Feeding the Dung Beetle and Trygaios's Madness — Aristophanes, Peace, lines 1–78, Greek & English

αἶρʼ αἶρε μᾶζαν ὡς τάχιστα κανθάρῳ.

Bring, bring the dung cake as quickly as possible for the beetle.

ἰδού. δὸς αὐτῷ, τῷ κάκιστʼ ἀπολουμένῳ¹

Here it is. Give it to him, to that scoundrel who is bound to perish miserably,

καὶ μήποτʼ αὐτῆς μᾶζαν ἡδίω φάγοι.

and may he never eat a sweeter cake than this one!

δὸς μᾶζαν ἑτέραν, ἐξ ὀνίδων πεπλασμένην.

Give him another cake, molded from donkey dung.

ἰδοὺ μάλʼ αὖφις. ποῦ γὰρ ἣν νῦν δὴ ʼφερες;

Here is another one indeed. Where is the one you were just carrying?

κατέφαγεν;

Did he eat it up?

οὐ μὰ τὸν Δίʼ ἀλλʼ ἐξαρπάσας

No, by Zeus, but snatching it away,

ὅλην ἐνέκαψε περικυλίσας τοῖν ποδοῖν.

he rolled it around with his two feet and swallowed it whole.

ἀλλʼ ὡς τάχιστα τρῖβε πολλὰς καὶ πυκνάς.

Come, rub many and thick ones as quickly as possible.

ἄνδρες κοπρολόγοι προσλάβεσθε πρὸς θεῶν,

Men of the dung-collectors, help me, by the gods,

εἰ μή με βούλεσθʼ ἀποπνιγέντα περιιδεῖν.²

unless you want to look on while I am choked to death.

ἑτέραν ἑτέραν δός, παιδὸς ἡταιρηκότος·

Give another, another one, of a boy who has prostituted himself;

τετριμμένης γάρ φησιν ἐπιθυμεῖν.

for he says he desires one that is well-kneaded.

ἰδού.

Here it is.

ἑνὸς μὲν ὦνδρες ἀπολελύσθαι μοι δοκῶ·

Men, I think I am acquitted of one charge at least;

οὐδεὶς γὰρ ἂν φαίη με μάττοντʼ ἐσθίειν.

for no one could say that I eat while kneading.

αἰβοῖ, φέρʼ ἄλλην χἀτέραν μοι χἀτέραν,

Ouch! Bring another, and another, and another for me,

καὶ τρῖβʼ ἔθʼ ἑτέρας.

and rub still more.

μὰ τὸν Ἀπόλλω ʼγὼ μὲν οὔ·

No, by Apollo, not I;

οὐ γὰρ ἔθʼ οἶός τʼ εἴμʼ ὑπερέχειν τῆς ἀντλίας.

for I am no longer able to hold out against the bilge-water.

αὐτὴν ἄρʼ οἴσω συλλαβὼν τὴν ἀντλίαν.

Then I will take the bilge-bucket itself and carry it.

νὴ τὸν Δίʼ ἐς κόρακάς γε καὶ σαυτόν γε πρός.

By Zeus, go to the crows, and you too as well!

ὑμῶν δέ γʼ εἴ τις οἶδʼ ἐμοὶ κατειπάτω,

But if any of you knows, let him tell me,

πόθεν ἂν πριαίμην ῥῖνα μὴ τετρημένην.

where I could buy a nose that is not pierced with nostrils.

οὐδὲν γὰρ ἔργον ἦν ἄρʼ³ ἀθλιώτερον

For there was indeed no task more miserable

ἢ κανθάρῳ μάττοντα παρέχειν ἐσθίειν.

than kneading and serving food to a beetle.

ὗς μὲν γάρ, ὥσπερ ἂν χέσῃ τις, ἢ κύων

For a pig or a dog, just as someone defecates, immediately

φαύλως ἐρείδει· τοῦτο δʼ ὑπὸ φρονήματος

greedily devours it; but this one, out of sheer pride,

βρενθύεταί τε καὶ φαγεῖν οὐκ ἀξιοῖ,

puts on airs and does not deign to eat,

ἢν μὴ παραθῶ τρίψας διʼ ἡμέρας ὅλης

unless I serve it after kneading it all day long

ὥσπερ γυναικὶ γογγύλην μεμαγμένην.

like a round cake kneaded for a lady.

ἀλλʼ εἰ πέπαυται τῆς ἐδωδῆς σκέψομαι

But I will see if he has stopped eating

τῃδὶ παροίξας τῆς θύρας, ἵνα μή μʼ ἴδῃ.

by opening this door a little, so that he doesn’t see me.

ἔρειδε, μὴ παύσαιο μηδέποτʼ ἐσθίων

Keep eating, may you never stop eating,

τέως ἕως σαυτὸν λάθοις διαρραγείς.⁴

until you burst without realizing it yourself.

οἷον δὲ κύψας ὁ κατάρατος ἐσθίει,

And how the cursed thing eats, bending down,

ὥσπερ παλαιστής, παραβαλὼν τοὺς γομφίους,

like a wrestler, working his jaw-teeth,

καὶ ταῦτα τὴν κεφαλήν τε καὶ τὼ χεῖρέ πως

and moreover bringing his head and two hands somehow

ὡδὶ περιάγων, ὥσπερ οἱ τὰ σχοινία

around like this, just like men who are twisting

τὰ παχέα συμβάλλοντες ἐς τὰς ὁλκάδας.

thick cables into merchant ships.

μιαρὸν τὸ χρῆμα καὶ κάκοσμον καὶ βορόν·

A filthy thing, smelly and gluttonous!

χὤτου ποτʼ ἐστὶ δαιμόνων ἡ προσβολὴ

And from which of the gods this visitation comes

οὐκ οἶδʼ. Ἀφροδίτης μὲν γὰρ οὔ μοι φαίνεται,

I do not know. For it does not seem to me to be Aphrodite’s,

οὐ μὴν Χαρίτων γε.

nor indeed the Graces’.

τοῦ γάρ ἐστʼ;

Whose is it then?

οὐκ ἔσθʼ ὅπως

It cannot be other than that

τοῦτʼ ἔστι τὸ τέρας οὐ Διὸς καταιβάτου.

this monster belongs to none other than Zeus the Descender.

οὐκοῦν ἂν ἤδη τῶν θεατῶν τις λέγοι

Now indeed some spectator might say,

νεανίας δοκησίσοφος, τὸ δὲ πρᾶγμα τί;

a self-styled clever youth, “What is the matter?

ὁ κάνθαρος δὲ πρὸς τί; κᾆτʼ αὐτῷ γʼ ἀνὴρ

What is the beetle for?” And then some

Ἰωνικός τίς φησι παρακαθήμενος·

Ionian man sitting next to him says:

δοκέω μέν, ἐς Κλέωνα τοῦτʼ αἰνίσσεται,

”I think this riddles at Cleon,

ὡς κεῖνος ἀναιδέως τὴν σπατίλην ἐσθίει.

since he shamelessly eats liquid dung.”

ἀλλʼ εἰσιὼν τῷ κανθάρῳ δώσω πιεῖν.

But I will go in and give the beetle something to drink.

ἐγὼ δὲ τὸν λόγον γε τοῖσι παιδίοις

And I will tell the story to the little children,

καὶ τοῖσιν ἀνδρίοισι καὶ τοῖς ἀνδράσιν

and to the young men, and to the grown men,

καὶ τοῖς ὑπερτάτοισιν ἀνδράσιν φράσω

and to the greatest men,

καὶ τοῖς ὑπερηνορέουσιν ἔτι τούτοις μάλα.

and still more to these overweening men.

ὁ δεσπότης μου μαίνεται καινὸν τρόπον,

My master is mad in a new way,

οὐχ ὅνπερ ὑμεῖς, ἀλλʼ ἕτερον καινὸν πάνυ.

not like you, but in another, completely new fashion.

διʼ ἡμέρας γὰρ ἐς τὸν οὐρανὸν βλέπων

For all day long, looking into heaven

ὡδὶ κεχηνὼς λοιδορεῖται τῷ Διὶ

with his mouth agape like this, he abuses Zeus

καί φησιν, ὦ Ζεῦ τί ποτε βουλεύει ποιεῖν;

and says, “O Zeus, what on earth do you intend to do?

κατάθου τὸ κόρημα· μὴ ʼκκόρει τὴν Ἑλλάδα.

Lay down the broom! Do not sweep Greece away!”

ἔα ἔα.

Ah, ah!

σιγήσαθʼ, ὡς φωνῆς ἀκούειν μοι δοκῶ.

Be silent, for I think I hear a voice.

ὦ Ζεῦ τί δρασείεις ποθʼ ἡμῶν τὸν λεών;

”O Zeus, what are you going to do to our people?

λήσεις σεαυτὸν τὰς πόλεις ἐκκοκκίσας.⁵

You will destroy the cities to the core without realizing it.”

τοῦτʼ ἔστι τουτὶ τὸ κακὸν αὔθʼ οὑγὼ ʼλεγον.

This is it, this very evil that I was talking about.

τὸ γὰρ παράδειγμα τῶν μανιῶν ἀκούετε·

For you hear the proof of his madness;

ἃ δʼ εἶπε πρῶτον ἡνίκʼ ἤρχεθʼ ἡ χολή,

but what he said first when his bile began to rise,

πεύσεσθʼ. ἔφασκε γὰρ πρὸς αὑτὸν ἐνθαδί·

you shall hear. For he used to say to himself right here:

πῶς ἄν ποτʼ ἀφικοίμην ἂν εὐθὺ τοῦ Διός;

”How could I ever go straight to Zeus?”

ἔπειτα λεπτὰ κλιμάκια ποιούμενος,

Then, making slender little ladders,

πρὸς ταῦτʼ ἀνηρριχᾶτʼ ἂν⁶ ἐς τὸν οὐρανόν,

he would scramble up on them towards heaven,

ἕως ξυνετρίβη τῆς κεφαλῆς καταρρυείς.

until he fell down and smashed his head.

ἐχθὲς δὲ μετὰ ταῦτʼ ἐκφθαρεὶς οὐκ οἶδʼ ὅποι

And yesterday, after this, having rushed off to I don’t know where,

εἰσήγαγʼ Αἰτναῖον μέγιστον κάνθαρον,

he brought home a huge Etnaean beetle,

κἄπειτα τοῦτον ἱπποκομεῖν μʼ ἠνάγκασεν,

and then forced me to act as its groom,

καὐτὸς καταψῶν αὐτὸν ὥσπερ πωλίον,

while he himself patted it like a colt,

ὦ Πηγάσειον, φησί, γενναῖον πτερόν,

saying, “O my little Pegasus, noble winged creature,

ὅπως πετήσει μʼ εὐθὺ τοῦ Διὸς λαβών.

see that you take me and fly straight to Zeus!”

ἀλλʼ ὅ τι ποιεῖ τῃδὶ διακύψας ὄψομαι.

But I will peep through here and see what he is doing.

Syntax notes6 items

2τῷ κάκιστʼ ἀπολουμένῳ
Substantive use of the future participle, meaning 'he who is bound to perish most miserably.' This is a formulaic expression of curse or abuse common in Old Comedy.
10ἀποπνιγέντα περιιδεῖν
The verb περιοράω (to overlook, allow) takes a supplementary participle (here ἀποπνιγέντα) meaning 'to look on while someone is choked.' Accompanied by the conditional clause εἰ μή, it forms an appeal to the audience.
22ἦν ἄρʼ
The imperfect tense ἦν combined with the particle ἄρα expresses a sudden realization or discovery of a pre-existing fact ('was, as it turns out, indeed...'), often called the 'imperfektum alibi' or 'imperfect of discovery.'
32ἕως σαυτὸν λάθοις διαρραγείς
The conjunction ἕως (until) takes the optative λάθοις by attraction to the preceding optative of wish μὴ παύσαιο. The verb λανθάνω with the participle διαρραγείς means 'to burst without realizing it.'
63λήσεις σεαυτὸν τὰς πόλεις ἐκκοκκίσας
The combination of the future λήσεις (from λανθάνω), the reflexive pronoun σεαυτόν, and the aorist participle ἐκκοκκίσας expresses a future action that the subject will perform without being aware of it: 'you will destroy the cities before you know it.'
70ἀνηρριχᾶτʼ ἂν
An indicative past (imperfect ἀνηρριχᾶτο) with the particle ἄν to express an iterative or habitual action in the past ('he would scramble up,' 'he used to scramble up').

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22)urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0019.tlg005.humanitext-grc2:1-78