Frogs 1216–1259: The bottle of oil and the turn to lyrics

Aristophanes, Frogs 1216–1259: Agon: the bottle of oil and the turn to lyrics

Aeschylus ends each of Euripides' prologues with the words 'lost his bottle of oil', and the line fits every one. Dionysus advises Euripides to buy the bottle off and tells him to lower his sails, while Euripides says that he has plenty of prologues left. In the end Dionysus tells them to turn to the lyrics, and Euripides says that he will cut Aeschylus' songs down to one.

1216–1233b

Εὐριπίδης 1216τὸν πρόλογον οὐχ ἕξει προσάψαι λήκυθον. οὐκ ἔστιν ὅστις πάντʼ ἀνὴρ εὐδαιμονεῖ· ἢ γὰρ πεφυκὼς ἐσθλὸς οὐκ ἔχει βίον, ἢ δυσγενὴς ὤν— Αἰσχύλος ληκύθιον ἀπώλεσεν. Διόνυσος 1220Εὐριπίδη— Εὐριπίδης τί ἔσθʼ; Διόνυσος ὑφέσθαι μοι δοκεῖ· τὸ ληκύθιον γὰρ τοῦτο πνευσεῖται πολύ. Εὐριπίδης οὐδʼ ἂν μὰ τὴν Δήμητρα φροντίσαιμί γε· νυνὶ γὰρ αὐτοῦ τοῦτό γʼ ἐκκεκόψεται. Διόνυσος ἴθι δὴ λέγʼ ἕτερον κἀπέχου τῆς ληκύθου. Εὐριπίδης 1225Σιδώνιόν ποτʼ ἄστυ Κάδμος ἐκλιπὼν Ἀγήνορος παῖς— Αἰσχύλος ληκύθιον ἀπώλεσεν. Διόνυσος ὦ δαιμόνιʼ ἀνδρῶν ἀποπρίω τὴν λήκυθον, ἵνα μὴ διακναίσῃ τοὺς προλόγους ἡμῶν. Εὐριπίδης τὸ τί; ἐγὼ πρίωμαι τῷδʼ; Διόνυσος ἐὰν πείθῃ γʼ ἐμοί. Εὐριπίδης 1230οὐ δῆτʼ, ἐπεὶ πολλοὺς προλόγους ἕξω λέγειν ἵνʼ οὗτος οὐχ ἕξει προσάψαι ληκύθιον. Πέλοψ ὁ Ταντάλειος ἐς Πῖσαν μολὼν θοαῖσιν ἵπποις— Αἰσχύλος ληκύθιον ἀπώλεσεν.

EURIPIDES One is of noble birth, but lacking means. Another, baseborn,

AESCHYLUS Lost his bottle of oil.

DIONYSUS Euripides!

EURIPIDES Well?

DIONYSUS Lower your sails, my boy; This bottle of oil is going to blow a gale.

EURIPIDES O, by Demeter, I don’t care one bit; Now from his hands I’ll strike that bottle of oil.

DIONYSUS Go on then, go: but ware the bottle of oil.

EURIPIDES Once Cadmus, quitting the Sidonian town, Agenor’s offspring

AESCHYLUS Lost his bottle of oil.

DIONYSUS O pray, my man, buy off that bottle of oil, Or else he’ll smash our prologues all to bits.

EURIPIDES I buy of him?

DIONYSUS If my advice you’ll take.

EURIPIDES No, no, I’ve many a prologue yet to say, To which he can’t tack on his bottle of oil. Pelops, the son of Tantalus, while driving is mares to Pisa

AESCHYLUS Lost his bottle of oil.

DIONYSUS There! he tacked on the bottle of oil again. O for heaven’s sake, pay him its price, dear boy;

1234–1242

Διόνυσος 1234ὁρᾷς, προσῆψεν αὖθις αὖ τὴν λήκυθον. 1235ἀλλʼ ὦγάθʼ ἔτι καὶ νῦν ἀπόδος πάσῃ τέχνῃ· λήψει γὰρ ὀβολοῦ πάνυ καλήν τε κἀγαθήν. Εὐριπίδης μὰ τὸν Δίʼ οὔπω γʼ· ἔτι γὰρ εἰσί μοι συχνοί. Οἰνεύς ποτʼ ἐκ γῆς— Αἰσχύλος ληκύθιον ἀπώλεσεν. Εὐριπίδης ἔασον εἰπεῖν πρῶθʼ ὅλον με τὸν στίχον. 1240Οἰνεύς ποτʼ ἐκ γῆς πολύμετρον λαβὼν στάχυν θύων ἀπαρχάς— Αἰσχύλος ληκύθιον ἀπώλεσεν. Διόνυσος μεταξὺ θύων; καὶ τίς αὔθʼ ὑφείλετο;

DIONYSUS You’ll get it for an obol, spick and span.

EURIPIDES Not yet, by Zeus; I’ve plenty of prologues left. Oeneus once reaping

AESCHYLUS Lost his bottle of oil.

EURIPIDES Pray let me finish one entire line first. Oeneus once reaping an abundant harvest, Offering the firstfruits

AESCHYLUS Lost his bottle of oil.

DIONYSUS What in the act of offering? Fie! Who stole it?

EURIPIDES O don’t keep bothering! Let him try with this! Zeus, as by Truth’s own voice the tale is told,

1243–1259

Εὐριπίδης 1243ἔα αὐτὸν ὦ τᾶν· πρὸς τοδὶ γὰρ εἰπάτω. Ζεύς, ὡς λέλεκται τῆς ἀληθείας ὕπο— Διόνυσος 1245ἀπολεῖ σʼ· ἐρεῖ γάρ, ληκύθιον ἀπώλεσεν. τὸ ληκύθιον γὰρ τοῦτʼ ἐπὶ τοῖς προλόγοισί σου ὥσπερ τὰ σῦκʼ ἐπὶ τοῖσιν ὀφθαλμοῖς ἔφυ. ἀλλʼ ἐς τὰ μέλη πρὸς τῶν θεῶν αὐτοῦ τραποῦ. Εὐριπίδης καὶ μὴν ἔχω γʼ οἷς αὐτὸν ἀποδείξω κακὸν 1250μελοποιὸν ὄντα καὶ ποιοῦντα ταὔτʼ ἀεί. Χορός τί ποτε πρᾶγμα γενήσεται; φροντίζειν γὰρ ἔγωγʼ ἔχω, τίνʼ ἄρα μέμψιν ἐποίσει ἀνδρὶ τῷ πολὺ πλεῖστα δὴ 1255καὶ κάλλιστα μέλη ποιήσαντι τῶν μέχρι νυνί. θαυμάζω γὰρ ἔγωγʼ ὅπῃ μέμψεταί ποτε τοῦτον τὸν Βακχεῖον ἄνακτα,

DIONYSUS No, he’ll cut in with “Lost his bottle of oil!” Those bottles of oil on all your prologues seem To gather and grow, like styes upon the eye. Turn to his melodies now for goodness’ sake.

EURIPIDES O I can easily show that he’s a poor Melody-maker; makes them all alike.

CHORUS What, O what will be done! Strange to think that he dare Blame the bard who has won, More than all in our days, Fame and praise for his lays, Lays so many and fair. Much I marvel to hear What the charge he will bring "Gainst our tragedy king; Yea for himself do I fear.

EURIPIDES Wonderful lays! O yes, you’ll see directly. I’ll cut down all his metrical strains to one.

People and places in this passage

English translation by Benjamin Bickley Rogers (1919). Original text: Greek text: F. W. Hall and W. M. Geldart (eds.), Aristophanis Comoediae, Oxford Classical Texts, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1906-1907, as digitised by Perseus. English: Benjamin Bickley Rogers, The Frogs of Aristophanes, second edition, London: G. Bell and Sons, 1919.

Greek text and translation from the Perseus Digital Library, Tufts University, Greek: CC BY-SA 4.0 (Perseus Digital Library); translation public domain (Rogers). Introductions, summaries and notes © GreekMythology.com.

Aristophanes, Frogs 1216–1259: Agon: the bottle of oil and the turn to lyrics

People and places in this passage

Other ancient accounts of this story

Cite This Text