Hymns to the Gods and Return from the Council — Aristophanes, Knights, lines 547–634, Greek & English

547

θόρυβον χρηστὸν ληναΐτην,

with a goodly Lenaean applause,

ἵνʼ ὁ ποιητὴς ἀπίῃ χαίρων

so that the poet may depart in joy,

κατὰ νοῦν πράξας,

having succeeded according to his mind,

550

φαιδρὸς λάμποντι μετώπῳ.

bright with a shining forehead.

ἵππιʼ ἄναξ Πόσειδον, ᾧ

O equestrian Lord Poseidon, to whom

χαλκοκρότων ἵππων κτύπος

the clatter of bronze-hooved horses

καὶ χρεμετισμὸς ἁνδάνει¹

and their neighing are pleasing,

καὶ κυανέμβολοι θοαὶ

and the swift dark-prowed

555

μισθοφόροι τριήρεις,

mercenary triremes,

μειρακίων θʼ ἅμιλλα λαμπρυνομένων ἐν ἅρμασιν

and the contest of youths showing off in chariots

καὶ βαρυδαιμονούντων,

and their coming to grief,

δεῦρʼ ἔλθʼ ἐς χορὸν ὦ χρυσοτρίαινʼ ὦ

come hither to our chorus, O golden-tridented, O

560

δελφίνων μεδέων Σουνιάρατε,

ruler of dolphins, invoked at Sunium,

ὦ Γεραίστιε παῖ Κρόνου,

O Geraestian son of Cronus,

Φαρμίωνί τε φίλτατʼ ἐκ

and dearest to Phormio, and

τῶν ἄλλων τε θεῶν Ἀθηναίοις

of all other gods to the Athenians,

πρὸς τὸ παρεστός.

in the present situation.

565

εὐλογῆσαι βουλόμεσθα τοὺς πατέρας ἡμῶν, ὅτι

We wish to praise our fathers, because

ἄνδρες ἦσαν τῆσδε τῆς γῆς ἄξιοι καὶ τοῦ πέπλου,

they were men worthy of this land and of the Peplos,

οἵτινες πεζαῖς μάχαισιν ἔν τε ναυφάρκτῳ στρατῷ

who in land battles and in the fleet-protected army

πανταχοῦ νικῶντες ἀεὶ τήνδʼ ἐκόσμησαν πόλιν·

conquering everywhere always adorned this city;

οὐ γὰρ οὐδεὶς πώποτʼ αὐτῶν τοῦς ἐναντίους ἰδὼν

for no one of them ever, seeing the opponents,

570

ἠρίθμησεν, ἀλλʼ ὁ θυμὸς εὐθὺς ἦν Ἀμυνίας·²

counted them, but their spirit was straightway “Amunias”;

εἰ δέ που πέσοιεν ἐς τὸν ὦμον ἐν μάχῃ τινί,

and if they should happen to fall on their shoulder in some battle,

τοῦτʼ ἀπεψήσαντʼ ἄν,³ εἶτʼ ἠρνοῦντο μὴ πεπτωκέναι,

they would wipe this off, and then deny having fallen,

ἀλλὰ διεπάλαιον αὖθις. καὶ στρατηγὸς οὐδʼ ἂν εἷς

but would wrestle again. And not a single general

τῶν πρὸ τοῦ σίτησιν ᾔτησʼ ἐρόμενος Κλεαίνετον·

of former times would have asked Cleaenetus for public maintenance;

575

νῦν δʼ ἐὰν μὴ προεδρίαν φέρωσι καὶ τὰ σιτία,

but now, unless they carry off front-row seats and free food,

οὐ μαχεῖσθαί φασιν. ἡμεῖς δʼ ἀξιοῦμεν τῇ πόλει

they say they won’t fight. But we deem it worthy to defend the city

προῖκα γενναίως ἀμύνειν καὶ θεοῖς ἐγχωρίοις.

freely and nobly, and for our local gods.

καὶ πρὸς οὐκ αἰτοῦμεν οὐδὲν πλὴν τοσουτονὶ μόνον·

And besides, we ask for nothing except only this much:

ἤν ποτʼ εἰρήνη γένηται καὶ πόνων παυσώμεθα,

if peace should ever come and we cease from labors,

580

μὴ φθονεῖθʼ ἡμῖν κομῶσι μηδʼ ἀπεστλεγγισμένοις.

do not grudge us our long hair, nor our being scraped clean with strigils.

Ὦ πολιοῦχε Παλλάς, ὦ

O Pallas, guardian of the city, O

τῆς ἱερωτάτης ἁπασῶν

ruler of the country that is the most sacred of all,

πολέμῳ τε καὶ ποιηταῖς

preeminent in war and in poets

δυνάμει θʼ ὑπερφερούσης

and in power,

585

μεδέουσα χώρας,

ruler of this land,

δεῦρʼ ἀφικοῦ λαβοῦσα τὴν

come hither, bringing

ἐν στρατιαῖς τε καὶ μάχαις

our helper in campaigns and in battles,

ἡμετέραν ξυνεργὸν

Victory,

Νίκην, ἣ χορικῶν ἐστιν ἑταίρα

who is the companion of choral contests,

590

τοῖς τʼ ἐχθροῖσι μεθʼ ἡμῶν στασιάζει.

and sides with us against our enemies.

νῦν οὖν δεῦρο φάνηθι· δεῖ

So now appear here; for it is necessary

γὰρ τοῖς ἀνδράσι τοῖσδε πάσῃ

for you to procure victory for these men

τέχνῃ πορίσαι σε νίκην

by every device,

εἴπερ ποτὲ καὶ νῦν.

if ever before, so now.

595

ἃ ξύνισμεν τοῖσιν ἵπποις, βουλόμεσθʼ ἐπαινέσαι.

What we know of our horses, we wish to praise.

ἄξιοι δʼ εἴσʼ εὐλογεῖσθαι· πολλὰ γὰρ δὴ πράγματα

And they are worthy of praise; for indeed many troubles

ξυνδιήνεγκαν μεθʼ ἡμῶν, ἐσβολάς τε καὶ μάχας.

they bore along with us, both invasions and battles.

ἀλλὰ τἀν τῇ μὲν αὐτῶν οὐκ ἄγαν θαυμάζομεν,

But their deeds on land we do not wonder at too much,

ὡς ὅτʼ ἐς τὰς ἱππαγωγοὺς εἰσεπήδων ἀνδρικῶς,

as when they leaped manfully into the horse-transports,

600

πριάμενοι κώθωνας, οἱ δὲ καὶ σκόροδα καὶ κρόμμυα·

having bought drinking cups, and some also garlic and onions;

εἶτα τὰς κώπας λαβόντες ὥσπερ ἡμεῖς οἱ βροτοὶ

then taking the oars just like us mortals

ἐμβαλόντες ἀνεβρύαξαν, ἱππαπαῖ, τίς ἐμβαλεῖ;

and pulling, they neighed out: “Hippapae! Who will pull?”

ληπτέον μᾶλλον. τί δρῶμεν; οὐκ ἐλᾷς ὦ σαμφόρα;

”We must pull harder! What are we doing? Won’t you row, O brand-marked horse?”

ἐξεπήδων τʼ ἐς Κόρινθον· εἶτα δʼ οἱ νεώτεροι

And they leaped out onto Corinth; and then the younger ones

605

ταῖς ὁπλαῖς ὤρυττον εὐνὰς καὶ μετῇσαν στρώματα·

dug out beds with their hooves and went for bedding;

ἤσθιον δὲ τοὺς παγούρους ἀντὶ ποίας Μηδικῆς,

and they ate crabs instead of Medick grass,

εἴ τις ἐξέρποι θύραζε κἀκ βυθοῦ θηρώμενοι·

if any crawled out of doors, hunting them even from the deep;

ὥστʼ ἔφη Θέωρος εἰπεῖν καρκίνον Κορίνθιον,

so that Theorus said a Corinthian crab remarked:

δεινά γʼ ὦ Πόσειδον εἰ μήτʼ ἐν βυθῷ δυνήσομαι

”It’s terrible, Poseidon, if neither in the deep can I

610

μήτε γῇ μήτʼ ἐν θαλάττῃ διαφυγεῖν τοὺς ἱππέας.

nor on land nor in the sea escape the knights.”

ὦ φίλτατʼ ἀνδρῶν καὶ νεανικώτατε.

Chorus: O dearest of men and most manly!

ὅσην ἀπὼν παρέσχες ἡμῖν φροντίδα·

How great a worry you caused us while away!

καὶ νῦν ἐπειδὴ σῶς ἐλήλυθας πάλιν,

And now, since you have returned safe and sound,

ἄγγειλον ἡμῖν πῶς τὸ πρᾶγμʼ ἠγωνίσω.

report to us how you fought out the matter.

615

τί δʼ ἄλλο γʼ εἰ μὴ Νικόβουλος⁴ ἐγενόμην;

Sausage-Seller: What else indeed, except that I became “Victor-in-the-Council”?

νῦν ἄρʼ ἄξιόν γε πᾶσίν ἐστιν ἐπολολύξαι.

Chorus: Now indeed it is worthy for all to raise a shout of joy!

ὦ καλὰ λέγων πολὺ δʼ ἀμείνονʼ ἔτι τῶν λόγων

O you who speak fine things, and have accomplished things far better than your words,

ἐργασάμενʼ, εἴθʼ ἐπέλθοις

would that you would go through

ἅπαντά μοι σαφῶς·

everything for me clearly;

620

ὡς ἐγώ μοι δοκῶ

for I think to myself

κἂν μακρὰν ὁδὸν διελθεῖν

I would walk even a long way

ὥστʼ ἀκοῦσαι. πρὸς τάδʼ ὦ βέλτιστε

so as to hear it. Therefore, O best of men,

θαρρήσας λέγʼ, ὡς, ἅπαντες

speak with confidence, since we all

ἡδόμεσθά σοι.

are delighted with you.

καὶ μὴν ἀκοῦσαί γʼ ἄξιον τῶν πραγμάτων.

Sausage-Seller: Indeed, it is worth hearing the events!

625

εὐθὺς γὰρ αὐτοῦ κατόπιν ἐνθένδʼ ἱέμην·

For straightway I rushed from here, right on his heels.

ὁ δʼ ἄρʼ ἔνδον ἐλασίβροντʼ ἀναρρηγνὺς ἔπη

And he indeed inside, bursting out thunder-driving words,

τερατευόμενος ἤρειδε κατὰ τῶν ἱππέων,

talking portentously, was pressing hard against the knights,

κρημνοὺς⁵ †ἐρείδων† καὶ ξυνωμότας λέγων

hurling precipices and calling them conspirators

πιθανώταθʼ· ἡ βουλὴ δʼ ἅπασʼ ἀκροωμένη

most persuasively. And the whole Council, listening,

630

ἐγένεθʼ ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ ψευδατραφάξυος⁶ πλέα,

became full of his false-orach,

κἄβλεψε νᾶπυ καὶ τὰ μέτωπʼ ἀνέσπασεν.

and looked mustard, and knit their brows.

κἄγωγʼ ὅτε δὴ γʼνων ἐνδεχομένην τοὺς λόγους

And I, when indeed I knew they were accepting his words

καὶ τοῖς φενακισμοῖσιν ἐξαπατωμένην,

and being deceived by his trumperies,

ἄγε δὴ Σκίταλοι καὶ Φένακες, ἦν δʼ ἐγώ,

”Come now, spirits of Knaves and Cheats,” said I,

Syntax notes6 items

553ἁνδάνει
The verb is in the third person singular despite the multiple subject nouns that follow (κτύπος, χρεμετισμός, τριήρεις, ἅμιλλα). This is an instance of attraction to the nearest subject (attractio ad proximum), or treating the combined ideas as a singular concept.
570Ἀμυνίας
The proper name 'Amunias' is used here as a predicate nominative. While referring to a contemporary ridiculed for cowardice, it also puns on the verb ἀμύνω ('to defend'), implying a spirit that 'stands on no defensive' but aggressively moves forward.
572ἀπεψήσαντʼ ἄν
The apodosis to the protasis with εἰ + optative (§571 πέσοιεν). The past indicative (aorist) with ἄν expresses a repeated or habitual action in the past ('they would wipe...'). This ἄν also implicitly governs the following verbs ἠρνοῦντο and διεπάλαιον.
615Νικόβουλος
The name 'Nicoboulos' coined by the Sausage-Seller is a compound of νίκη ('victory') and βουλή ('Council' or 'will'), functioning as a humorous play on words to boast of his triumphant victory within the Council.
628κρημνούς
The expression 'hurling/pressing precipices (κρημνούς)' metaphorically describes Cleon's violent, bombastic, and overwhelming style of speaking. The participle ἐρείδων in the manuscripts is highly problematic and marked with obeli (†) in critical editions.
630ψευδατραφάξυος
A comic compound coined by Aristophanes from ψευδής ('false') and ἀτράφαξυς ('orach/mountain spinach'). It metaphorically presents Cleon's deceptive and hollow words as a false, unsubstantial weed, leading into the subsequent mustard metaphor.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)

2026-09-21 AI review — source 1

urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0019.tlg002.humanitext-grc2:547-634