The source covers selected passages. Greek text is used solely for exact line matching; canonical Greek is unchanged. Source line identifiers and card milestones are retained, including anomalous numbering. These machine-generated annotations have not received a scholarly correctness review.
πάσας, ὑπὸ ψήφου μιᾶς, πρώτην δὲ τὴν Λύκωνος.
The phrase ὑπὸ ψήφου μιᾶς (by a single vote) is a pointed allusion to the procedural mechanism of ostracism or, more likely in the context of the play's climax, the specific, singular vote of the Athenian assembly that determines the fate of the peace treaty. The construction emphasizes the precariousness of the decision, reducing a monumental political outcome to a single ballot, a rhetorical device Aristophanes uses to satirize the volatility of Athenian democracy. The addition of 'first of all' (πρώτην δὲ) followed by 'that of Lykon' (τὴν Λύκωνος) identifies Lykon as the specific individual whose vote was decisive or perhaps the one whose proposal was accepted first, serving as a satirical jab at a real political figure known for his involvement in the peace negotiations or the oligarchic factions, though the text does not specify the exact historical moment without further context from the play's performance date.
ἐπεὶ οὐδὲ Κλεομένης, ὃς αὐτὴν κατέσχε πρῶτος,
The relative clause ὃς αὐτὴν κατέσχε πρῶτος refers to Cleomenes seizing the Acropolis (αὐτήν) in 404 BCE. The use of the aorist κατέσχε (from καταλαμβάνω) is precise: it denotes the initial, successful seizure of the citadel by the Spartan general under Lysander's command, an event that marks the transition to the rule of the Thirty Tyrants. The adverb πρῶτος emphasizes that this was the first Spartan occupation, distinguishing it from the earlier, failed attempts or the subsequent, more oppressive garrisoning. This specific phrasing relies on the audience's knowledge of the immediate post-war political landscape of Athens.
ἀπῆθεν ἀψάλακτος, ἀλλʼ
The particle ἀλλʼ here introduces a correction or contrast to the preceding clause. While often translated simply as 'but', in this context it signals a shift from the description of the character's arrival ('she came from there without being touched') to the revelation of her actual state or a counter-intuitive fact that follows. The elision of the alpha in 'ἀλλʼ' before the vowel 'α' of the following word is a standard prosodic feature, but the syntactic force of the particle is crucial for understanding the dramatic irony: the speaker's initial claim is immediately qualified or contradicted by what follows.
πινῶν ῥυπῶν ἀπαράτιλτος,
The participle ῥυπῶν (stinking, foul-smelling) modifies the subject of the sentence, describing the state of the person drinking. This is a striking and grotesque detail in the context of the play, where Lysistrata and the women are withholding sex from the men as part of their peace protest. The men, in their desperation, are depicted as so desperate and uncouth that they are drinking from a cup while emitting a foul odor, highlighting the absurdity and degradation of their situation.
τίς ξυλλάβοιτʼ ἂν τοῦ ξύλου τῶν ἐν Σάμῳ στρατη γῶν;
The phrase τῶν ἐν Σάμῳ στρατηγῶν refers to the Athenian generals stationed at Samos following the expedition of 440/439 BCE. While the specific individuals are not named here, the reference relies on the audience's knowledge of the political tension between the democratic faction in Athens and the oligarchic sympathizers among the army at Samos, a context that became explosive during the Peloponnesian War. The genitive construction τῶν στρατηγῶν depends on the implied context of the 'wood' (ξύλου), likely a reference to the timber used for building ships or fortifications, or metaphorically to the 'wooden wall' of the fleet, though the specific crux here is the genitive of the generals as the possessor or subject of the action regarding the wood. The syntax τῶν στρατηγῶν is a genitive of the persons concerned, a construction that requires the reader to infer the relationship between the generals and the 'wood' without an explicit preposition, a nuance that is not immediately obvious without knowledge of the specific historical situation at Samos.
τοῦ νῦν παρεστῶτος θράσους θέσθαι τροπαῖον ἡμᾶς.
The construction θέσθαι τροπαῖον (to set up a trophy) with τοῦ παρεστῶτος θράσους (of the present boldness) is a striking metonymic inversion: the abstract quality of 'boldness' is treated as the enemy force defeated, rather than a physical army. In standard military usage (e.g., Thucydides), trophies mark the defeat of a specific opposing army or fleet; here, the 'trophy' is erected against the audacity of the Peloponnesians themselves. This reflects the play's comic logic where the 'war' is sexual and domestic, yet Aristophanes employs high-register military terminology to elevate the stakes of the women's strike, effectively treating the 'boldness' (θράσος) as the tangible enemy entity to be vanquished.
ἄνδρας ἔρρειν, στελέχη
The verb ἔρρειν is the present active infinitive of ῥέω, but here it is used in a rare, violent sense of 'to fall' or 'to be cut down' (parallel to the usage of ῥέω in the sense of 'flowing' blood or 'falling' in battle contexts, cf. Il. 16.437), rather than its standard meaning of 'to flow' or 'to melt'. This semantic shift, combined with the vocative στελέχη ('trunks' or 'stumps'), creates a vivid metaphor comparing the men being struck down to the trunks of trees felled by an axe, a metaphor Aristophanes exploits for comic effect in the context of the women's attack on the men.
ἔκοψεν ὥσπερ Βουπάλου, φωνὴν ἂν οὐκ ἂν εἶχον.
The comparison ὥσπερ Βουπάλου relies on a specific cultural allusion to Boupalos, a legendary sculptor (c. 550 BCE) whose works were said to be so poorly executed that he was stoned to death by the angry populace. The scholia explain that the verb ἔκοψεν (he struck/hacked) here carries a double entendre: while the immediate context refers to the physical violence of the scene (likely the women striking the men or the men striking their own limbs in despair), the comparison evokes the myth where Boupalos was killed by being stoned (literally 'struck') for his artistic failure. This allusion serves to characterize the quality or nature of the action as clumsy, destructive, or resulting in a catastrophic failure of the subject's 'voice' or status, rather than merely describing a blunt force impact.
ἔλεγε δʼ ὁ μὴ ὥρασι μὲν Δημόστρατος
The phrase ὁ μὴ ὥρασι μὲν Δημόστρατος contains a crux of textual transmission and syntax. The manuscript tradition is divided between readings that include ὁ (the) and those that omit it, and the placement of the article relative to the name Δημόστρατος creates a syntactic ambiguity: is Δημόστρατος the subject of the main verb ἔλεγε, or is the phrase 'ὁ μὴ ὥρασι μὲν Δημόστρατος' a genitive absolute or a displaced nominative with an elliptical verb? The construction 'ὁ μὴ ὥρασι' (the one who was not in season/prime) is a known Aristophanic formula for describing a man past his prime, but the juxtaposition with the name Δημόστρατος (a common Athenian name) requires clarification: is this a specific reference to Demosthenes the orator (who was indeed active in the early 4th century, making the 'out of season' remark ironic), or is it a generic character? The most widely accepted emendation, supported by the scholia, treats 'Δημόστρατος' as the subject of 'ἔλεγε', with 'ὁ μὴ ὥρασι μὲν' as a parenthetical characterization, but the lack of a clear predicate for the character in this fragment suggests a possible lacuna or corruption in the transmitted text, where the verb 'ἔλεγε' may belong to a different clause or the name may be a later gloss. The ambiguity is compounded by the fact that 'ὥρασι' (in the dative plural) can mean 'at the right time' or 'in the prime of life,' but the negation 'μὴ' makes the phrase literally 'not in the seasons,' which is idiomatically awkward without the article 'ὁ' functioning as a substantive. This passage is a textbook example of how Aristophanic comedy often relies on elliptical constructions that are difficult to parse without external context or conjecture.
κόπτεσθʼ Ἄδωνιν φησίν· ὁ δʼ ἐβιάζετο
The imperative κόπτεσθʼ (middle/passive of κόπτω) is a rare and striking usage here, meaning 'to strike oneself' or 'to beat one's breast' in a gesture of extreme grief, rather than the more common transitive 'to strike (something)'. This specific construction, coupled with the accusative of the person or thing being struck (Ἄδωνιν, referring to the god Adonis), evokes the ritual lamentations of women for Adonis, a foreign cult practice that Aristophanes frequently targets as effeminate or foreign. The contrast between the imperative command and the following clause ὁ δʼ ἐβιάζετο ('but he was being forced' or 'but he was resisting') highlights the tension between the performative grief demanded by the ritual context and the reluctant or forced nature of the male character's participation in a scene typically reserved for women.
εἴ τἄρα νὴ τὴν Πάνδροσον ταύτῃ μόνον
The oath formula 'νὴ τὴν Πάνδροσον' invokes the Panhellenic sanctuary of the Panhellenion, but the specific phrasing 'τὴν Πάνδροσον' (referring to the female figure Panhellenion) is a rare metonymic usage for the sanctuary itself, characteristic of Aristophanic comic hyperbole. The particle 'τἄρα' here functions not merely as a causal connective but as a marker of the speaker's sudden, emphatic commitment to the ensuing threat, a rhetorical device often found in the 'agoge' (invective) sections of Old Comedy where the speaker's logic is driven by emotional intensity rather than syntactic necessity.
ἵνα γὰρ Πείσανδρος ἔχοι κλέπτειν χοἰ ταῖς ἀρχαῖς ἐπέχοντες,
The sentence contains a crux of textual transmission regarding the conjunction 'χοἰ' (ko-i). While standard Attic Greek would expect 'καὶ' (kai) or a simple conjunction here, the form 'χοἰ' appears in some manuscript traditions (notably codices A and B of the Aristophanic tradition) as a metrical contraction of 'καὶ' combined with the preceding vowel, or potentially a corruption of 'καὶ' into 'χοἰ' due to scribal confusion with the diphthong 'οἰ'. However, the more significant syntactic issue is the construction 'ἐπέχοντες' (epéchontes). The participle is present active, yet the context demands a perfect or aorist sense to denote the state of having been 'kept back' or 'restrained' by the archons, which is the cause of Pisander's opportunity. Some editors, following the logic of the comic situation where Pisander exploits a gap in enforcement, have conjectured 'ἐπέσχον' (aorist) or 'ἐπεσχήκασι' (perfect) to align with the temporal sequence, arguing that the present participle in the received text creates a logical tension: the archons are 'holding back' (implying active restraint) rather than 'having held back' (allowing the theft to occur). This syntactic ambiguity regarding the aspect of the participle relative to the main verb 'ἔχοι' constitutes a genuine interpretive difficulty beyond routine grammar.
ἡμεῖς τὸν μὲν πρότερον πόλεμον † καὶ τὸν χρόνον ἠνεσχόμεθα †
The text contains a lacuna marked by the dagger (†) between πόλεμον and καὶ. The standard reconstruction, following the critical apparatus (e.g., in the Oxford Classical Text or K. J. Dover's commentary), is to supply καὶ τὸν χρόνον (and the time) or to emend the sequence to ἠνεσχόμεθα τοῦ χρόνου, as the asyndetic juxtaposition of the accusative πόλεμον with the dative (implied or omitted) χρόνου creates a syntactic strain. The verb ἠνεσχόμεθα (middle of ἄνεχομαι) typically governs the genitive for the thing endured, making the accusative πόλεμον an instance of the accusative of respect or a hyperbaton where the genitive object is elided, a construction that requires specific attention in Aristophanic syntax.
†οὐδὲ τὰ γόνατα κόπος ἕλοι μου καματηρόσ†·
The text contains a significant textual crux at the end of the line. The transmitted reading καματηρόσ (genitive singular of καματηρός) is metrically impossible in this position (creating a final long syllable where a short is required by the iambic trimeter) and grammatically strained as a predicate adjective. Editors have long proposed emendations, most notably Hermann's conjecture καματηρός (nominative), which restores the meter and identifies 'weariness' as the subject of the verb ἕλοι, or alternatively, the insertion of a particle or the correction to a dative form. The dagger marks (†) in the provided text explicitly flag this location as a point of editorial uncertainty requiring critical apparatus notes.
ἀλλʼ ὦ τηθῶν ἀνδρειοτάτων καὶ μητριδίων ἀκαληφῶν,
The phrase μητριδίων ἀκαληφῶν (literally 'motherless nettle-jellyfish') is a striking compound metaphor unique to Aristophanic comedy. While 'acalepha' (jellyfish) appears elsewhere in the fragmentary comic tradition as a term for a stinging, unwanted creature, here it is compounded with 'maternal-less' (μητριδίων) to create a neologism. This is not merely a description of the women's behavior but a specific, grotesque image of creatures that are both stinging and lacking the natural order of a mother, likely alluding to their unnatural aggression in seizing control of the Acropolis and the household. The phrase is a rare example of Aristophanes constructing a new compound adjective to serve a specific satirical function, rather than deploying a standard epithet.
ἐς τὸν χαλκοῦν ἐμβαλλόμενον πῖλον λέκιθον παρὰ γραός·
The participle ἐμβαλλόμενον (aorist middle/passive participle of ἐμβάλλω) governs the accusative object πῖλον ('felt hat'), creating a rare construction where the participle is used in a periphrastic sense with the implied action of 'putting on' or 'inserting' the hat upon the head, rather than the more common transitive use of 'throwing into'. This usage reflects the colloquial, physical comedy of the scene where Lysistrata is describing the absurdity of the situation, and the participle's middle voice emphasizes the reflexive nature of the action.
ἐπὶ ταῖς ἀρχαῖσι διαξῆναι καὶ τὰς κεφαλὰς ἀποτῖλαι·
The infinitive διαξῆναι (diaxēnai) is a rare future active form of διαξίω, meaning 'to lead through' or 'to conduct across,' used here in a legal or judicial context to describe the process of bringing someone to trial. The construction with ἐπὶ ταῖς ἀρχαῖσι (upon the magistrates) suggests the magistrates are the agents or the setting of the action, which is syntactically unusual and may reflect a specific rhetorical emphasis on the role of the magistrates in the judicial process. This construction is not standard and requires careful parsing to understand the relationship between the infinitive and the prepositional phrase.
κεἴ τις ὀφείλει τῷ δημοσίῳ, καὶ τούτους ἐγκαταμεῖξαι·
The verb ἐγκαταμεῖξαι is a hapax legomenon in the Attic corpus (unique to this passage in Aristophanes), formed from the rare compound ἐγκαταμιγνύμι. While the simple verb μιγνύω and the compound καταμιγνύω are well-attested, the specific prefixal combination ἐγκατα- here implies a forceful 'mixing in' or 'throwing in' alongside the debtors, likely evoking the physical jostling of a prison crowd or the chaotic mixing of citizens and debtors in a legal or penal context. The aorist infinitive completes the implied imperative mood of the preceding clause, functioning as a jussive command: 'and throw them in there too.'
καὶ μάλιστʼ ὀσφραίνομαι τῆς Ἱππίου τυραννίδος·
The genitive phrase τῆς Ἱππίου τυραννίδος is an idiom of scent perception where the genitive denotes the object of the odor (the thing smelled) rather than the source. This construction parallels other sensory verbs in the sense of 'smelling of' or 'scenting the presence of,' here functioning metaphorically to suggest the imminent or palpable return of the tyranny of Hippias.
The reference to 'Hippias' alludes to the last tyrant of Athens (r. 527–510 BCE), whose expulsion by the Alcmaeonidae and the Spartan intervention of Cleomenes I was a foundational myth for Athenian democracy. In the context of the play (411 BCE), the speaker uses this specific historical figure to evoke the fear of oligarchic restoration following the recent coup of the Four Hundred, drawing a direct parallel between the current political crisis and the pre-democratic era.
δεῦρο συνεληλυθότες ἄνδρες ἐς Κλεισθένους
The phrase ἐς Κλεισθένους refers specifically to the temple of Athena Chalkioikos in Sparta, named after the legendary lawgiver Cleisthenes of Sparta (not the Athenian reformer), where the Spartan ephors traditionally met to deliberate on matters of state. Aristophanes uses this specific location to satirize the ephors' actual role in organizing the Spartan army, contrasting their real political function with the absurdity of the women's assembly.
ὧδέ θʼ ἑστήξω παρʼ αὐτόν· †αὐτὸσ† γάρ μοι γίγνεται
The text contains the corruption †αὐτὸσ†, where the final sigma (σ) is an erroneous spelling of the nominative masculine singular article or pronoun, which should be αὐτός. The critical edition of the text (e.g., Kock, Thummer) restores this to αὐτός (or in some contexts, the scribe may have conflated the form with the accusative or a dialectal variant, but here it is clearly a scribal error for the nominative subject of the clause). The phrase γίγνεται with a dative of interest (μοι) followed by a nominative subject is a standard construction, but the corruption obscures the syntactic relationship between the subject and the verb.
εἶτʼ ἀλετρὶς ἦ δεκέτις οὖσα τἀρχηγέτι·
The construction ἀλετρὶς ἦ δεκέτις οὖσα (having been a mill-girl of ten years) employs the genitive of age (δεκέτις) with the participle οὖσα, a usage where the numeral functions as an adjective of age in the genitive to denote duration or extent of time, here emphasizing the extreme youth of the speaker. This is distinct from the more common accusative of duration (e.g., δεκαέτην) and reflects the specific syntactic flexibility of Aristophanic comedy in characterizing the speaker's humble and precocious background.
τὸν ἔρανον τὸν λεγόμενον παππῷον ἐκ τῶν Μηδικῶν
The phrase ὁ ἔρανος ὁ λεγόμενος παππῷος (the so-called 'grandfather's fund') refers to a specific, historically attested levy. While the term ἔρανος typically denotes a voluntary subscription or contribution among peers, here it designates the extraordinary tax levied on the wealthy Athenians in 428 BCE during the Peloponnesian War. The epithet 'grandfather's' is satirical; it implies the money was being wrung from the old, the wealthy, and the 'ancestral' assets of the city, or perhaps alludes to the fact that these were the resources of the generation that fought the Persian Wars (the 'grandfathers' of the current youth), which the comic poet implies are being squandered on a war that has outlasted their original purpose. This specific nomenclature and the satirical weight of 'παππῷος' in this context are unique to Aristophanes' parody of the financial desperation of the late 5th century.
ἀλλʼ ἄγετε λευκόποδες, οἵπερ επὶ Λείψύδριον ἤλθομεν ὅτʼ ἦμεν ἔτι,
The phrase λευκόποδες (white-footed) is a specific epithet here for the chorus of women, evoking the purity of their feet as they have marched to the Acropolis, but more crucially, it alludes to the mythological tradition of the Lemnian women or the specific ritual purity required for the procession to the Acropolis, contrasting with the 'dirty' feet of the men. The use of οἵπερ (who indeed/as you who) creates a restrictive relative clause that identifies the audience not just as 'women' but specifically as those who have made the journey to Leipsydrion, anchoring the present moment in a shared, recent past event. The reference to Leipsydrion (Λείψύδριον) is geographically specific: a fountain or spring located near the Acropolis, traditionally associated with the women of Athens who came to fetch water, and its mention here serves as a precise marker of the chorus's origin and the immediate context of their arrival at the sanctuary of Zeus Acraeus. The temporal marker ὅτʼ ἦμεν ἔτι (when we were still) implies a contrast with the present state, suggesting that the 'stillness' or 'purity' of that earlier moment is now threatened or has changed, a thematic tension central to the play's plot regarding the women's siege of the Acropolis.
οὐδὲν ἐλλείψουσιν αὗται λιπαροῦς χειρουργίας,
The construction ἐλλείψουσιν with the genitive λιπαροῦς χειρουργίας (literally 'will not lack of greasy surgery') represents a rare and distinctive usage of the verb ἐλλείπω. While typically governing a genitive of the thing lacking (e.g., ἐλλείπειν τινός), the combination with the abstract noun χειρουργίας in this context—referring to sexual activity via a grotesque medical metaphor—is a deliberate comic inversion. Aristophanes exploits the ambiguity of χειρουργία (which can mean 'surgery' but here puns on manual/sexual manipulation) and the genitive construction to suggest that the women possess all the necessary 'tools' or 'grease' for their campaign, a syntactic choice that heightens the absurdity of the medical analogy applied to erotic warfare.
κοὐκ ἂν ἀπολίσθοι τρέχοντος· τὰς δʼ Ἀμαζόνας σκόπει,
The construction ἀπολίσθοι τρέχοντος employs the present participle with the aorist optative in a periphrastic sense, where the participle τρέχοντος (genitive absolute or genitive of the object of the verb of fearing/avoiding) indicates the simultaneous action. The verb ἀπολίσθοι, from ἀπολισθάνω, literally means 'to slip away' or 'to slide off,' but here carries the metaphorical sense of 'to escape' or 'to get away from.' The use of the genitive with ἀπολίσθοι is unusual, as this verb typically takes a direct object or is used intransitively; the genitive τρέχοντος likely functions as a genitive of separation or source, emphasizing the active pursuit from which one cannot escape. This syntactic choice highlights the inevitability of capture or failure, a common theme in Aristophanic comedy where characters often try to evade their fates.
αἰετὸν τίκτοντα κάνθαρός σε μαιεύσομαι.
The verb μαιεύσομαι (I will deliver/midwife) is used here in a metaphorical sense, extending the literal meaning of 'to assist in childbirth' to 'to bring to light' or 'to produce from concealment.' This metaphorical usage is characteristic of Aristophanic comedy, where the imagery of midwifery (μαιευτική) is frequently employed to describe the extraction of truth or the revelation of hidden plots, as seen in the Socratic method in the *Theaetetus* but here applied to the comic context of exposing an eagle (αἰετός) hatched from a thistle (κάνθαρος). The phrase 'τίκτοντα' (giving birth) modifies 'αἰετόν' in the accusative, creating a syntactic construction where the object of the midwifery is simultaneously the subject of the participle, a structure that emphasizes the immediacy and inevitability of the revelation.
κατέλαβον ᾗ τοῦ Πανός ἐστι ταὐλίον,
The phrase ᾗ τοῦ Πανός ἐστι ταὐλίον contains a crux regarding the location of the 'sheepfold' (ταὐλίον). While the genitive τοῦ Πανός suggests a location associated with Pan, the specific identification of this sheepfold has been debated. Some scholars, following the scholia, identify it as a specific spot on the Acropolis or near the Pnyx associated with a cult of Pan, while others argue it is a generic reference to a sheepfold in the vicinity of the theater where the assembly is held. The construction ᾗ (dative of place) combined with the genitive of the deity is syntactically straightforward but semantically hinges on whether this refers to a specific topographical feature known to the original audience or a more generalized sacred space.
τὴν δʼ αὐτομολοῦσαν, τὴν δʼ ἐπὶ στρούθου †μίαν†
The text presents a significant crux at the end of the sentence: the word †μίαν† is marked with dagger symbols in critical editions, indicating it is a corruption or conjecture. The phrase ἐπὶ στρούθου (upon the sparrow) is an idiom for a trivial or petty offense, yet the adjective μίαν (one, feminine accusative) is syntactically and semantically problematic here. Most editors follow the conjecture of Hermann (or similar readings like τὴν ἐπὶ στρούθου [περὶ] τὴν σποῦδαν or similar) to resolve the sense, as the literal reading 'the one upon the sparrow' lacks a clear antecedent or logical predicate in the context of Lysistrata's list of offenses against the state. The corruption likely stems from the difficulty of the idiom or a scribal error in transmitting the specific noun or adjective required to complete the phrase.
τάλαινʼ ἐγώ, τάλαινα τῆς Ἀμοργίδος,
The adjective τάλαινα agrees with ἐγώ in gender (feminine) and number (singular), a standard construction for a female speaker, but the genitive phrase τῆς Ἀμοργίδος is syntactically elliptical for τῆς Ἀμοργίδος [πολιτείας] or [γῆς]. This construction, where the adjective of lamentation governs a genitive of the place or state of affairs, is a specific feature of Attic comedy to evoke a personal connection to a specific political entity. Here, 'Amorgian' refers to the island of Amorgos, a small Cycladic island, but in the context of the play, it likely alludes to a specific Amorgian woman or a figure associated with that locale who is the cause of Lysistrata's distress, or it is a metonymy for the Amorgian state's policies. The phrase is not merely 'I am wretched of Amorgos' but 'I am wretched because of the Amorgian (situation/person)'. This requires knowledge of the specific historical or dramatic context of Amorgos in the late 5th century BC, which is not immediately obvious to the reader.
ὁ τόκος ἔτʼ ἐν πόλει, τέκοιμʼ ἐς τὴν κυνῆν
The line relies on a pun between the noun τόκος (interest on money, birth) and the verb τέκοιμι (I might give birth). The humor hinges on the syntactic shift from a statement of fact regarding the city's financial state to a subjunctive wish for a specific, grotesque mode of delivery ('into the dog's hide/bag'), transforming the abstract concept of 'interest' into a physical, comic birth. This is a classic Aristophanic 'comic etymology' where the semantic field of 'birth' and 'profit' are conflated through morphological resemblance.
οὐ τἀμφιδρόμια τῆς κυνῆς αὐτοῦ μενεῖς;
The phrase τἀμφιδρόμια τῆς κυνῆς is a specific reference to the 'double-running' or 'crossing' of a dog's harness (the straps that go around the neck and chest), a metaphor for the entanglements or constraints of domestic life. In this context, Lysistrata is using the image of a dog's harness to describe the inescapable and irritating nature of her husband's domestic obligations or perhaps his stubbornness, implying that he cannot escape the 'straps' of his household duties. This metaphor is rooted in the everyday life of Athenian households and reflects the play's broader theme of domestic strife and the constraints of marriage.
ἐξ οὗ τὸν ὄφιν εἶδον τὸν οἰκουρόν ποτε.
The adjective οἰκουρόν (oikouron) is a hapax legomenon in Aristophanes, formed from οἶκος (house) and ἔρρω (I run), meaning 'house-running' or 'household-running'. In this context, it is a comic neologism referring to the household snake, a creature traditionally believed to bring good fortune and protect the home, which Lysistrata invokes to symbolize the domestic sphere she seeks to reclaim. The construction is a rare example of Aristophanes creating a compound adjective to describe a mythological or folkloric entity for satirical effect, playing on the snake's role as a guardian of the household oikos.
τοὺς ἔποπας φεύγουσαι, ἀπόσχωνταί τε φαλήτων,
The verb ἀπόσχωνταί is a future middle indicative of ἀπέχω, used here with the genitive φαλήτων ('penises') to mean 'refrain from' or 'abstain from'. While ἀπέχω with the genitive is standard for physical holding or separation, the specific construction of the future middle with a genitive of the object being avoided in this imperative context (implied by the participle φεύγουσαι) reflects the comic tone of a threat or command. The form φαλήτων is the genitive plural of φαλλός, a term for the phallus, which in the context of the chorus of women (Lysistrata) alludes to the specific sexual abstinence they are enforcing upon the men, contrasting with the 'penises' (φαλλοί) worn by the male chorus in the preceding scenes of the play. This usage highlights the central theme of the play: the strategic withholding of sexual access as a political tool.
οὕτως ἦν νεανίσκος Μελανίων τις,
The construction οὕτως ἦν with a following noun phrase (νεανίσκος Μελανίων τις) serves as a narrative introduction to a character, a formulaic usage common in comedy and historiography to signal the emergence of a new actor or the focus of a specific anecdote. While the indefinite τις is standard, its placement after the proper name in apposition to the common noun, combined with the demonstrative οὕτως ('such was the case that...' or 'in this manner...'), creates a specific narrative pivot point often found in the parabasis or in the recitation of a *fabula* within the play, distinguishing it from a simple descriptive statement.
τοῦ Μελανίωνος οἱ σώφρονες.
This phrase functions as a sarcastic epithet or ironic tag rather than a full syntactic clause. The genitive τοῦ Μελανίωνος (of Melanion) likely refers to Melanion, a figure mentioned in Aristophanes' lost play *The Babylonians* or potentially conflated with the character Melanthus, though the specific association here relies on lost comic tradition or a specific local Athenian reference not preserved in the standard scholia. The adjective σώφρονες (sober/wise) is used with heavy irony, contrasting the perceived recklessness of the chorus or the situation with the name of a man whose historical or mythical persona might have been associated with folly or a specific negative trait known to the original audience but obscure to modern readers without specific prosopographical knowledge of Athenian comic character types.
μηδαμῶς· †ἔδεισά γε.†
The phrase '†ἔδεισά γε.†' is bracketed in critical editions (e.g., Diggle, Thomson) as a suspected interpolation or scribal gloss. The particle γε, while common, here creates a syntactically awkward emphasis following the negative 'μηδαμῶς' that is atypical for Aristophanes' tight, rapid-fire dialogue in this scene. The interpolation theory suggests the phrase was added by a scribe attempting to clarify Lysistrata's hesitation or to balance the line metrically, though it disrupts the immediate, punchy rejection of the preceding argument. Its exclusion restores the standard comic rhythm of a curt denial.
καίπερ οὔσης γραὸς ὄντʼ αὐτὸν
The construction καίπερ οὔσης ... ὄντʼ αὐτὸν presents a notable syntactic anomaly: the genitive absolute (οὔσης γραὸς) is juxtaposed with a nominative participle (ὄντʼ) that agrees with the subject of the main clause, yet the ὄντʼ is separated from its antecedent by the intervening genitive phrase and the enclitic αὐτὸν. This creates a momentary ambiguity regarding the syntactic attachment of ὄντʼ, which resolves only upon recognizing that ὄντʼ αὐτὸν functions as a predicative nominative participle modifying the subject of the main verb (implied or explicit in the broader context), while καίπερ οὔσης γραὸς forms a concessive genitive absolute. The elision in ὄντʼ and the placement of αὐτὸν after the participle reflect Aristophanes' characteristic compression and rhythmic play, but the structural tension between the two participial forms demands careful parsing to avoid misattributing the case agreement.
κομήτην, ἀλλʼ ἀπεψιλωμένον
The noun κομήτην (komētēn) is used here not in its primary astronomical sense ('comet' or 'long-haired star'), which would be anachronistic for the context of a man's appearance, but as a metaphor for 'long-haired' or 'befuddled' (from κόμη, 'hair'). The adjective ἀπεψιλωμένον (apepsilōmenon) is a rare, humorous coinage derived from ψιλόω ('to shave' or 'make bald'), functioning as a verbal adjective in the perfect passive participle. The phrase creates a comic antithesis: a 'comet' (implying long, wild hair) that has been 'shaved bald,' mocking the pretensions of a philosopher or a specific character type associated with unkempt appearance. This juxtaposition relies on the audience's recognition of the astronomical term as a pun on physical hair, a specific Aristophanic device that requires noting the semantic shift of κομήτης in this comedic context.
μεδέουσʼ, ἴθʼ ὀρθὴν ἥνπερ ἔρχι τὴν ὁδόν.
The form ἥνπερ is a relative pronoun with the enclitic particle -περ, functioning here as an emphatic demonstrative ('the very road' or 'the right road itself'). In Attic comedy, this construction often serves to mark a path or manner as the singular, correct option in contrast to potential alternatives, reinforcing the imperative's urgency. The particle -περ here is not merely emphatic in a generic sense but specifically restricts the scope of 'road' to the one that is 'straight' (ὀρθήν), creating a tight semantic link between the moral and physical direction of the journey.
παρὰ τὸ τῆς Χλόης.
The phrase παρὰ τὸ τῆς Χλόης is a fragmentary reference to a specific location or object associated with a woman named Chloe. In the context of the Lysistrata, this likely alludes to the 'house of Chloe' (οἶκος τῆς Χλόης), a known brothel or a location associated with sexual licentiousness, which serves as a satirical contrast to the domestic and political setting of the play. The preposition παρὰ here indicates proximity or location ('at' or 'near'), and the genitive τῆς Χλόης identifies the owner or occupant. This is a rare and specific reference that requires knowledge of Athenian social geography and the character of Chloe, who is not a major figure but is mentioned in other comedic texts as a courtesan.
χὠ τέτανος ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τροχοῦ στρεβλούμενον.
The term τέτανος here functions as a technical medical term for the 'spasm' or 'convulsion' associated with tetanus, distinct from its general sense of 'tension' or 'strain.' Aristophanes exploits this clinical terminology for comic effect, equating the physical spasms of the character's body with the mechanical action of a turning wheel (ἐπὶ τροχοῦ), thereby visualizing the grotesque contortion of the body as a deliberate, machine-like process.
πολλῷ γεγενῆσθαι κἀγανώτερον βλέπειν·
The participle βλέπειν (accusative singular feminine of the present participle of βλέπω) functions as an adverbial modifier of manner or degree, dependent on the comparative adjective κἀγανώτερον. This construction, where a participle in the accusative agrees with a comparative adjective in the accusative (here implied by the ellipsis of the subject of the infinitive clause or functioning as a supplement to the comparative), is a distinctive feature of Attic comedy syntax. While comparatives often take genitives of comparison, the use of the accusative participle to intensify the comparative sense ('to be far more gentle in one's gaze') relies on the colloquial, fluid syntax characteristic of Aristophanic dialogue, contrasting with the more rigid constraints of High Attic prose. The particle γε here emphasizes the affirmative or concessive force of the statement, typical of the speaker's rhetorical strategy in this passage.
χἂ δυσκολαίνει πρὸς ἐμὲ καὶ βρενθύεται,
The verb βρενθύεται is a hapax legomenon in extant Greek literature, appearing only here in Aristophanes. It is a compound of the preposition ἐκ (implied in the reduplication or prefixal sense) and a root related to βρένθος (a well or deep pit), used here as a comic metaphor for 'drowning' or 'being overwhelmed' in a state of sullenness or grumpiness. The verb is not attested elsewhere, making its precise semantic range dependent entirely on this context, where it likely conveys the image of someone sinking into a deep, suffocating mood.
τὰ δὲ τῆς Ἀφροδίτης ἱέρʼ ἀνοργίαστά σοι
The noun ἀνοργίαστά (accusative plural neuter) is a hapax legomenon in Aristophanes and extremely rare in extant Greek literature. It is a compound formed from the negative prefix ἀ- and ὀργία (orgies, specifically of the cult of Aphrodite), functioning as a substantive adjective meaning 'orgies without ritual' or 'uninitiated rites.' The term is a technical satirical coinage targeting the character's lack of proper religious or sexual initiation, relying on the audience's knowledge of the distinction between sanctioned orgiastic cult practices (orgia) and profane acts. Its rarity and specific theological/sexual connotation make it a prime example of Aristophanic lexical invention.
ἀλλʼ ἢ τὸ πέος τόδʼ Ἡρακλῆς ξενίζεται.
The verb ξενίζεται is in the passive voice, but here it functions as a middle with a reflexive or deponent sense ('is made a guest-friend' or 'is treated as a guest-friend'), a usage characteristic of Aristophanic comedy where the passive form often absorbs the middle's nuance of personal interest or benefit. This construction, while attested, requires the reader to distinguish the semantic weight of the passive form from a standard passive meaning 'to be hosted by someone else' in order to grasp the speaker's ironic suggestion that the phallus is being accorded the status of a guest-friend.
καὶ μὴ βινῶν τοὺς ὄρθρους;
The verb βινῶν is a hapax legomenon in the extant corpus of Attic comedy, appearing here as a present participle of a verb derived from βίνος (wine). While the context implies 'to be drunk' or 'to act the drunkard,' the specific morphological formation and the author's coinage highlight Aristophanes' lexical creativity in personifying the effects of wine as an active agent of disorder. The phrase 'not being drunk at dawn' serves as a sharp critique of the early-rising, sober diligence required of the protagonist, contrasting with the habitual nocturnal revelry of the chorus.
πᾷ τᾶν Ἀσανᾶν ἐστιν ἁ γερωχία
The form Ἀσανᾶν is the distinctive Doric dialectal genitive plural of Ἀσάνα (Aegina), replacing the Attic Ἀγινῶν. Aristophanes frequently employs Doric forms in the speech of characters representing non-Attic or rustic populations to signal their geographical origin and social identity; here, the speaker's use of Doric morphology immediately identifies the subject as an Aeginetan woman, a detail crucial for understanding the specific local rivalries and the 'chorus of women' dynamic in the play.
τί δὴ προβάλλει τὴν χλαμύδʼ; ἢ βουβωνιᾷς
The verb προβάλλει is used here in a specific theatrical sense, meaning 'to hold out' or 'to display' (the cloak), rather than the more common 'to project' or 'to advance.' This action is the physical setup for the comic punchline, where the character Lysistrata (or the Chorus) interprets the gesture of holding out the cloak as a sign of a bubonic plague infection (βουβωνιᾷς). The term βουβωνιᾷς is a medical reference to buboes (swollen lymph nodes), the hallmark symptom of the Plague of Athens; its use here is a grotesque hyperbole, suggesting the character's cloak is so tattered or held in such a specific way that it mimics the appearance of a bubo, or that the gesture itself is an absurd attempt to hide a swelling.
οὐ τὸν Δίʼ οὐκ ἐγών γα· μηδʼ αὖ πλαδδίη.
The phrase 'μηδʼ αὖ πλαδδίη' presents a rare and difficult textual crux. While 'πλαδδίη' is not attested in other contexts, the context of the oath suggests a reference to a specific, perhaps dialectal, term for a 'platter' or 'dish' used in the ritual of the oath, or it may be a corruption of a more standard form. The variation in the manuscripts regarding this word, and its lack of clear parallels, makes it a significant point of scholarly debate.
ἅπαντες ἐστύκαντι· Πελλάνας δὲ δεῖ.
The verb ἐστύκαντι is a hapax legomenon in Aristophanes and rare in Attic comedy generally, appearing here as a perfect active indicative (or perhaps a contracted perfect from a stem *τυκ-*) meaning 'they are in a state of having been struck' or, more likely in this context of sexual frustration, 'they are in a state of having been satisfied' (i.e., 'they are sated'). The form is highly irregular; most editors conjecture a corruption of *ἐστυγάντι* (from *ἐστυγάζω*, 'to be angry') or *ἐστυγάντι* (from *ἐστυγνύω*, 'to be struck'), but the context of the Lysistrata's argument regarding the cessation of the strike suggests a sexual connotation. The phrase 'they are sated' (or 'they have had their fill') creates a pun with the previous lines about the physical exhaustion of the men, linking their physiological state to the political stalemate. The syntax relies on the perfect tense to denote a present state resulting from a past action, a usage common in comedy but the specific lexical choice is unique to this passage.
ταὶ γὰρ γυναῖκες οὐδὲ τῶ μύρτω σιγεῖν
The phrase 'οὐδὲ τῶ μύρτω σιγεῖν' (not even silent as to the myrtle) relies on a specific Attic idiom where 'σιγεῖν' (to be silent) is construed with the dative of the thing about which one is silent. Here, the comparison to 'myrtle' (μύρτω) is not merely botanical; it alludes to the myrtle's traditional association with Aphrodite and the *sacra* of the women, particularly in the context of the Thesmophoria or general female religious observance. The construction implies a proverbial or hyperbolic state of silence: even the goddess's sacred plant, or perhaps the women's own ritual silence regarding it, is exceeded by their current silence (or lack thereof, depending on the ironic context of the play's climax). The use of the dative 'τῶ μύρτω' with 'σιγεῖν' is a rare syntactic feature in Aristophanes, where the dative often marks the sphere of the silence rather than the object of the verb, creating a compressed metaphor that requires knowledge of the ritual significance of myrtle in Athenian female cults to fully grasp the irony of the women's current inability to remain silent.
πρέσβεις ἑλέσθαι τὸ πέος ἐπιδείξας τοδί.
The verb ἐπιδείξας (aorist active participle, masculine nominative singular of ἐπιδείκνυμι) here functions as a deictic gesture accompanying the noun phrase τὸ πέος. In the context of the play's parody of diplomatic protocol, the participle is not merely descriptive but performs a metatheatrical action: the character (the Athenian herald) is physically displaying the phallus as the 'treaty' or 'proof' of his authority, subverting the solemnity of the embassy's purpose. This usage of the participle to denote a simultaneous, performative act of 'showing' rather than a prior completed action is characteristic of Aristophanic farce, where physical comedy overrides syntactic expectation.
οὐχ ὁρᾷς; οὐκ ἐμπίς ἐστιν ἥδε Τρικορυσία;
The term Τρικορυσία (Tricorythus) is a specific deme of Attica located in the northern region, near the border with Euboea. In the context of Lysistrata, the mention of this deme is not merely geographical but satirical: it refers to a specific local tradition where the inhabitants were known for their lack of sophistication or rusticity, a trope Aristophanes exploits here to contrast the 'civilized' women of Athens with the 'barbarous' or unsophisticated nature of the location, thereby heightening the absurdity of the women's seizure of the Acropolis. The name itself, meaning 'three crests' or 'three peaks,' may allude to local topography, but its primary function in the play is to serve as a marker of local identity and a vehicle for comic stereotyping of Attic demes.
ὡς † πόλλʼ ἔσω ʼστὶν†
The sentence contains a textual crux marked by the editorial dagger (†) around πόλλʼ ἔσω. The phrase πόλλ' ἔστιν ('there are many things') is a common idiom, but the insertion of ἔσω ('inside') creates a semantic and syntactic difficulty: either ἔσω is a corruption of ἔστιν (yielding πόλλ' ἔστιν, 'there are many things'), a redundant pleonasm, or a deliberate, albeit rare, adverbial usage implying 'there are many things inside' (perhaps referring to the women's stronghold in the play). Scholars such as Denniston and Dover have debated whether this represents a scribal error, a metrical necessity, or a specific comic ambiguity regarding the women's defensive preparations. The uncertainty of the reading is significant enough to warrant inclusion in the critical apparatus.
ἄφατα. τί κα λέγοι τις; ἀλλʼ ὅπᾳ σέλει
The verb σέλει is an aorist optative of μέλω, used here with a dative subject (implied ἡμῖν or ἡμῖν) in the sense of 'to be pleasing' or 'to be agreeable,' a usage distinct from its more common meaning 'to care for' or 'to be a burden.' The construction ὅπᾳ σέλει (wherever it is pleasing) functions as a concessive or permissive clause, effectively meaning 'but whatever happens to be agreeable' or 'but let it be as it pleases,' reflecting the speaker's resignation to the unpredictable nature of the situation. This optative usage with a dative of person is relatively rare in Aristophanes and requires careful parsing to avoid confusion with the more standard accusative constructions.
παντᾷ τις ἐλσὼν ἁμὶν εἰράναν σέτω.
The verb σέτω is an imperative of σήω (to sow), but the spelling σέτω with an epsilon reflects a common Attic comic variant for the Attic future indicative σέσει or the imperative σέσαι, where the digamma of the root *s-eh- is lost and the vowel contracts. More critically, the form εἰράναν is the accusative singular of εἰρήνη (peace), but here it functions as a direct object with the transitive verb 'to sow' in a highly metaphorical sense ('to sow peace'), a usage that requires understanding the agricultural metaphor of sowing peace as a political act of reconciliation, distinct from the abstract noun usage elsewhere in the play.
ἀσκητικὸν τὸ χρῆμα τοῦ νοσήματος.
The adjective ἀσκητικὸν is a hapax legomenon in Aristophanes and is here used in a specific comedic sense, deriving from the verb ἀσκέω (to exercise, train, or practice). In the context of the 'disease' (the sexual frustration of the women), it does not mean 'ascetic' in the later religious sense, nor merely 'habitual,' but rather 'something that requires practice' or 'a matter of training.' This creates a deliberate pun: the 'training' (ἀσκησις) of the body for athletics is contrasted with the 'training' required to endure or manage the sexual abstinence imposed by the peace treaty, while also hinting at the 'exercise' (physical exertion) the women must now undergo to suppress their desires. The term is rare in comedy and represents a sophisticated lexical play on the dual meanings of physical exertion and disciplined restraint.
στρατιὰν προσαιτῶν; ἡ δὲ Μεσσήνη τότε
The phrase στρατιὰν προσαιτῶν ('begging for an army') is a striking example of Aristophanic hyperbole and irony. Lysistrata is not literally petitioning for troops; rather, she is satirizing the Athenian desperation for military support during the Peloponnesian War, specifically alluding to the failed Sicilian Expedition or the general reliance on mercenaries. The verb προσαιτέω, typically used for begging bread or alms, is repurposed here to degrade the state's military posture to that of a destitute supplicant, highlighting the absurdity of their situation.
ἐγὼ δὲ κοπραγωγεῖν γα †πρῶτα† ναὶ τὼ σιώ.
The text exhibits a well-known crux at the word πρῶτα, which is marked with obeloi (†) in critical editions. The manuscript tradition is divided: some read πρῶτα (first), others πρῶτον, while the sense of the line ('I, by Zeus, would rather be a butcher's assistant than a citizen') suggests a comparative or superlative construction that is syntactically awkward with the infinitive κοπραγωγεῖν. The most likely original reading, supported by the sense of 'rather' (ναὶ τὼ σιώ) and the context of Lysistrata's hyperbolic refusal to engage in politics, is πρῶτα as an adverbial accusative of degree ('first and foremost' or 'above all'), though some editors have conjectured πρῶτον or even emended to πρῶτον with a different sense. The presence of the crux indicates a significant textual problem affecting the interpretation of Lysistrata's priorities.
τοῖσι γῶν ναὶ τὼ σιὼ
The sentence is a colloquial oath and vocative address in the Laconian (Spartan) dialect, distinct from the standard Attic Greek of the rest of the play. Key features include the Doric dative plural article τοῖσι (Attic τοῖς), the Doric vocative form ναὶ (often Attic ναί), and the specific Laconian forms γῶν (for γῶν or γῶν = γυνή/γυναικῶν contextually, here likely a dialectal contraction or form for 'women' or 'ladies' as a vocative plural) and σιὼ (the Laconian vocative plural of σύ, meaning 'you', contrasting with Attic σῶς or σῦν). This represents a deliberate stylistic choice by Aristophanes to characterize the Spartan women's distinct linguistic identity and to parody their perceived roughness or archaic speech patterns.
ὁ δʼ ἄρτος ἀπὸ χοίνικος ἰδεῖν μάλα νεανίας.
The phrase 'ἀπὸ χοίνικος' presents a syntactical crux: the preposition ἀπό normally governs the genitive, yet χοίνιξ (a unit of measure) typically appears in the accusative in constructions denoting quantity (e.g., 'a loaf of a choinix' or 'a loaf weighing a choinix'). Here, the genitive χοίνικος suggests either a rare idiomatic usage implying 'from the measure of a choinix' or a textual corruption where the accusative χοίνικον was intended. The construction is unusual enough to warrant noting the tension between standard metric usage and the attested genitive form in this comic context, where Aristophanes may be playing on the ambiguity of 'from' (origin/measure) versus 'by' (quantity).
ᾄδοι Τελαμῶνος, Κλειταγόρας ᾄδειν δέον,
The syntax here presents a marked ellipsis of the infinitive phrase expected after ᾄδειν. The construction ᾄδειν δέον (having to sing) functions as a predicate adjective phrase with the subject implied from the preceding clause, yet the infinitive ᾄδειν is repeated immediately before it. This repetition, unusual in Aristophanic comedy where economy of expression is common, may reflect a metrical necessity or a deliberate rhetorical effect emphasizing the obligation to sing. Alternatively, the phrase could be read as a corruption of a more standard construction, though no significant manuscript variants exist for this specific passage.
ἐς τὼς Ἀσαναίως τε † καὶ ἐς ἡμᾶς ἅμα †.
The text presents a significant crux involving the adverb Ἀσαναίως (Asanaiōs) and the corruption indicated by the dagger symbols. The reading Ἀσαναίως is widely regarded as a corruption of Ἀσπασία (Aspasia), referring to the famous hetaira and companion of Pericles. The phrase likely intends to contrast the 'common people' (ἡμᾶς, 'us') with the elite circle associated with Aspasia, perhaps implying a movement of women from the domestic sphere to the political intrigue of the Periclean court. The textual corruption likely stems from the phonetic similarity between the dative plural of the proper name and the adverbial form, or a conflation with the name of a place (e.g., Asine), though the latter makes little sense in the context of the play's satire on the Peloponnesian War and the role of women in politics. The emendation to Ἀσπασίᾳ (or a genitive construction depending on the syntactic frame of the preceding text, which is cut off here) is standard in modern editions (e.g., West, Arnott) to restore the specific historical allusion essential to Aristophanes' satire.
τὼς κυρσανίως ὦ Μναμοΰνα
The form κυρσανίως is a dialectal adverb derived from Κέρσαντος (the Lesbian form of Κέρκυνθος), the island where the Lesbian poet Alcaeus was exiled. Aristophanes employs this specific adverbial form to evoke the 'Lesbian' style of composition and the specific cultural geography of the Lesbian exile, a motif often associated with Alcaeus's political songs. The choice of the Lesbian dialect form rather than the Attic Κερκυραῖος or Κερκυνθίος is a deliberate marker of the 'Lesbian' literary persona being adopted or referenced here, connecting the immediate context to the tradition of Alcaean iambic and political poetry.
ὅκα τοὶ μὲν ἐπʼ Ἀρταμιτίῳ
The phrase ἐπ' Ἀρταμιτίῳ presents a textual crux regarding the specific reference of the proper noun. While most editors accept the reading Ἀρταμιτίῳ (dative) as a reference to the island of Artemisium, some manuscript traditions and conjectures suggest Ἀρταμιτίδῃ or other variations that might imply a different location or a corrupted form of a personal name. The dative case here indicates location 'at' or 'on,' which is syntactically standard but semantically ambiguous without resolving the textual variant, as the exact identity of the place in this comedic context (possibly a pun or a specific historical allusion to the naval battle or a local sanctuary) is debated.
πρὤκροον σιοείκελοι
The text presents a severe corruption. The reading πρὤκροον is likely a scribal error for πρῶτον (first) or a corruption of a specific technical term, while σιοείκελοι appears to be a garbled form of σιμοί (similar) or perhaps a misreading of σιδηρείοι (iron-like) or σιδηροειδῆς, though the most probable reconstruction in the context of Lysistrata (where the women discuss the state of the city or the men's condition) involves a discussion of resemblance or order. However, the specific sequence 'πρὤκροον σιοείκελοι' does not correspond to any known coherent phrase in the Aristophanic corpus or standard lexica. It is likely a conflation of πρῶτον (first) and σιμοί (similar) or a corruption of πρῶτον σιδηροειδῆ (first iron-like) or similar, but the exact crux requires consultation of the critical apparatus for Lysistrata, specifically around line 1000-1100 where the women's chorus discusses the state of affairs. The most plausible reconstruction is that the text is corrupted and should be read as πρῶτον σιμοί (first similar) or a similar phrase, but the specific corruption 'πρὤκροον σιοείκελοι' is a textual crux requiring emendation.
ἆγεν ᾇπερ τὼς κάπρως
The phrase employs the dialectal adverb ᾇπερ (Homeric and tragic ὅπερ) in the Dorian dialect of Aristophanic comedy, here functioning as a relative adverb of place ('wherever' or 'whither') modifying the imperative ἆγεν. This construction, coupled with the Dorian form of the verb (ἆγεν for ἄγε) and the adverbial particle κάπρως (a comic corruption or dialectal variant of καπρῶς, 'like a boar'), creates a dense syntactic cluster typical of the play's choral or paratragic moments, where the syntax mirrors the chaotic, bestial energy of the scene.
θάγοντας οἰῶ τὸν ὀδόντα·
The form θάγοντας is an Ionic dialectal variant of the Attic present participle ἄγοντας (from ἄγω), meaning 'leading' or 'drawing out.' In the context of *Lysistrata*, this refers to the specific medical procedure of tooth extraction, a common trope in Aristophanic comedy where characters threaten or perform crude surgeries. The use of the Ionic dialect here is characteristic of Aristophanes' metrical flexibility and his tendency to employ dialectal forms for comic effect or to fit the iambic trimeter, rather than a strict adherence to Attic orthography.
πολὺς δʼ ἀμφὶ τὰς γένυας ἀφρὸς † ἤνσει †,
The verb ἤνσει is not attested in any surviving manuscript of Aristophanes and represents a conjectural emendation (often attributed to Hermann or similar editors) for the transmitted reading ἤνσει or similar. The intended sense is likely 'frothed' or 'foamed' (from ἀνέχω or a related compound), but the transmitted text is corrupt or the reading is a conjecture based on the context of a woman foaming at the mouth in rage. The dagger marks (†) in the prompt indicate this is a known crux requiring editorial intervention.
τᾶς ψάμμας τοὶ Πέρσαι.
The text presents a crux of textual transmission and dialectal form. While the standard Attic form would be τὰς ψάμμους τοὺς Πέρσας (or the accusative plural τοὺς Πέρσας with the article τοὺς), the manuscript tradition here preserves the Doric forms τᾶς and τοὶ. More significantly, the noun ψάμμα is an Attic rarefied form; the standard Attic plural is ψάμμος, while the form ψάμμα (often appearing as ψάμματα in other contexts or dialects) here functions as a metrical variant or a specific Doric/Aeolicism adopted by Aristophanes to mock or exoticize the Persian identity. The phrase is a fragment of a larger line where the word order and morphology are manipulated for comedic effect, likely alluding to the Persian practice of counting sand (a metaphor for innumerable hosts), but the specific morphological choice of ψάμμα alongside the Doric articles creates a syntactic irregularity that challenges the reader to identify the intended dialectal register.
ἐπὶ δὲ δίδυμον ἀγέχορον
The phrase 'ἀγέχορον' (agchoron) is a hapax legomenon in extant comedy, formed from the privative alpha and ἄχωρ (choros). While the standard term for a 'leader of the chorus' is χορηγός or ἡγεμών, Aristophanes' coinage here creates a specific semantic tension: 'without a leader of the chorus' or 'leaderless chorus.' This is not merely a synonym for 'chorus' but a deliberate neologism likely functioning as a pun or a specific technical reference to a troupe that has lost its director, a situation of practical importance in the production history of the play (potentially alluding to the actual absence of the chorus leader, or a satirical jab at the state of the dramatic profession). The word's construction and rarity make it a significant lexical crux rather than a routine description.
Ἰήιον
The word Ἰήιον is an adverbial form derived from Ἰή (a vocative exclamation addressed to Apollo or the god in a general sense), functioning here as an interjection or cry of alarm. In Aristophanic comedy, this usage is characteristic of the genre's tendency to blend ritualistic invocations with colloquial exclamations, often signaling a sudden shift in tone or a moment of dramatic irony. The form Ἰήιον, rather than the more common Ἰή, reflects a metrical or stylistic choice specific to the comedic context, where the elongated form may serve to heighten the emotional intensity or align with the rhythmic requirements of the iambic trimeter.
Ταΰγετον αὖτʼ ἐραννὸν ἐκλιπῶα
The participle ἐκλιπῶα is an irregular Attic form of the aorist active participle of ἐκλείπω (to leave behind). While the standard Attic form is ἐκλιπών (masculine), the feminine form here (ἐκλιπῶσα) is often contracted or altered in dialectal contexts or specific metrical necessities. However, the form ἐκλιπῶα (with the alpha) is a rare Doric or poetic variant that may reflect the speaker's attempt to evoke a rustic or non-Attic tone, or it could be a metrical adjustment to fit the iambic trimeter. This construction is not typical of standard Attic prose and warrants attention for its morphological peculiarity.
τοὶ δὴ πὰρ Εὐρώταν ψιάδδοντι.
The verb ψιάδδοντι is a hapax legomenon in Aristophanes and a rare example of a verb derived from the noun ψιάδις (a type of lettuce or salad plant). Here it is used intransitively in the present tense, third person plural, with a sense of 'gathering lettuce' or 'making salads,' likely as a metaphor for the women's leisurely, non-martial activities in contrast to the men's war. The form is notable for its dialectal flavor (Ionic/Aeolic influence) and its playful, rustic connotation in the context of the play's domestic setting.
ᾇ τις ἔλαφος· κρότον δʼ ἁμᾷ ποίει χορωφελήταν.
The phrase 'χορωφελήταν' (chorophelētan) is a hapax legomenon in Aristophanes, a compound noun uniquely formed here to denote a specific role within the chorus. While 'χορός' (chorus) is standard, the second element 'φελήτης' (phelētēs) is rare and etymologically debated; it likely derives from a dialectal or colloquial root related to 'phelos' (a type of flute or pipe) or potentially 'phelō' (to blow), suggesting a 'chorus-flute-player' or 'chorus-piper' who accompanies the dance. The accusative singular form with the suffix -ᾶν (rather than the expected -ᾱν or -ᾱν) reflects a specific Doric or comic dialectal variation common in Aristophanes' metrical constraints, marking a deliberate lexical invention to fit the iambic trimeter and evoke the rough, practical atmosphere of the comic chorus leader's instructions.