Intervention of the Knights and the Slanging Match — Aristophanes, Knights, lines 237–319, Greek & English

237

τουτὶ τί δρᾷ τὸ Χαλκιδικὸν ποτήριον;

What is this Chalcidian cup doing here?

οὐκ ἔσθʼ ὅπως οὐ¹ Χαλκιδέας ἀφίστατον.

There is no way you two are not causing the Chalcidians to revolt.

ἀπολεῖσθον ἀποθανεῖσθον ὦ μιαρωτάτω.

You two shall perish, you shall die, you two most abominable ones.

240

οὗτος τί φεύγεις; οὐ μενεῖς; ὦ γεννάδα

You there, why do you flee? Will you not stay? O noble

ἀλλαντοπῶλα μὴ προδῷς τὰ πράγματα.

sausage-seller, do not betray our cause!

ἄνδρες ἱππῆς παραγένεσθε· νῦν ὁ καιρός. ὦ Σίμων,

Gentlemen knights, come to help; now is the time. O Simon,

ὦ Παναίτιʼ οὐκ ἐλᾶτε πρὸς τὸ δεξιὸν κέρας;

O Panaitios, will you not charge toward the right wing?

ἅνδρες² ἐγγύς. ἀλλʼ ἀμύνου κἀπαναστρέφου πάλιν.

The men are near. But defend yourself and turn back again.

245

ὁ κονιορτὸς δῆλος αὐτῶν ὡς ὁμοῦ προσκειμένων.

Their dust is clearly visible as they press on together.

ἀλλʼ ἀμύνου καὶ δίωκε καὶ τροπὴν αὐτοῦ ποιοῦ.

But defend yourself and pursue and put him to flight!

παῖε παῖε τὸν πανοῦργον καὶ ταραξιππόστρατον

Strike, strike the villain and the troubler of the cavalry,

καὶ τελώνην καὶ φάραγγα καὶ Χάρυβδιν ἁρπαγῆς,

and the tax-collector, and the chasm, and the Charybdis of plunder,

καὶ πανοῦργον καὶ πανοῦργον· πολλάκις γὰρ αὔτʼ ἐρῶ.

and the villain, and the villain! For I will say it many times.

250

καὶ γὰρ οὗτος ἦν πανοῦργος πολλάκις τῆς ἡμέρας.

For indeed this fellow was a villain many times a day.

ἀλλὰ παῖε καὶ δίωκε καὶ τάραττε καὶ κύκα

But strike and pursue and disturb and confound,

καὶ βδελύττου, καὶ γὰρ ἡμεῖς, κἀπικείμενος βόα·

and loathe him, for we do too, and press on and shout!

εὐλαβοῦ δὲ μὴ ʼκφύγῃ σε· καὶ γὰρ οἶδε τὰς ὁδούς,

And take care lest he escape you; for indeed he knows the ways,

ἅσπερ Εὐκράτης ἔφευγεν εὐθὺ τῶν κυρηβίων.

by which Eukrates fled straight to the bran-sacks.

255

ὦ γέροντες ἡλιασταί, φράτερες τριωβόλου,

O elder Heliasts, brethren of the three obols,

οὓς ἐγὼ βόσκω κεκραγὼς καὶ δίκαια κἄδικα,

whom I feed by bawling out both things just and unjust,

παραβοηθεῖθʼ, ὡς ὑπʼ ἀνδρῶν τύπτομαι ξυνωμοτῶν.

come to my aid, as I am beaten by conspiring men!

ἐν δίκῃ γʼ, ἐπεὶ τὰ κοινὰ πρὶν λαχεῖν³ κατεσθίεις,

Justly so, since you devour the public property before drawing lots,

κἀποσυκάζεις πιέζων τοὺς ὑπευθύνους σκοπῶν,

and you squeeze those who are subject to audit, watching them

260

ὅστις αὐτῶν ὠμός ἐστιν ἢ πέπων ἢ μὴ πέπων,

to see which of them is raw, or ripe, or not ripe,

κἄν τινʼ αὐτῶν γνῷς ἀπράγμονʼ ὄντα καὶ κεχηνότα,

and if you know any of them to be quiet and gaping,

καταγαγὼν ἐκ Χερρονήσου διαβαλὼν ἀγκυρίσας

you bring him down from Chersonesos, slander him, hook him by the ankle,

εἶτʼ ἀποστρέψας τὸν ὦμον αὐτὸν ἐνεκολήβασας·

and then twist his shoulder and swallow him down.

καὶ σκοπεῖς γε τῶν πολιτῶν ὅστις ἐστὶν ἀμνοκῶν,

And you watch which of the citizens is sheepish,

265

πλούσιος καὶ μὴ πονηρὸς καὶ τρέμων τὰ πράγματα.

wealthy and not wicked and trembling at public affairs.

ξυνεπίκεισθʼ ὑμεῖς; ἐγὼ δʼ ἄνδρες διʼ ὑμᾶς τύπτομαι,

Are you too attacking me together? But, gentlemen, I am beaten because of you,

ὅτι λέγειν γνώμην ἔμελλον ὡς δίκαιον ἐν πόλει

because I was going to propose a motion that it is right for a monument

ἑστάναι μνημεῖον ὑμῶν ἐστιν ἀνδρείας χάριν.

of your bravery to be erected in the city.

ὡς δʼ ἀλαζών, ὡς δὲ μάσθλης· εἶδες οἷʼ ὑπέρχεται

What a humbug, what a sycophant! Do you see how he flatters us

270

ὡσπερεὶ γέροντας ἡμᾶς καὶ κοβαλικεύεται;

as if we were old men and plays his knavish tricks?

ἀλλʼ ἐὰν ταύτῃ γε νικᾷ, ταυτῃὶ πεπλήξεται·

But if he wins by this way, he shall be struck by that one;

ἢν δʼ ὑπεκκλίνῃ γε δευρί, τὸ σκέλος κυρηβάσει.

and if he dodges this way, he shall bump his leg.

ὦ πόλις καὶ δῆμʼ ὑφʼ οἵων θηρίων γαστρίζομαι.

O city and people, by what kind of beasts am I punched in the belly!

καὶ κέκραγας, ὥσπερ ἀεὶ τὴν πόλιν καταστρέφει;

Do you still scream, just as you always overturn the city?

275

ἀλλʼ ἐγώ σε τῇ βοῇ ταύτῃ γε πρῶτα τρέψομαι.

But I indeed will first put you to flight with this shout!

ἀλλʼ ἐὰν μέντοι γε νικᾷς τῇ βοῇ, τήνελλος εἶ·

But if indeed you win in shouting, you are the victor;

ἢν δʼ ἀναιδείᾳ παρέλθῃ σʼ, ἡμέτερος ὁ πυραμοῦς.⁴

but if you surpass him in impudence, the prize is ours.

τουτονὶ τὸν ἄνδρʼ ἐγὼ ʼνδείκνυμι, καὶ φήμʼ ἐξάγειν

I impeach this man here, and I say that he exports

ταῖσι Πελοποννησίων τριήρεσι ζωμεύματα.

soup-broth for the Peloponnesian triremes.

280

ναὶ μὰ Δία κἄγωγε τοῦτον, ὅτι κενῇ τῇ κοιλίᾳ

Yes, by Zeus, and I too impeach him, because with an empty belly

ἐσδραμὼν ἐς τὸ πρυτανεῖον, εἶτα πάλιν ἐκθεῖ πλέᾳ.

he ran into the Prytaneum, and then ran out again full.

νὴ Δίʼ ἐξάγων γε τἀπόρρηθʼ, ἅμʼ ἄρτον καὶ κρέας

Yes, by Zeus, exporting forbidden goods, at once bread and meat

καὶ τέμαχος, οὗ Περικλέης οὐκ ἠξιώθη πώποτε.

and fish-slices, which Pericles was never once deemed worthy of.

ἀποθανεῖσθον αὐτίκα μάλα.

You two shall die this very instant!

285

τριπλάσιον κεκράξομαί σου.

I will scream three times louder than you!

καταβοήσομαι βοῶν σε.

I will drown you out by shouting!

κατακεκράξομαί σε κράζων.

I will scream you down by screaming!

διαβαλῶ σʼ ἐὰν στρατηγῇς.

I will slander you if you are general!

κυνοκοπήσω σου τὸ νῶτον.

I will thrash your back like a dog!

290

περιελῶ σʼ ἀλαζονείαις.

I will hem you in with my boasting!

ὑποτεμοῦμαι τὰς ὁδούς σου.

I will cut off your ways!

βλέψον ἔς μʼ ἀσκαρδάμυκτος.

Look at me without blinking!

ἐν ἀγορᾷ κἀγὼ τέθραμμαι.

I too was brought up in the market!

διαφορήσω σʼ εἴ τι γρύξει.

I will tear you to pieces if you mutter a word!

295

κοπροφορήσω σʼ εἰ λαλήσεις.

I will cover you with dung if you speak!

ὁμολογῶ κλέπτειν· σὺ δʼ οὐχί.

I admit that I steal; but you do not!

νὴ τὸν Ἑρμῆν τὸν ἀγοραῖον,

Yes, by Hermes of the Market,

κἀπιορκῶ γε βλεπόντων.

and I commit perjury even while they are looking!

ἀλλότρια τοίνυν σοφίζει,

Then you are playing tricks with other people’s wisdom,

300

καὶ φανῶ σε τοῖς πρυτάνεσιν

and I will denounce you to the Prytaneis

ἀδεκατεύτους τῶν θεῶν ἱερὰς

as possessing sacred tripes

ἔχοντα κοιλίας.

on which no tithe was paid to the gods.

ὦ μιαρὲ καὶ βδελυρὲ † καὶ κεκράκτα †, τοῦ σοῦ θράσους

O abominable and disgusting screamer, with your boldness

305

πᾶσα μὲν γῆ πλέα, πᾶσα δʼ ἐκκλησία, καὶ τέλη

the whole earth is filled, and the whole Assembly, and the taxes,

καὶ γραφαὶ καὶ δικαστήριʼ, ὦ βορβοροτάραξι καὶ

and indictments and courts, o you stirrer of mud, and

310

τὴν πόλιν ἅπασαν ἡμῶν ἀνατετυρβακώς,

who have turned our whole city upside down,

ὅστις ἡμῶν τὰς Ἀθήνας ἐκκεκώφωκας βοῶν,

who have deafened our Athens by shouting,

κἀπὸ τῶν πετρῶν ἄνωθεν τοὺς φόρους θυννοσκοπῶν.⁵

watching the tribute from the rocks above like a lookout for tunny-fish.

οἶδʼ ἐγὼ τὸ πρᾶγμα τοῦθʼ ὅθεν πάλαι καττύεται.

I know this business from where it has long been stitched together.

315

εἰ δὲ μὴ σύ γʼ οἶσθα κάττυμʼ, οὐδʼ ἐγὼ χορδεύματα,

But if you do not know about stitching leather, nor I about making sausages,

ὅστις ὑποτέμνων ἐπώλεις δέρμα μοχθηροῦ βοὸς

you who used to cut and sell the hide of a wretched ox

τοῖς ἀγροίκοισιν πανούργως, ὥστε φαίνεσθαι παχύ,

to the country folk knavishly, so that it appeared thick,

καὶ πρὶν ἡμέραν φορῆσαι μεῖζον ἦν δυοῖν δοχμαῖν.

and before they had worn it for a day, it was bigger by two spans.

νὴ Δία κἀμὲ τοῦτʼ ἔδρασε ταὐτόν, ὥστε κατάγελων

Yes, by Zeus, he did this very same thing to me too, so that I became a laughing-stock

Syntax notes5 items

238οὐκ ἔσθʼ ὅπως οὐ
An idiomatic double-negative construction (οὐκ followed by οὐ) expressing strong affirmation, meaning 'there is no way that... not' or 'it must be that'. Here it takes the indicative verb ἀφίστατον (second-person dual), indicating absolute certainty regarding the actions of the two individuals.
244ἅνδρες
A crasis of οἱ ἄνδρες ('the men' or 'gentlemen'), showing aspiration (rough breathing) typical of certain Attic contractions resulting in ἅνδρες. In this context, it refers either to the allies (the knights) approaching nearby or functions as an encouraging address.
258πρὶν λαχεῖν
The conjunction πρίν ('before') governing an infinitive. λαχεῖν is the aorist active infinitive of λαγχάνω ('to obtain office or public funds by lot'). It satirizes Cleon's illegal preemption of public goods, meaning he devours public wealth before any formal allocation by lot has occurred.
277ἡμέτερος ὁ πυραμοῦς
The noun ὁ πυραμοῦς (a cake of roasted wheat and honey) was the prize given to the person who stayed awake longest during night festivals. Consequently, the phrase functions as an Attic idiom meaning 'the victory is ours.'
313θυννοσκοπῶν
The participle θυννοσκοπῶν (from θυννοσκοπέω, 'to watch for tunny-fish from a high rock') draws a metaphor from the occupation of the tunny-lookout (θυννοσκόπος). It visually satirizes Cleon's surveillance of the allied tribute (phoros) from the heights of Athens (the Acropolis or Pnyx) for his own demagogic exploitation.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22)urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0019.tlg002.humanitext-grc2:237-319