The Farmers Rescue Peace and Rejoice — Aristophanes, Peace, lines 507–596, Greek & English

507

πρὸς τὴν θάλατταν ὀλίγον ὑποχωρήσατε.

Retire a little towards the sea.

ἄγʼ ὦνδρες αὐτοὶ δὴ μόνοι λαβώμεθʼ οἱ γεωργοί.

Come, men, let us farmers alone take hold.

χωρεῖ γέ τοι τὸ πρᾶγμα πολλῷ μᾶλλον ὦνδρες ὑμῖν.

Indeed, the matter is going much better for you, men.

510

χωρεῖν τὸ πρᾶγμά φησιν· ἀλλὰ πᾶς ἀνὴρ προθυμοῦ.

He says the matter is progressing; so every man be eager.

οἵ τοι γεωργοὶ τοὔργον ἐξέλκουσι κἄλλος οὐδείς.

Truly, the farmers are pulling out the work, and no one else.

ἄγε νυν ἄγε πᾶς.

Come now, come, everyone.

καὶ μὴν ὁμοῦ ʼστιν ἤδη.

And indeed, she is already close.

μή νυν ἀνῶμεν ἀλλʼ ἐπεντείνωμεν

Let us not slacken now, but let us stretch

515

ἀνδρικώτερον.

more manfully.

ἤδη ʼστὶ τοῦτʼ ἐκεῖνο.

This is already it, that very thing.

ὦ εἶα νῦν, ὦ εἶα πᾶς.

O heave ho now, o heave ho, everyone.

ὦ εἶα εἶα εἶα εἶα εἶα εἶα.

O heave ho, heave ho, heave ho, heave ho, heave ho, heave ho.

ὦ εἶα εἶα εἶα εἶα εἶα πᾶς.

O heave ho, heave ho, heave ho, heave ho, heave ho, everyone.

520

ὦ πότνια βοτρυόδωρε τί προσείπω σʼ ἔπος;

O revered lady, giver of grapes, what word shall I address to you?

πόθεν ἂν λάβοιμι ῥῆμα μυριάμφορον¹

From where might I get a word of ten thousand amphoras

ὅτῳ προσείπω σʼ; οὐ γὰρ εἶχον οἴκοθεν.

with which to address you? For I did not have one from home.

ὦ χαῖρʼ Ὀπώρα, καὶ σὺ δʼ ὦ Θεωρία.

O welcome Opora, and you too, Theoria.

οἷον δʼ ἔχεις τὸ πρόσωπον ὦ Θεωρία,

What a face you have, O Theoria,

525

οἷον δὲ πνεῖς, ὡς ἡδὺ κατὰ τῆς καρδίας,

and what a breath you exhale, how sweet to the heart,

γλυκύτατον ὥσπερ ἀστρατείας καὶ μύρου.

most sweet, just like release from service and perfume.

μῶν οὖν ὅμοιον καὶ γυλιοῦ στρατιωτικοῦ;

Is it then at all like that of a soldier’s knapsack?

ἀπέπτυσʼ ἐχθροῦ φωτὸς ἔχθιστον πλέκος.

I spit upon the most hateful basket of a hateful man!

τοῦ μὲν γὰρ ὄζει κρομμυοξυρεγμίας,

For that smells of onion-acid-belch,

530

ταύτης δʼ ὀπώρας, ὑποδοχῆς, Διονυσίων,

but she of fruit, of hospitality, of the Dionysia,

αὐλῶν, τραγῳδῶν, Σοφοκλέους μελῶν, κιχλῶν,

of flutes, of tragedies, of the songs of Sophocles, of thrushes,

ἐπυλλίων Εὐριπίδου—

of the little verses of Euripides—

κλαύσἄρα² σὺ

You shall weep for this,

ταύτης καταψευδόμενος· οὐ γὰρ ἥδεται

speaking falsely of her; for she does not delight

αὕτη ποιητῇ ῥηματίων δικανικῶν.

in a poet of lawsuit-phrases.

535

κιττοῦ, τρυγοίπου, προβατίων βληχωμένων,

of ivy, of the wine-strainer, of bleating sheep,

† κόλπου³ † γυναικῶν διατρεχουσῶν εἰς ἀγρόν,

of the bosom († κόλπου †) of women running to the countryside,

δούλης μεθυούσης, ἀνατετραμμένου χοῶς,

of a drunken slave-girl, of an upturned wine-jar,

ἄλλων τε πολλῶν κἀγαθῶν—

and of many other good things—

ἴθι νυν ἄθρει

Come now, behold

οἷον πρὸς ἀλλήλας λαλοῦσιν αἱ πόλεις

how the cities talk to one another,

540

διαλλαγεῖσαι καὶ γελῶσιν ἄσμεναι,

having been reconciled, and laugh gladly,

καὶ ταῦτα δαιμονίως ὑπωπιασμέναι

and that too although they are wonderfully black-eyed,

ἁπαξάπασαι καὶ κυάθους προσκείμεναι.

all of them, and have cupping-glasses applied.

καὶ τῶνδε τοίνυν τῶν θεωμένων σκόπει

And so look also at the faces

τὰ πρόσωφʼ, ἵνα γνῷς τὰς τέχνας.

of these spectators here, so that you may know their trades.

αἰβοῖ τάλας,

Ah, poor wretch!

545

ἐκεινονὶ γοῦν τὸν λοφοποιὸν οὐχ ὁρᾷς

Do you not see that crest-maker yonder

τίλλονθʼ ἑαυτόν;

plucking himself?

ὁ δέ γε τὰς σμινύας ποιῶν

And the one who makes mattocks

κατέπαρδεν ἄρτι τοῦ ξιφουργοῦ ʼκεινουί.

just farted at that sword-maker yonder.

ὁ δὲ δρεπανουργὸς οὐχ ὁρᾷς ὡς ἥδεται,

And do you not see how the sickle-maker rejoices,

καὶ τὸν δορυξὸν οἷον ἐσκιμάλισεν;

and how he flicked his finger at the spear-carver?

550

ἴθι νυν ἄνειπε τοὺς γεωργοὺς ἀπιέναι.

Come now, proclaim to the farmers to depart.

ἀκούετε λεῴ· τοὺς γεωργοὺς ἀπιέναι

Hear, ye people! Let the farmers depart

τὰ γεωργικὰ σκεύη λαβόντας εἰς ἀγρὸν

taking their farming tools into the field

ὡς τάχιστʼ ἄνευ δορατίου καὶ ξίφους κἀκοντίου·

as quickly as possible without spear and sword and javelin;

ὡς ἅπαντʼ ἤδη ʼστὶ μεστὰ τἀνθάδʼ εἰρήνης σαπρᾶς.

for all things here are already full of old-fashioned peace.

555

ἀλλὰ πᾶς χώρει πρὸς ἔργον εἰς ἀγρὸν παιωνίσας.

But let everyone go to work in the field, having sung the paean.

ὦ ποθεινὴ τοῖς δικαίοις καὶ γεωργοῖς ἡμέρα,

O day longed for by the just and by farmers,

ἄσμενός σʼ ἰδὼν προσειπεῖν βούλομαι τὰς ἀμπέλους,

having gladly seen you, I wish to address the vines,

τάς τε συκᾶς, ἃς ἐγὼ ʼφύτευον ὢν νεώτερος,

and the fig trees, which I planted when I was younger,

ἀσπάσασθαι θυμὸς ἡμῖν ἐστι πολλοστῷ χρόνῳ.

it is my desire to embrace them after so long a time.

560

νῦν μὲν οὖν ὦνδρες προσευξώμεσθα πρῶτον τῇ θεῷ,

Now indeed, men, let us first pray to the goddess,

ἥπερ ἡμῶν τοὺς λόφους ἀφεῖλε καὶ τὰς Γοργόνας·

who took away our crests and Gorgons;

εἶθʼ ὅπως Λιταργιοῦμεν⁴ οἴκαδʼ ἐς τὰ χωρία,

then let us hasten home to our fields,

ἐμπολήσαντές τι χρηστὸν εἰς ἀγρὸν ταρίχιον.

having bought some good salt fish for the countryside.

ὦ Πόσειδον ὡς καλὸν τὸ στῖφος αὐτῶν φαίνεται

O Poseidon, how beautiful their throng appears,

565

καὶ πυκνὸν καὶ γοργὸν ὥσπερ μᾶζα καὶ πανδαισία.

dense and fierce, like a barley-cake and a great feast.

νὴ Δίʼ ἡ γὰρ σφῦρα λαμπρὸν ἦν ἄρʼ ἐξωπλισμένη,

By Zeus, yes, for the mallet was indeed splendidly equipped,

αἵ τε θρίνακες διαστίλβουσι πρὸς τὸν ἥλιον.

and the winnowing-forks shine against the sun.

ἦ καλῶς αὐτῶν ἀπαλλάξειεν ἂν μετόρχιον.⁵

Truly, the vineyard path would part well under them.

ὥστʼ ἔγωγʼ ἤδη ʼπιθυμῶ καὐτὸς ἐλθεῖν εἰς ἀγρὸν

So that I myself already desire to go to the field

570

καὶ τριαινοῦν τῇ δικέλλῃ διὰ χρόνου τὸ γῄδιον.

and to turn up the little soil with the two-pronged hoe after so long a time.

ἀλλʼ ἀναμνησθέντες ὦνδρες

But remembering, men,

τῆς διαίτης τῆς παλαιᾶς,

the old way of life

ἣν παρεῖχʼ αὕτη ποθʼ ἡμῖν,

which she once provided for us,

τῶν τε παλασίων ἐκείνων

and those cakes of dried figs,

575

τῶν τε σύκων τῶν τε μύρτων,

and the figs, and the myrtles,

τῆς τρυγός τε τῆς γλυκείας

and the sweet new wine,

τῆς ἰωνιᾶς τε τῆς πρὸς

and the violet-bed by

τῷ φρέατι τῶν τʼ ἐλαῶν

the well, and the olives

ὧν ποθοῦμεν,

which we long for,

580

ἀντὶ τούτων τήνδε νυνὶ

in return for these, now

τὴν θεὸν προσείπατε.

address this goddess.

χαῖρε χαῖρʼ, ὡς ἀσμένοισιν ἦλθες, ὦ φιλτάτη.

Hail, hail, how gladly you have come, O dearest one.

585

σῷ γὰρ ἐδάμην πόθῳ, δαιμόνια βουλόμενος εἰς ἀγρὸν ἀνερπύσαι

For I was overcome by longing for you, wishing wondrously to creep back to the field.

ἦσθα γὰρ μέγιστον ἡμῖν κέρδος ὦ ποθουμένη

For you were our greatest gain, O longed-for one, to

πᾶσιν ὁπόσοι γεωργὸν βίον ἐτρίβομεν.

all of us who spent a farming life.

590

μόνη γὰρ ἡμᾶς ὠφέλεις.

For you alone helped us.

πολλὰ γὰρ ἐπάσχομεν πρίν ποτʼ ἐπὶ σοῦ γλυκέα κἀδάπανα καὶ φίλα.

For we used to enjoy many sweet, costless, and dear things under you in the past.

595

τοῖς ἀγροίκοισιν γὰρ ἦσθα χῖδρα καὶ σωτηρία.

For to the countryfolk you were parched grain and salvation.

ὥστε σὲ τά τʼ ἀμπέλια καὶ τὰ νέα συκίδια

So that the little vines and the young fig trees will receive you...

Syntax notes5 items

521μυριάμφορον
A compound adjective meaning "containing or worth ten thousand amphoras," containing comic hyperbole. It modifies the noun ῥῆμα, expressing the grandest praise for the goddess of peace.
532bκλαύσἄρα
A crasis of κλαύσει ἄρα. The future middle κλαύσομαι (I shall weep) has an idiomatic nuance of "you will suffer for this" or "you will regret this."
536† κόλπου †
Daggers (cruces desperationis) indicating that the text is corrupted or uncertain in the manuscript tradition. In context, it refers to the bosom or folds of garments of women, but the reading is insecure.
562ὅπως Λιταργιοῦμεν
An independent expression of exhortation, command, or intention using ὅπως with the future indicative ("let us..."). The verb λιταργίζω is a rare word meaning "to run quickly" or "to hasten."
568ἀπαλλάξειεν ἂν μετόρχιον
A potential optative construction with ἂν and the optative. The subject is μετόρχιον ("the space between rows of vines"), meaning that the vineyard paths would turn out excellently under the farmers' work.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22)urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0019.tlg005.humanitext-grc2:507-596