Expulsion of Hierocles and Praising the Peaceful Country Life — Aristophanes, Peace, lines 1104–1186, Greek & English

1104

σπονδὴ σπονδή.

Libation, libation!

1105

ἔγχει δὴ κἀμοὶ καὶ σπλάγχνων μοῖραν ὄρεξον.

Pour indeed for me too, and reach out a share of the entrails.

ἀλλʼ οὔπω τοῦτʼ ἐστὶ φίλον μακάρεσσι θεοῖσιν·

But this is not yet pleasing to the blessed gods;

ἀλλὰ τόδε πρότερον, σπένδειν ἡμᾶς, σὲ δʼ ἀπελθεῖν.¹

but first this, that we make libation, and that you depart.

ὦ πότνιʼ Εἰρήνη παράμεινον τὸν βίον ἡμῖν.

O queen Peace, remain with us for our lifetime.

πρόσφερε τὴν γλῶτταν.

Bring the tongue.

σὺ δὲ τὴν σαυτοῦ γʼ ἀπένεγκε.

And you, take yours away!

1110

σπονδή.

Libation!

καὶ ταυτὶ μετὰ τῆς σπονδῆς λαβὲ θᾶττον.

And take this quickly along with the libation.

οὐδεὶς προσδώσει τῶν σπλάγχνων;

Will no one give me a share of the entrails?

οὐ γὰρ οἷόν τε

For it is not possible

ἡμῖν προσδιδόναι, πρίν κεν λύκος οἶν ὑμεναιοῖ.

for us to give to you, until the wolf marries the sheep.

ναὶ πρὸς τῶν γονάτων.

Yes, by your knees.

ἄλλως ὦ τᾶν ἱκετεύεις·

In vain, my friend, do you entreat;

οὐ γὰρ ποιήσεις λεῖον τὸν τραχὺν ἐχῖνον.

for you will never make the rough urchin smooth.

1115

ἄγε δὴ θεαταὶ δεῦρο συσπλαγχνεύετε

Come now, spectators, here and share the entrails

μετὰ νῷν.

with us.

τί δὴ ʼγώ;

What about indeed me?

τὴν Σίβυλλαν ἔσθιε.

Eat your Sibyl!

οὔτοι μὰ τὴν γῆν ταῦτα κατέδεσθον μόνω,

By Earth, you two indeed shall not devour these alone,

ἀλλʼ ἁρπάσομαι σφῷν αὐτά· κεῖται δʼ ἐν μέσῳ.

but I will snatch them from you; they lie in the middle!

ὦ παῖε τὸν Βάκιν.

Oh, strike that Bakis!

μαρτύρομαι.

I call you to witness!

1120

κἄγωγʼ ὅτι τένθης εἶ σὺ κἀλαζὼν ἀνήρ.

And I indeed, that you are a glutton and an impostor of a man.

παἶ αὐτὸν ἐπέχων τῷ ξύλῳ τὸν ἀλαζόνα.

Strike him, keeping at it with the stick, that impostor!

σὺ μὲν οὖν· ἐγὼ δὲ τουτονὶ τῶν κῳδίων,

You indeed then; but I, of his sheepskins,

ἁλάμβανʼ αὐτὸς ἐξαπατῶν, ἐκβολβιῶ.

which he took by playing the impostor, will strip him bare.

οὐ καταβαλεῖς τὰ κῴδιʼ ὦ θυηπόλε;

Won’t you drop the sheepskins, you sacrificing priest?

1125

ἤκουσας; ὁ κόραξ οἷος ἦλθʼ ἐξ Ὠρεοῦ.

Did you hear? What a crow has come from Oreus!

οὐκ ἀποπετήσει θᾶττον εἰς Ἐλύμνιον;

Won’t you fly away more quickly to Elymnion?

ἥδομαί γʼ ἥδομαι

I am delighted indeed, delighted

κράνους ἀπηλλαγμένος

to be rid of the helmet,

τυροῦ τε καὶ κρομμύων.

and of cheese and onions.

1130

οὐ γὰρ φιληδῶ μάχαις,

For I do not delight in battles,

ἀλλὰ πρὸς πῦρ διέλκων

but drinking by the fire

μετʼ ἀνδρῶν ἑταίρων φίλων,

with friendly companions,

ἐκκέας τῶν ξύλων² ἅττʼ ἂν ᾖ

having burnt of the wood whatever may be

δανότατα τοῦ θέρους

the driest, in the summer

1135

†ἐκπεπρισμένα†,

well sawn up,

κἀνθρακίζων τοὐρεβίνθου

and roasting chickpeas on the coals

τήν τε φηγὸν ἐμπυρεύων,

and putting beech-nuts in the fire,

χἄμα τὴν Θρᾷτταν κυνῶν

and at the same time kissing the Thracian maid

τῆς γυναικὸς λουμένης.

while my wife is bathing.

1140

οὐ γὰρ ἔσθʼ ἥδιον ἢ τυχεῖν μὲν ἤδη ʼσπαρμένα,³

For there is nothing sweeter than when indeed the crops are already sown,

τὸν θεὸν δʼ ἐπιψακάζειν, καὶ τινʼ εἰπεῖν γείτονα,

and the god is drizzling rain, and some neighbor says:

εἰπέ μοι τί τηνικαῦτα δρῶμεν ὦ Κωμαρχίδη;

”Tell me, what are we doing at this time, O Komarchides?”

ἐμπιεῖν ἔμοιγʼ ἀρέσκει τοῦ θεοῦ δρῶντος καλῶς.

”To drink indeed is my pleasure, since the god is doing well.

ἀλλʼ ἄφευε τῶν φασήλων ὦ γύναι τρεῖς χοίνικας,

Come, roast three choenixes of beans, O wife,

1145

τῶν τε πυρῶν μεῖξον αὐτοῖς, τῶν τε σύκων ἔξελε,

and mix some wheat with them, and take out some figs,

τόν τε Μανῆν ἡ Σύρα βωστρησάτω κʼ τοῦ χωρίου.

and let the Syrian maid call Manes from the field.

οὐ γὰρ οἷόν τʼ ἐστὶ πάντως οἰναρίζειν τήμερον

For it is by no means possible to strip the vines today

οὐδὲ τυντλάζειν, ἐπειδὴ παρδακὸν τὸ χωρίον.

nor to loosen the soil, since the field is wet.”

κἀξ ἐμοῦ δʼ ἐνεγκάτω τις τὴν κίχλην καὶ τὼ σπίνω·

”And from my house let someone bring the thrush and the two finches;

1150

ἦν δὲ καὶ πυός τις ἔνδον καὶ λαγῷα τέτταρα,

and there was also some beast-milk inside and four pieces of hare,

εἴ τι μὴ ʼξήνεγκεν αὐτῶν ἡ γαλῆ τῆς ἑσπέρας·

unless the weasel carried some of them off in the evening;

ἐψόφει γοῦν ἔνδον οὐκ οἶδʼ ἅττα κἀκυδοιδόπα·

at any rate, there was some noise inside and a racket;

ὧν ἔνεγκʼ ὦ παῖ τρἴ ἡμῖν, ἓν δὲ δοῦναι τῷ πατρί·

of these, bring us three, boy, and give one to my father;

μυρρίνας τʼ αἴτησον ἐξ Αἰσχινάδου τῶν καρπίμων·

and ask for some fruiting myrtles from Aeschinades’ garden;

1155

χἄμα τῆς αὐτῆς ὁδοῦ Χαρινάδην τις βωσάτω,

and at the same time, on the same way, let someone call Charinades,

ὡς ἂν ἐμπίῃ μεθʼ ἡμῶν,

so that he may drink with us,

εὖ ποιοῦντος κὠφελοῦντος

since the god is doing well and helping

τοῦ φεοῦ τἀρώματα.

the crops.”

ἡνίκʼ ἂν δʼ ἀχέτας

And when the cicada

1160

ᾄδῃ τὸν ἡδὺν νόμον,

sings its sweet tune,

διασκοπῶν ἥδομαι

I delight in inspecting

τὰς Λημυνίας ἀμπέλους,

the Lemnian vines,

εἰ πεπαίνουσιν ἤ-

to see if they are already ripening;

δη ʽτὸ γὰρ φῖτυ πρῷον φύσεἰ,

for indeed that breed is early by nature;

1165

τόν τε φήληχʼ ὁρῶν οἰδάνοντʼ·

and seeing the early fig swelling;

εἶθʼ ὁπόταν ᾖ πέπων,

then, whenever it is ripe,

ἐσθίω κἀπέχω

I eat it and drink,

χἄμα φήμʼ, ὧραι φίλαι· καὶ

and at the same time I say: “Dear Seasons!” and

τοῦ θύμου τρίβων κυκῶμαι·

grinding some thyme, I make a mixed drink;

1170

κᾆτα γίγνομαι παχὺς

and then I become plump

τηνικαῦτα τοῦ θέρους

at that time of the summer,

μᾶλλον ἢ θεοῖσιν ἐχθρὸν ταξίαρχον προσβλέπων

much more than looking at a god-detested captain,

τρεῖς λόφους ἔχοντα καὶ φοινικίδʼ ὀξεῖαν πάνυ,

having three crests and a very bright scarlet cloak,

ἣν ἐκεῖνός φησιν εἶναι βάμμα Σαρδιανικόν·

which he says is a Sardian dye;

1175

ἢν δέ που δέῃ μάχεσθʼ ἔχοντα τὴν φοινικίδα,

but if ever he must fight keeping his scarlet cloak on,

τηνικαῦτʼ αὐτὸς βέβαπται βάμμα Κυζικηνικόν·

at that time he himself is dyed a Kyzikene dye;

κᾆτα φεύγει πρῶτος ὥσπερ ξουθὸς ἱππαλεκτρυὼν

and then he flees first like a tawny horse-cock,

τοὺς λόφους σείων· ἐγὼ δʼ ἕστηκα †λινοπτώμενος.†

shaking his crests; but I stand watching the nets.

ἡνίκʼ ἂν δʼ οἴκοι γένωνται, δρῶσιν οὐκ ἀνασχετά,

And whenever they get home, they do intolerable things,

1180

τοὺς μὲν ἐγγράφοντες ἡμῶν τοὺς δʼ ἄνω τε καὶ κάτω

registering some of us, and others up and down

ἐξαλείφοντες δὶς ἢ τρίς. αὔριον δʼ ἔσθʼ ἡ ʼξοδος·

erasing twice or thrice. And tomorrow is the expedition;

τῷ δὲ σιτίʼ οὐκ ἐώνητʼ· οὐ γὰρ ᾔδειν ἐξιών·

but for one man no provisions have been bought; for he did not know he was going out;

εἶτα προστὰς πρὸς τὸν ἀνδριάντα τὸν Πανδίονος

then standing by the statue of Pandion

εἶδεν αὑτόν, κἀπορῶν θεῖ τῷ κακῷ βλέπων ὀπόν.⁴

he saw himself, and being at a loss he runs, looking sour with his misfortune.

1185

ταῦτα δʼ ἡμᾶς τοὺς ἀγροίκους δρῶσι, τοὺς δʼ ἐξ ἄστεως

These things they do to us rustics, but to those from the city

ἧττον, οἱ θεοῖσιν οὗτοι κἀνδράσιν ῥιψάσπιδες.

less, these shield-flingers, hated by gods and men.

Syntax notes4 items

1107σπένδειν ἡμᾶς, σὲ δʼ ἀπελθεῖν
A pair of accusative-and-infinitive clauses acting in apposition to explain the demonstrative pronoun τόδε. ἡμᾶς and σέ function as the subject accusatives of their respective infinitives.
1133τῶν ξύλων
A partitive genitive, where the antecedent ξύλα has been attracted into the relative clause ἅττʼ ἂν ᾖ... and appears in the genitive case.
1140τυχεῖν μὲν ἤδη ʼσπαρμένα
The verb τυγχάνω constructed with a participle (here the neuter plural accusative ἐσπαρμένα) meaning "to happen to be sown." This infinitive clause functions as the subject of comparison after ἤ following οὐ γάρ ἐστιν ἥδιον (for there is nothing sweeter than...).
1184βλέπων ὀπόν
An idiomatic expression where βλέπειν with an accusative means "to look like" or "to wear an expression of." Using ὀπός (sour fig-juice), it comically describes a "sour or bitter expression" born of despair or displeasure.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22)urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0019.tlg005.humanitext-grc2:1104-1186