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Aristophanes · Frogs Βάτραχοι

Aristophanes, Frogs 533–580: Episode: the Hostess and Plathane accuse the supposed Heracles

Ancient Sources / Aristophanes / Frogs / 533–580

The Chorus praise the man who can trim his sails to the wind, like Theramenes. Dionysus, wearing the lion's skin again, is charged by two tavern women, the Hostess and Plathane, with eating sixteen loaves, a pile of stew and a heap of cheese without paying. They threaten to fetch Cleon and Hyperbolus, and Dionysus turns to plead with Xanthias.

Lines 533–580 · 418 words · click a number to copy its link
533–547a
Ξανθίας 533ἐμοῦ δεηθείης ἄν, εἰ θεὸς θέλοι. Χορός ταῦτα μὲν πρὸς ἀνδρός ἐστι νοῦν ἔχοντος καὶ φρένας καὶ 535πολλὰ περιπεπλευκότος, μετακυλίνδειν αὑτὸν ἀεὶ πρὸς τὸν εὖ πράττοντα τοῖχον μᾶλλον ἢ γεγραμμένην εἰκόνʼ ἑστάναι, λαβόνθʼ ἓν σχῆμα· τὸ δὲ μεταστρέφεσθαι πρὸς τὸ μαλθακώτερον 540δεξιοῦ πρὸς ἀνδρός ἐστι καὶ φύσει Θηραμένους. Διόνυσος οὐ γὰρ ἂν γέλοιον ἦν, εἰ Ξανθίας μὲν δοῦλος ὢν ἐν στρώμασιν Μιλησίοις ἀνατετραμμένος κυνῶν ὀρ- χηστρίδʼ εἶτʼ ᾔτησεν ἀμίδʼ, ἐγὼ δὲ πρὸς τοῦτον βλέπων 545τοὐρεβίνθου ʼδραττόμην, οὗ- τος δʼ ἅτʼ ὢν αὐτὸς πανοῦργος εἶδε, κᾆτʼ ἐκ τῆς γνάθου πὺξ πατάξας μοὐξέκοψε

CHORUS Standing always in one position; Nay but to veer, with expedition, And ever to catch the favouring breeze, This is the part of a shrewd tactician, This is to be a—Theramenes!

DIONYSUS Truly an exquisite joke ’twould be, Him with a dancing girl to see, Lolling at ease on Milesian rugs; Me, like a slave, beside him standing, Aught that he wants to his lordship handing; Then as the damsel fair he hugs, Seeing me all on fire to embrace her, He would perchance (for there’s no man baser), Turning him round like a lazy lout, Straight on my mouth deliver a facer, Knocking my ivory choirmen out.

HOSTESS O Plathane! Plathane! Here’s that naughty man,

548–564
Διόνυσος 548τοῦ χοροῦ τοὺς προσθίους; Πανδοκευτρία Πλαθάνη Πλαθάνη δεῦρʼ ἔλθʼ, ὁ πανοῦργος οὑτοσί, 550ὃς ἐς τὸ πανδοκεῖον εἰσελθών ποτε ἑκκαίδεκʼ ἄρτους κατέφαγʼ ἡμῶν. Πλαθάνη νὴ Δία ἐκεῖνος αὐτὸς δῆτα. Ξανθίας κακὸν ἥκει τινί. Πανδοκευτρία καὶ κρέα γε πρὸς τούτοισιν ἀνάβραστʼ εἴκοσιν ἀνʼ ἡμιωβολιαῖα. Ξανθίας δώσει τις δίκην. Πανδοκευτρία 555καὶ τὰ σκόροδα τὰ πολλά. Διόνυσος ληρεῖς ὦ γύναι κοὐκ οἶσθʼ ὅ τι λέγεις. Πανδοκευτρία οὐ μὲν οὖν με προσεδόκας, ὁτιὴ κοθόρνους εἶχες, ἂν γνῶναί σʼ ἔτι; τί δαί; τὸ πολὺ τάριχος οὐκ εἴρηκά πω. Πλαθάνη μὰ Δίʼ οὐδὲ τὸν τυρόν γε τὸν χλωρὸν τάλαν, 560ὃν οὗτος αὐτοῖς τοῖς ταλάροις κατήσθιεν Πανδοκευτρία κἄπειτʼ ἐπειδὴ τἀργύριον ἐπραττόμην, ἔβλεψεν ἔς με δριμὺ κἀμυκᾶτό γε. Ξανθίας τούτου πάνυ τοὔργον· οὗτος ὁ τρόπος πανταχοῦ. Πανδοκευτρία καὶ τὸ ξίφος γʼ ἐσπᾶτο μαίνεσθαι δοκῶν.

HOSTESS That’s he who got into our tavern once, And ate up sixteen loaves.

PLATHANE O, so he is! The very man.

XANTHIAS Bad luck for somebody!

HOSTESS O and, besides, those twenty bits of stew, Half-obol pieces.

XANTHIAS Somebody’s going to catch it!

HOSTESS That garlic too.

DIONYSUS Woman, you’re talking nonsense. You don’t know what you’re saying.

HOSTESS O, you thought I shouldn’t know you with your buskins on! Ah, and I’ve not yet mentioned all that fish, No, nor the new-made cheese: he gulped it down, Baskets and all, unlucky that we were. And when I just alluded to the price, He looked so fierce, and bellowed like a bull.

XANTHIAS Yes, that’s his way: that’s what he always does.

HOSTESS O, and he drew his sword, and seemed quite mad.

PLATHANE O, that he did.

HOSTESS And terrified us so We sprang up to the cockloft, she and I.

565–580
Πλαθάνη 565νὴ Δία τάλαινα. Πανδοκευτρία νὼ δὲ δεισάσα γέ που ἐπὶ τὴν κατήλιφʼ εὐθὺς ἀνεπηδήσαμεν· ὁ δʼ ᾤχετʼ ἐξᾴξας γε τὰς ψιάθους λαβών. Ξανθίας καὶ τοῦτο τούτου τοὔργον. Πλαθάνη ἀλλʼ ἐχρῆν τι δρᾶν. Πανδοκευτρία ἴθι δὴ κάλεσον τὸν προστάτην Κλέωνά μοι. Πλαθάνη 570σὺ δʼ ἔμοιγʼ ἐάνπερ ἐπιτύχῃς Ὑπέρβολον, ἵνʼ αὐτὸν ἐπιτρίψωμεν. Πανδοκευτρία ὦ μιαρὰ φάρυξ, ὡς ἡδέως ἄν σου λίθῳ τοὺς γομφίους κόπτοιμʼ ἄν, οἷς μου κατέφαγες τὰ φορτία. Πλαθάνη ἐγὼ δέ γʼ ἐς τὸ βάραθρον ἐμβάλοιμί σε. Πανδοκευτρία 575ἐγὼ δὲ τὸν λάρυγγʼ ἂν ἐκτέμοιμί σου δρέπανον λαβοῦσʼ, ᾧ τὰς χόλικας κατέσπασας. Πλαθάνη ἀλλʼ εἶμʼ ἐπὶ τὸν Κλέωνʼ, ὃς αὐτοῦ τήμερον ἐκπηνιεῖται ταῦτα προσκαλούμενος. Διόνυσος κάκιστʼ ἀπολοίμην, Ξανθίαν εἰ μὴ φιλῶ. Ξανθίας 580οἶδʼ οἶδα τὸν νοῦν· παῦε παῦε τοῦ λόγου.

HOSTESS Then out he hurled, decamping with the rugs.

XANTHIAS That’s his way too; but something must be done.

HOSTESS Quick, run and call my patron Cleon here!

PLATHANE O, if you meet him, call Hyperbolus! We’ll pay you out to-day.

HOSTESS O filthy throat, O how I’d like to take a stone, and hack Those grinders out with which you chawed my wares.

PLATHANE I’d like to pitch you in the deadman’s pit.

HOSTESS I’d like to get a reaping-hook and scoop That gullet out with which you gorged my tripe.: But I’ll to Cleon: he’ll soon serve his writs; He’ll twist it out of you to-day, he will.

DIONYSUS Perdition seize me, if I don’t love Xanthias.

XANTHIAS Aye, aye, I know your drift: stop, stop that talking. I won’t be Heracles.

DIONYSUS O, don’t say so, Dear, darling Xanthias.

XANTHIAS Why, how can I,

People and places in this passage

Passages in other works that tell of the same people and places, oldest and closest first.

  1. Pausanias, Description of Greece 1.2.1–6Athens: from Piraeus to the Ceramicus, tomb of Antiope, early kings
  2. Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 40.493–580Book 40: The first ship and the founding of Tyre; the nymphs and Eros
  3. Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 25.194–270Book 25: Heracles compared; the poet turns back to the war
  4. Pausanias, Description of Greece 3.19.1–13Amyclae and Therapne: Hyacinth’s tomb, Helen and the White Isle
  5. Hesiod, Theogony 930–959Poseidon, Ares, Hermes, Dionysus and Heracles (930-959)
  6. Diodorus Siculus, Library of History, Books 4 to 6 (the Greek myths) 5.73.1–5.77.8The gods' discoveries and their Cretan origins

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.