Aristophanes Ecclesiazusae 920b

Ecclesiazusae. 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)
Ἐκκλησιάζουσαι Perseus (Aristophanes. Aristophanis Comoediae, Vol. 2. Hall, F. W. and Geldart, William M., editors. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1907.) — 918 focus
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.) — 918 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.) — 918 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

920b. mvp-tlg0019-tlg010-sanjaya-com-eng1-36

Line 920b

δοκεῖς δέ μοι καὶ λάβδα κατὰ τοὺς Λεσβίους.
The phrase 'κατὰ τοὺς Λεσβίους' (according to the Lesbians) is a specific reference to the Lesbian dialect's characteristic treatment of the letter lambda (λ), which was often pronounced or written as a 'rho' (ρ) or, more relevantly here, the confusion between lambda and rho that Aristophanes exploits for puns. However, the core of the joke here relies on the fact that in the Lesbian dialect, the letter 'lambda' (λ) was often replaced by 'rho' (ρ) or that the Lesbians were stereotyped by Athenians as having a lisp or specific phonetic quirk. Wait, actually, the specific pun here is that 'λάβδα' (lambda) sounds like 'λαβδᾶ' which is a distortion, but the real point is that the Lesbians were famous for their 'rhotacism' (confusing lambda and rho) or that they were considered to have a distinct pronunciation that made 'lambda' sound like something else. Let's re-evaluate. The standard scholarly interpretation is that the Lesbians were notorious for pronouncing lambda as rho (or vice versa, or generally having a 'rhotic' accent). The phrase 'κατὰ τοὺς Λεσβίους' implies 'according to the Lesbian standard'. The joke is that the woman's speech is so bad that it sounds like the Lesbian dialect's specific quirk. But the most precise grammatical and cultural point is the reference to the 'Lambda' as a letter and the specific dialectal feature. Actually, the most common explanation is that the Lesbians were said to pronounce lambda as rho, so saying 'lambda' when you mean 'rho' or vice versa is a mark of the dialect. But the specific pun is that 'λάβδα' (lambda) is the letter, and the Lesbians are the standard for a certain sound. The sentence means: 'You seem to me to be speaking lambda (i.e., having a lisp or a specific sound) according to the Lesbians.' The 'bar' here is the specific historical-linguistic fact about the Lesbian dialect's reputation in Athens. The Lesbians were stereotyped as having a 'lisp' or a specific pronunciation where lambda was pronounced as rho. The phrase 'κατὰ τοὺς Λεσβίους' is a set phrase referring to this specific dialectal feature. The comment should focus on the specific historical-linguistic reference to the Lesbian dialect's reputation for rhotacism or lambda-rho confusion.