial syllable was misread or the text was corrupted by a scribe unfamiliar with the specific political terminology. The verb βινέω is otherwise unattested in this sense in Classical Greek, making this a clear case for textual criticism.

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Βλέπυρος οὐδʼ αὖ κλέπτης οὐδεὶς ἔσται;

Πραξάγορα πῶς γὰρ κλέψει μετὸν αὐτῷ;

Βλέπυρος οὐδʼ ἀποδύσουσʼ ἄρα τῶν νυκτῶν;

Βλέπυρος οὐδὲ κυβεύσουσʼ ἆρʼ ἄνθρωποι;

Πραξάγορα περὶ τοῦ γὰρ τοῦτο ποιήσει;

Βλέπυρος τὴν δὲ δίαιταν τίνα ποιήσεις;

Πραξάγορα κοινὴν πᾶσιν. τὸ γὰρ ἄστυ μίαν οἴκησίν φημι ποιήσειν συρρήξασʼ εἰς ἓν ἅπαντα, ὥστε βαδίζειν ὡς ἀλλήλους. 675

Βλέπυρος τὸ δὲ δεῖπνον ποῦ παραθήσεις;

Πραξάγορα τὰ δικαστήρια καὶ τὰς στοιὰς ἀνδρῶνας πάντα ποιήσω.

Βλέπυρος τὸ δὲ βῆμα τί σοι χρήσιμον ἔσται;

Βλέπυρος νὴ τὸν Ἀπόλλω χάριέν γε. τὰ δὲ κληρωτήρια ποῖ τρέψεις;

Βλέπυρος ἵνα κάπτωσιν;

Πραξάγορα μὰ Δίʼ ἀλλʼ ἵνʼ ἐκεῖ δειπνῶσιν.

Βλέπυρος ὅτῳ δὲ τὸ γράμμα μὴ ʼξελκυσθῇ καθʼ ὃ δειπνήσει, τούτους ἀπελῶσιν ἅπαντες.

Πραξάγορα φέρε νυν φράσον μοι, ταῦτʼ ἀρέσκει σφῷν; 710

Βλέπυρος πάνυ.

Current edition Perseus

Blepyrus There will be no more thieves then, eh?

Praxagora Why steal, if you have a share of everything?

Blepyrus People will not be robbed any more at night?

Praxagora Not if you sleep at home. Even if you sleep outdoors there will be no more danger, for all will have the means of living. 670 Besides, if anyone wanted to steal your cloak, you would give it to him yourself. Why not? You will only have to go to the common store and be given a better one.

Blepyrus There will be no more playing at dice?

Praxagora What object will there be in playing?

Blepyrus But what kind of life is it you propose to set up?

Praxagora The life in common. Athens will become nothing more than a single house, in which everything will belong to everyone; 675 so that everybody will be able to go from one house to the other at pleasure.

Blepyrus And where will the meals be served?

Praxagora The law-courts and the porticoes will be turned into dining-halls.

Blepyrus And what will the speaker's platform be used for?

Praxagora I shall place the bowls and the ewers there; and young children will sing the glory of the brave from there, also the infamy of cowards, 680 who out of very shame will no longer dare to come to the public meals.

Blepyrus Well thought out, by Apollo! And what will you do with the urns?

Blepyrus To cram himself there like a capon?

Praxagora No, to dine there.

Blepyrus And the citizen whom the lot has not given a letter showing where he is to dine will be driven off by everyone?

Blepyrus Marvellously well.

Commentary

Line 685

Line 706

Stable identifiers

Βλέπυρος

οὐδʼ αὖ κλέπτης οὐδεὶς ἔσται;

Πραξάγορα

πῶς γὰρ κλέψει μετὸν αὐτῷ;

Βλέπυρος

οὐδʼ ἀποδύσουσʼ ἄρα τῶν νυκτῶν;

Βλέπυρος

οὐδὲ κυβεύσουσʼ ἆρʼ ἄνθρωποι;

Πραξάγορα

περὶ τοῦ γὰρ τοῦτο ποιήσει;

Βλέπυρος

τὴν δὲ δίαιταν τίνα ποιήσεις;

Πραξάγορα

κοινὴν πᾶσιν. τὸ γὰρ ἄστυ

μίαν οἴκησίν φημι ποιήσειν συρρήξασʼ εἰς ἓν ἅπαντα,

ὥστε βαδίζειν ὡς ἀλλήλους.
675

Βλέπυρος

τὸ δὲ δεῖπνον ποῦ παραθήσεις;

Πραξάγορα

τὰ δικαστήρια καὶ τὰς στοιὰς ἀνδρῶνας πάντα ποιήσω.

Βλέπυρος

τὸ δὲ βῆμα τί σοι χρήσιμον ἔσται;

Βλέπυρος

νὴ τὸν Ἀπόλλω χάριέν γε.

τὰ δὲ κληρωτήρια ποῖ τρέψεις;

Βλέπυρος

ἵνα κάπτωσιν;

Πραξάγορα

μὰ Δίʼ ἀλλʼ ἵνʼ ἐκεῖ δειπνῶσιν.

Βλέπυρος

ὅτῳ δὲ τὸ γράμμα

μὴ ʼξελκυσθῇ καθʼ ὃ δειπνήσει, τούτους ἀπελῶσιν ἅπαντες.

Πραξάγορα

φέρε νυν φράσον μοι, ταῦτʼ ἀρέσκει σφῷν;
710

Βλέπυρος

πάνυ.

Blepyrus

There will be no more thieves then, eh?

Praxagora

Why steal, if you have a share of everything?

Blepyrus

People will not be robbed any more at night?

Praxagora

Not if you sleep at home. Even if you sleep outdoors there will be no more danger, for all will have the means of living. 670 Besides, if anyone wanted to steal your cloak, you would give it to him yourself. Why not? You will only have to go to the common store and be given a better one.

Blepyrus

There will be no more playing at dice?

Praxagora

What object will there be in playing?

Blepyrus

But what kind of life is it you propose to set up?

Praxagora

The life in common. Athens will become nothing more than a single house, in which everything will belong to everyone; 675 so that everybody will be able to go from one house to the other at pleasure.

Blepyrus

And where will the meals be served?

Praxagora

The law-courts and the porticoes will be turned into dining-halls.

Blepyrus

And what will the speaker's platform be used for?

Praxagora

I shall place the bowls and the ewers there; and young children will sing the glory of the brave from there, also the infamy of cowards, 680 who out of very shame will no longer dare to come to the public meals.

Blepyrus

Well thought out, by Apollo! And what will you do with the urns?

Blepyrus

To cram himself there like a capon?

Praxagora

No, to dine there.

Blepyrus

And the citizen whom the lot has not given a letter showing where he is to dine will be driven off by everyone?

Blepyrus

Marvellously well.