This was an
accusation
frequently brought
against people in Athens.
against people in Athens.
Aristophanes
A woman at Sybaris
broke a box.
ACCUSER (_to his witness_). I again ask you to witness this.
PHILOCLEON. The box therefore had the fact attested, but the woman said,
"Never worry about witnessing the matter, but hurry off to buy a cord to
tie it together with; 'twill be the more sensible course. "
ACCUSER. Oh! go on with your ribaldry until the Archon calls the case.
BDELYCLEON (_to Philocleon_). No, by Demeter! you stay here no longer! I
take you and carry you off.
PHILOCLEON. And what for?
BDELYCLEON. What for? I shall carry you to the house; else there would
not be enough witnesses for the accusers.
PHILOCLEON. One day at Delphi, Aesop . . .
BDELYCLEON. I don't care a fig for that.
PHILOCLEON. . . . was accused of having stolen a sacred vase. But he
replied, that the horn beetle . . . (_Philocleon goes on with his fable
while Bdelycleon is carrying him off the scene by main force. _)
BDELYCLEON. Oh, dear, dear! You drive me crazy with your horn-beetle.
CHORUS. I envy you your happiness, old man. What a contrast to his former
frugal habits and his very hard life! Taught now in quite another school,
he will know nothing but the pleasures of ease. Perhaps he will jib at
it, for indeed 'tis difficult to renounce what has become one's second
nature. However, many have done it, and adopting the ideas of others,
have changed their use and wont. As for Philocleon's son, I, like all
wise and judicious men, cannot sufficiently praise his filial tenderness
and his tact. Never have I met a more amiable nature, and I have
conceived the greatest fondness for him. How he triumphed on every point
in his discussion with his father, when he wanted to bring him back to
more worthy and honourable tastes!
XANTHIAS. By Bacchus! 'Tis some Evil Genius has brought this unbearable
disorder into our house. The old man, full up with wine and excited by
the sound of the flute, is so delighted, so enraptured, that he spends
the night executing the old dances that Thespis first produced on the
stage,[163] and just now he offered to prove to the modern tragedians, by
disputing with them for the dancing prize, that they are nothing but a
lot of old dotards.
PHILOCLEON. "Who loiters at the door of the vestibule? "[164]
XANTHIAS. Here comes our pest, our plague!
PHILOCLEON. Let down the barriers. [165] The dance is now to begin.
XANTHIAS. Or rather the madness.
PHILOCLEON. Impetuous movement already twists and racks my sides. How my
nostrils wheeze! how my back cracks!
XANTHIAS. Go and fill yourself with hellebore. [166]
PHILOCLEON. Phrynichus is as bold as a cock and terrifies his rivals.
XANTHIAS. Oh! oh! have a care he does not kick you.
PHILOCLEON. His leg kicks out sky-high, and his arse gapes open. [167]
XANTHIAS. Do have a care.
PHILOCLEON. Look how easily my leg-joints move.
BDELYCLEON. Great gods! What does all this mean? Is it actual, downright
madness?
PHILOCLEON. And now I summon and challenge my rivals. If there be a
tragic poet who pretends to be a skilful dancer, let him come and contest
the matter with me. Is there one? Is there _not_ one?
BDELYCLEON. Here comes one, and one only.
PHILOCLEON. Who is the wretch?
BDELYCLEON. 'Tis the younger son of Carcinus. [168]
PHILOCLEON. I will crush him to nothing; in point of keeping time, I will
knock him out, for he knows nothing of rhythm.
BDELYCLEON. Ah! ah! here comes his brother too, another tragedian, and
another son of Carcinus.
PHILOCLEON. Him I will devour for my dinner.
BDELYCLEON. Oh! ye gods! I see nothing but crabs. [169] Here is yet
another son of Carcinus.
PHILOCLEON. What is't comes here? A shrimp or a spider? [170]
BDELYCLEON. 'Tis a crab,[171]--a crabkin, the smallest of its kind; he
writes tragedies.
PHILOCLEON. Oh! Carcinus, how proud you should be of your brood! What a
crowd of kinglets have come swooping down here!
BDELYCLEON. Come, come, my poor father, you will have to measure yourself
against them.
PHILOCLEON. Have pickle prepared for seasoning them, if I am bound to
prove the victor.
CHORUS. Let us stand out of the way a little, so that they may twirl at
their ease. Come, illustrious children of this inhabitant of the briny,
brothers of the shrimps, skip on the sand and the shore of the barren
sea; show us the lightning whirls and twirls of your nimble limbs.
Glorious offspring of Phrynichus,[172] let fly your kicks, so that the
spectators may be overjoyed at seeing your legs so high in air. Twist,
twirl, tap your bellies, kick your legs to the sky. Here comes your
famous father, the ruler of the sea,[173] delighted to see his three
lecherous kinglets. [174] Go on with your dancing, if it pleases you, but
as for us, we shall not join you. Lead us promptly off the stage, for
never a Comedy yet was seen where the Chorus finished off with a dance.
* * * * *
FINIS OF "THE WASPS"
* * * * *
Footnotes:
[1] Meaning, Bdelycleon will thrash you if you do not keep a good watch
on his father.
[2] The Corybantes, priests of Cybele, comported themselves like madmen
in the celebration of their mysteries and made the air resound with the
the noise of their drums.
[3] Cleonymus had shown himself equally cowardly on all occasions; he is
frequently referred to by Aristophanes, both in this and other comedies.
[4] The cloak and the staff were the insignia of the dicasts; the poet
describes them as sheep, because they were Cleon's servile tools.
[5] An allusion to Cleon, who was a tanner.
[6] In Greek, [Greek: d_emos] ([Greek: d_emos], _fat_; [Greek: d_? mos],
_people_) means both _fat_ and _people_.
[7] A tool of Cleon's; he had been sent on an embassy to Persia (_vide_
'The Acharnians'). The crow is a thief and rapacious, just as Theorus
was.
[8] In his life of Alcibiades, Plutarch mentions this defect in his
speech; or it may have been a 'fine gentleman' affectation.
[9] Among the Greeks, _going to the crows_ was equivalent to our _going
to the devil_.
[10] No doubt the fee generally given to the street diviners who were
wont to interpret dreams.
[11] Coarse buffoonery was welcomed at Megara, where, by the by, it is
said that Comedy had its birth.
[12] To gain the favour of the audience, the Comic poets often caused
fruit and cakes to be thrown to them.
[13] The gluttony of Heracles was a constant subject of jest with the
Comic poets.
[14] The incident of Pylos (see 'The Knights').
[15] The Greek word for _friend of strangers_ is [Greek: philoxenos],
which happened also to be the name of one of the vilest debauchees in
Athens.
[16] The tribunal of the Heliasts came next in dignity only to the
Areopagus. The dicasts, or jurymen, generally numbered 500; at times it
would call in the assistance of one or two other tribunals, and the
number of judges would then rise to 1000 or even 1500.
[17] A water-clock, used in the courts for limiting the time of the
pleaders.
[18] The pebble was held between the thumb and two fingers, in the same
way as one would hold a pinch of incense.
[19] A young Athenian of great beauty, also mentioned by Plato in his
'Gorgias. ' Lovers were font of writing the name of the object of their
adoration on the walls (see 'The Acharnians').
[20] [Greek: K_emos], the Greek term for the funnel-shaped top of the
voting urn, into which the judges dropped their voting pebbles.
[21] Racine has introduced this incident with some modification into his
'Plaideurs. '
[22] Although called _Heliasts_ ([Greek: H_elios], the sun), the judges
sat under cover. One of the columns that supported the roof is here
referred to.
[23] The juryman gave his vote for condemnation by tracing a line
horizontally across a waxed tablet. This was one method in use; another
was by means of pebbles placed in one or other of two voting urns.
[24] Used for the purpose of voting. There were two urns, one for each of
the two opinions, and each heliast placed a pebble in one of them.
[25] The Heliast's badge of office.
[26] To prepare him for initiation into the mysteries of the Corybantes.
[27] Who pretended to cure madness; they were priests of Cybele.
[28] The sacred instrument of the Corybantes.
[29] _Friend of Cleon,_ who had raised the daily salary of the Heliasts
to three obols.
[30] _Enemy of Cleon. _
[31] The smoke of fig-wood is very acrid, like the character of the
Heliasts.
[32] Used for closing the chimney, when needed.
[33] Which had been stretched all round the courtyard to prevent his
escape.
[34] Market-day.
[35] He enters the courtyard, returning with the ass, under whose belly
Philocleon is clinging.
[36] In the Odyssey (Bk. IX) Homer makes his hero, 'the wily' Odysseus,
escape from the Cyclops' cave by clinging on under a ram's belly, which
slips past its blinded master without noticing the trick played on him.
Odysseus, when asked his name by the Cyclops, replies, _Outis_, Nobody.
[37] A name formed out of two Greek words, meaning, _running away on a
horse_.
[38] The story goes that a traveller who had hired an ass, having placed
himself in its shadow to escape the heat of the sun, was sued by the
driver, who had pretended that he had let the ass, not but its shadow;
hence the Greek proverb, _to quarrel about the shade of an ass_, i. e.
about nothing at all.
[39] When you inherit from me.
[40] There is a similar incident in the 'Plaideurs. '
[41] A Macedonian town in the peninsula of Pallene; it had shaken off the
Athenian yoke and was not retaken for two years.
[42] A disciple of Thespis, who even in his infancy devoted himself to
the dramatic art. He was the first to introduce female characters on the
stage. He flourished about 500 B. C. , having won his first prize for
Tragedy in 511 B. C. , twelve years before Aeschylus.
[43] Originally subjected to Sparta by Pausanias in 478 B. C. , it was
retaken by Cimon in 471, or forty-eight years previous to the production
of 'The Wasps. ' The old Heliasts refer to this latter event.
[44] An Athenian general, who had been defeated when sent to Sicily with
a fleet to the succour of Leontini; no doubt Cleon had charged him with
treachery.
[45] The Samians were in league with the Persians, but a certain
Carystion betrayed the plot, and thanks to this the Athenians were able
to retake Samos before the island had obtained help from Asia.
[46] The towns of Thrace, up to that time the faithful allies of Athens,
were beginning to throw off her yoke.
[47] Who fulfilled the office of president.
[48] Meaning, "Will it only remain for us to throw ourselves into the
water? " Helle, taken by a ram across the narrow strait, called the
Hellespont after her name, fell into the waves and was drowned.
[49] He is a prisoner inside, and speaks through the closed doors.
[50] This boiling, acid pickle reminds him of the fiery, acrid temper of
the heliasts.
[51] A name invented for the occasion; it really means, _Cleon who holds
the people in his snares_.
[52] When he entered Troy as a spy.
[53] The island of Naxos was taken by Cimon, in consequence of sedition
in the town of Naxos, about fifty years before the production of 'The
Wasps. '
[54] One of the titles under which Artemis, the goddess of the chase, was
worshipped.
[55] Demeter and Persephone.
This was an accusation frequently brought
against people in Athens.
[56] An orator of great violence of speech and gesture.
[57] For Philocleon, the titulary god was Lycus, the son of Pandion, the
King of Athens, because a statue stood erected to him close to the spot
where the tribunals sat, and because he recognized no other fatherland
but the tribunals.
[58] A debauchee and an embezzler of public funds, already mentioned a
little above.
[59] Aristophanes speaks of him in 'The Birds' as a traitor and as an
alien who usurped the rights of the city.
[60] A Greek proverb signifying "Much ado about nothing. "
[61] A Spartan general, who perished in the same battle as Cleon, before
Amphipolis, in 422 B. C.
[62] Meaning, the mere beginnings of any matter.
[63] This 'figure of love'--woman atop of the man--is known in Greek as
[Greek: hippos] (Latin _equus_, 'the horse'); note the play upon words
with the name Hippias.
[64] A tragic poet, who was a great lover of good cheer, it appears.
[65] Old men, who carried olive branches in the processions of the
Panathenaea. Those whose great age or infirmity forbade their being used
for any other purpose were thus employed.
[66] An obscene pun. [Greek: Choiros] means both _a sow_ and the female
organ.
[67] A celebrated actor.
[68] There were two tragedies named 'Niobe,' one by Aeschylus and the
other by Sophocles, both now lost.
[69] A double strap, which flute-players applied to their lips and was
said to give softness to the tones.
[70] The shell was fixed over the seal to protect it.
[71] A calumniator and a traitor (see 'The Acharnians').
[72] Cleonymus, whose name the poet modifies, so as to introduce the idea
of a flatterer ([Greek: kolax]).
[73] Another flatterer, a creature of Cleon's.
[74] Athenian poor, having no purse, would put small coins into mouth for
safety. We know that the triobolus was the daily of the judges. Its value
was about 4-1/2 d.
[75] A jar of wine, which he had bought with his pay.
[76] A jar with two long ears or handles, in this way resembling an ass.
[77] A well-known flute-player.
[78] We have already seen that when accepting his son's challenge he
swore to fall upon his sword if defeated in the debate.
[79] Pericles had first introduced the custom of sending poor citizens,
among whom the land was divided, into the conquered countries. The island
of Aegina had been mainly divided in this way among Athenian colonists.
[80] The choenix was a measure corresponding to our quart.
[81] A verse borrowed from Euripides' 'Bellerophon. '
[82] i. e. a legislator. The name given in Athens to the last six of the
nine Archons, because it was their special duty to see the laws
respected.
[83] Mentioned both in 'The Acharnians' and 'The Knights. '
[84] The drachma was worth six obols, or twice the pay of a heliast.
[85] We have already seen that the Athenians sometimes kept their small
money in their mouth.
[86] Which were placed in the courts; dogs were sacrificed on them.
[87] As already stated, the statue of Lycus stood close to the place
where the tribunals sat.
[88] The barrier in the Heliaea, which separated the heliasts from the
public.
[89] The whole of this comic trial of the dog Labes is an allusion to the
general Laches, already mentioned, who had failed in Sicily. He was
accused of taking bribes of money from the Sicilians.
[90] To serve for a bar.
[91] This was a customary formula, [Greek: aph' Estias archou], "begin
from Hestia," first adore Vesta, the god of the family hearth. In similar
fashion, the Romans said, _ab Jove principium_.
[92] For conviction and acquittal.
[93] On which the sentence was entered.
[94] No doubt the stew-pot and the wine-jar.
[95] The _article_ Bdelycleon had brought. --The clepsydra was a kind of
water-clock; the other vessel is compared to it, because of the liquid in
it.
[96] A title of Apollo, worshipped as the god of healing.
[97] A title of Apollo, because of the sacrifices, which the Athenians
offered him in the streets, from [Greek: aguia], a street.
[98] Bdelycleon.
[99] The formula used by the president before declaring the sitting of
the Court opened.
[100] That is, by way of fine.
[101] A reference to the peculations Laches was supposed to have
practised in keeping back part of the pay of the Athenian sailors engaged
in the Sicilian Expedition.
[102] The [Greek: Thesmothetai] at Athens were the six junior Archons,
who judged cases assigned to no special Court, presided at the allotment
of magistrates, etc.
[103] Thucydides, son of Milesias, when accused by Pericles, could not
say a word in his own defence. One would have said his tongue was
paralysed. He was banished. --He must not be confounded with Thucydides
the historian, whose exile took place after the production of 'The
Wasps. '
[104] When the judges were touched by the pleading of the orator and were
decided on acquittal, they said to the defending advocate, "_Cease
speaking, descend from the rostrum. _"
[105] There were two urns, one called that of Conviction, the other of
Acquittal.
[106] Meaning, that he had at first produced pieces under the name of
other poets, such as Callistrates and Phidonides.
[107] Eurycles, an Athenian diviner, surnamed the Engastromythes ([Greek:
muthos], speech, [Greek: en gastri], in the belly), because he was
believed to be inspired by a genius within him. --The same name was also
given to the priestesses of Apollo, who spoke their oracles without
moving their lips.
[108] Some poets misused their renown as a means of seduction among young
men.
[109] Cleon, whom he attacked in 'The Knights,' the first Comedy that
Aristophanes had produced in his own name.
[110] Cynna, like Salabaccha, was a shameless courtesan of the day.
[111] The lamiae were mysterious monsters, to whom the ancients ascribed
the most varied forms. They were depicted most frequently with the face
and bosom of a woman and the body of a serpent. Here Aristophanes endows
them with organs of virility. It was said that the blood of young men had
a special attraction for them. These lines, abusive of Cleon, occur again
in the 'Peace,' II. 738-42.
[112] Socrates and the sophists, with whom the poet confounds him in his
attacks.
[113] He likens them to vampires.
[114] The third Archon, whose duty was the protection of strangers. All
cases involving the rights of citizenship were tried before him. These
were a frequent cause of lawsuit at Athens.
[115] 'The Clouds' had not been well received.
[116] Aristophanes lets it be understood that the refusal to crown him
arose from the fact that he had been too bold in his attack.
[117] To perfume their caskets, etc. , the Ancients placed scented fruit,
especially oranges, in them.
[118] The pastimes of love.
[119] At Marathon, where the Athenians defeated the Persian invaders, 490
B. C. The battle-field is a plain on the north-east coast of Attica, about
twenty-seven miles from Athens.
[120] A favourable omen, of course. The owl was the bird of Athene.
[121] An allusion to Cimon's naval victories.
[122] The Cyclades islands and many towns on the coast of Asia Minor.
[123] The tribunals.
[124] The six last Archons presided over the civil courts and were styled
Thesmothetae (see above).
[125] Magistrates, who had charge of criminal cases.
[126] Built by Pericles. Musical contests were held there. Here also took
place distributions of flour, and the presence of the magistrates was no
doubt necessary to decide on the spot any disputes that might arise
regarding this.
[127] This, says the Scholiast, refers to magistrates appointed for the
upkeep of the walls. They were selected by ballot from amongst the
general body of Heliasts.
[128] The demagogues and their flatterers.
[129] The battle of Artemisium on the Euboean coast; a terrible storm
arose and almost destroyed the barbarian fleet, while sparing that of the
Athenians.
[130] A mantle trimmed with fur.
[131] A rural deme of Attica. Rough coats were made there, formed of
skins sewn together.
[132] An effeminate poet.
[133] He compares the thick, shaggy stuff of the pelisse to the
intestines of a bullock, which have a sort of crimped and curled look.
[134] An Attic talent was equal to about fifty-seven pounds avoirdupois.
[135] He grumbles over his own good fortune, as old men will.
[136] Lamia, the daughter of Belus and Libya, was loved by Zeus. Here
deprived her of her beauty and instilled her with a passion for blood;
she is said to have plucked babes from their mothers' breast to devour
them. Weary of her crimes, the gods turned her into a beast of prey.
[137] Theagenes, of the Acharnian deme, was afflicted with a weakness
which caused him to be constantly letting off loud, stinking farts, even
in public--the cause of many gibes on the part of the Comic poets and his
contemporaries.
[138] He had been sent on a mission as an armed ambassador, i. e. as a
common soldier, whose pay was two obols.
[139] The [Greek: pankration] was a combined exercise, including both
wrestling and boxing.
[140] All these names have been already mentioned.
[141] Each time Philocleon takes up the song with words that are a satire
on the guest who begins the strain.
[142] King Admetus (Euripides' 'Alcestis') had suffered his devoted wife
Alcestis to die to save his life when ill to death. Heracles, however, to
repay former benefits received, descended into Hades and rescued Alcestis
from Pluto's clutches.
[143] A famous epicure, the Lucullus of Athens (see 'The Acharnians').
[144] A parasite renowned for his gluttony.
[145] A town in Thessaly.
[146] Because of his poverty.
[147] Four lines in 'The Knights' describe the infamous habits of
Ariphrades in detail.
[148] That is, it ceases to support it; Aristophanes does the same to
Cleon.
[149] Referring to Lysistratus' leanness.
[150] A tragic actor, whose wardrobe had been sold up, so the story went,
by his creditors.
[151] He enters, followed closely by the persons he has ill-used, and
leading a flute-girl by the hand.
[152] Meaning his penis.
[153] Dardanus, a district of Asia Minor, north of the Troad, supplied
many flute-girls to the cities of Greece.
[154] Pointing to the flute-girl's _motte_.
[155] He tells his son the very story the latter had taught him.
[156] The name of the baker's wife.
[157] Or Agoranomi, who numbered ten at Athens.
[158] The disciple of Socrates.
[159] Lasus, a musician and dithyrambic poet, born about 500 B. C. in
Argolis, was the rival of Simonides and thought himself his superior.
[160] Ino, the daughter of Cadmus and Harmonia. Being pursued by her
husband, Athamas, whom the Fury Tisiphone had driven mad, she threw
herself into the sea with Melicerta, whereupon they were both changed
into sea-goddesses. --This is the subject of one of Euripides' tragedies.
[161] A famous town in Magna Graecia, south coast of Italy.
[162] A celebrated physician. --Philocleon means, "Instead of starting an
action, go and have yourself cared for; that is better worth your while. "
[163] The dances that Thespis, the originator of Tragedy, interspersed
with the speaking parts of his plays.
[164] A verse borrowed from an unknown Tragedy.
[165] As was done in the stadia when the races were to be started.
[166] The ancients considered it a specific against madness.
[167] Phrynichus, like all the ancient tragic writers, mingled many
dances with his pieces.
[168] Tragic poet. His three sons had also written tragedies and were
dancers into the bargain.
[169] Carcinus, by a mere transposition of the accent ([Greek:
karkivos]), means _crab_ in Greek; hence the pun.
[170] Carcinus' sons were small and thin.
[171] The third son of Carcinus.
[172] Meaning, the three sons of Carcinus, the dancers, because, as
mentioned before, Phrynichus often introduced a chorus of dancers into
his Tragedies.
[173] Carcinus himself.
[174] The Greek word is [Greek: triorchoi]--possessed of three testicles,
of three-testicle power, inordinately lecherous; with the change of a
letter ([Greek: triarchoi]) it means 'three rulers,' 'three kinglets. '
THE BIRDS
INTRODUCTION
The Birds' differs markedly from all the other Comedies of Aristophanes
which have come down to us in subject and general conception. It is just
an extravaganza pure and simple--a graceful, whimsical theme chosen
expressly for the sake of the opportunities it afforded of bright,
amusing dialogue, pleasing lyrical interludes, and charming displays of
brilliant stage effects and pretty dresses. Unlike other plays of the
same Author, there is here apparently no serious political _motif_
underlying the surface burlesque and buffoonery.
Some critics, it is true, profess to find in it a reference to the
unfortunate Sicilian Expedition, then in progress, and a prophecy of its
failure and the political downfall of Alcibiades. But as a matter of
fact, the whole thing seems rather an attempt on the dramatist's part to
relieve the overwrought minds of his fellow-citizens, anxious and
discouraged at the unsatisfactory reports from before Syracuse, by a work
conceived in a lighter vein than usual and mainly unconnected with
contemporary realities.
The play was produced in the year 414 B. C. , just when success or failure
in Sicily hung in the balance, though already the outlook was gloomy, and
many circumstances pointed to impending disaster. Moreover, the public
conscience was still shocked and perturbed over the mysterious affair of
the mutilation of the Hermae, which had occurred immediately before the
sailing of the fleet, and strongly suspicious of Alcibiades'
participation in the outrage. In spite of the inherent charm of the
subject, the splendid outbursts of lyrical poetry in some of the choruses
and the beauty of the scenery and costumes, 'The Birds' failed to win the
first prize. This was acclaimed to a play of Aristophanes' rival,
Amipsias, the title of which, 'The Comastae,' _or_ 'Revellers,' "seems
to imply that the chief interest was derived from direct allusions to the
outrage above mentioned and to the individuals suspected to have been
engaged in it. "
For this reason, which militated against its immediate success, viz. the
absence of direct allusion to contemporary politics--there are, of
course, incidental references here and there to topics and personages of
the day--the play appeals perhaps more than any other of our Author's
productions to the modern reader. Sparkling wit, whimsical fancy, poetic
charm, are of all ages, and can be appreciated as readily by ourselves as
by an Athenian audience of two thousand years ago, though, of course,
much is inevitably lost "without the important adjuncts of music,
scenery, dresses and what we may call 'spectacle' generally, which we
know in this instance to have been on the most magnificent scale. "
"The plot is this. Euelpides and Pisthetaerus, two old Athenians,
disgusted with the litigiousness, wrangling and sycophancy of their
countrymen, resolve upon quitting Attica. Having heard of the fame of
Epops (the hoopoe), sometime called Tereus, and now King of the Birds,
they determine, under the direction of a raven and a jackdaw, to seek
from him and his subject birds a city free from all care and strife. "
Arrived at the Palace of Epops, they knock, and Trochilus (the wren), in
a state of great flutter, as he mistakes them for fowlers, opens the door
and informs them that his Majesty is asleep. When he awakes, the
strangers appear before him, and after listening to a long and eloquent
harangue on the superior attractions of a residence among the birds, they
propose a notable scheme of their own to further enhance its advantages
and definitely secure the sovereignty of the universe now exercised by
the gods of Olympus.
The birds are summoned to meet in general council. They come flying up
from all quarters of the heavens, and after a brief misunderstanding,
during which they come near tearing the two human envoys to pieces, they
listen to the exposition of the latters' plan. This is nothing less than
the building of a new city, to be called Nephelococcygia, or
'Cloud-cuckoo-town,' between earth and heaven, to be garrisoned and
guarded by the birds in such a way as to intercept all communication of
the gods with their worshippers on earth. All steam of sacrifice will be
prevented from rising to Olympus, and the Immortals will very soon be
starved into an acceptance of any terms proposed.
The new Utopia is duly constructed, and the daring plan to secure the
sovereignty is in a fair way to succeed. Meantime various quacks and
charlatans, each with a special scheme for improving things, arrive from
earth, and are one after the other exposed and dismissed. Presently
arrives Prometheus, who informs Epops of the desperate straits to which
the gods are by this time reduced, and advises him to push his claims and
demand the hand of Basileia (Dominion), the handmaid of Zeus. Next an
embassy from the Olympians appears on the scene, consisting of Heracles,
Posidon and a god from the savage regions of the Triballians. After some
disputation, it is agreed that all reasonable demands of the birds are to
be granted, while Pisthetaerus is to have Basileia as his bride. The
comedy winds up with the epithalamium in honour of the nuptials.
* * * * *
THE BIRDS
DRAMATIS PERSONAE
EUELPIDES.
PISTHETAERUS.
EPOPS (the Hoopoe).
TROCHILUS, Servant to Epops.
PHOENICOPTERUS.
HERALDS.
A PRIEST.
A POET.
A PROPHET.
METON, a Geometrician.
broke a box.
ACCUSER (_to his witness_). I again ask you to witness this.
PHILOCLEON. The box therefore had the fact attested, but the woman said,
"Never worry about witnessing the matter, but hurry off to buy a cord to
tie it together with; 'twill be the more sensible course. "
ACCUSER. Oh! go on with your ribaldry until the Archon calls the case.
BDELYCLEON (_to Philocleon_). No, by Demeter! you stay here no longer! I
take you and carry you off.
PHILOCLEON. And what for?
BDELYCLEON. What for? I shall carry you to the house; else there would
not be enough witnesses for the accusers.
PHILOCLEON. One day at Delphi, Aesop . . .
BDELYCLEON. I don't care a fig for that.
PHILOCLEON. . . . was accused of having stolen a sacred vase. But he
replied, that the horn beetle . . . (_Philocleon goes on with his fable
while Bdelycleon is carrying him off the scene by main force. _)
BDELYCLEON. Oh, dear, dear! You drive me crazy with your horn-beetle.
CHORUS. I envy you your happiness, old man. What a contrast to his former
frugal habits and his very hard life! Taught now in quite another school,
he will know nothing but the pleasures of ease. Perhaps he will jib at
it, for indeed 'tis difficult to renounce what has become one's second
nature. However, many have done it, and adopting the ideas of others,
have changed their use and wont. As for Philocleon's son, I, like all
wise and judicious men, cannot sufficiently praise his filial tenderness
and his tact. Never have I met a more amiable nature, and I have
conceived the greatest fondness for him. How he triumphed on every point
in his discussion with his father, when he wanted to bring him back to
more worthy and honourable tastes!
XANTHIAS. By Bacchus! 'Tis some Evil Genius has brought this unbearable
disorder into our house. The old man, full up with wine and excited by
the sound of the flute, is so delighted, so enraptured, that he spends
the night executing the old dances that Thespis first produced on the
stage,[163] and just now he offered to prove to the modern tragedians, by
disputing with them for the dancing prize, that they are nothing but a
lot of old dotards.
PHILOCLEON. "Who loiters at the door of the vestibule? "[164]
XANTHIAS. Here comes our pest, our plague!
PHILOCLEON. Let down the barriers. [165] The dance is now to begin.
XANTHIAS. Or rather the madness.
PHILOCLEON. Impetuous movement already twists and racks my sides. How my
nostrils wheeze! how my back cracks!
XANTHIAS. Go and fill yourself with hellebore. [166]
PHILOCLEON. Phrynichus is as bold as a cock and terrifies his rivals.
XANTHIAS. Oh! oh! have a care he does not kick you.
PHILOCLEON. His leg kicks out sky-high, and his arse gapes open. [167]
XANTHIAS. Do have a care.
PHILOCLEON. Look how easily my leg-joints move.
BDELYCLEON. Great gods! What does all this mean? Is it actual, downright
madness?
PHILOCLEON. And now I summon and challenge my rivals. If there be a
tragic poet who pretends to be a skilful dancer, let him come and contest
the matter with me. Is there one? Is there _not_ one?
BDELYCLEON. Here comes one, and one only.
PHILOCLEON. Who is the wretch?
BDELYCLEON. 'Tis the younger son of Carcinus. [168]
PHILOCLEON. I will crush him to nothing; in point of keeping time, I will
knock him out, for he knows nothing of rhythm.
BDELYCLEON. Ah! ah! here comes his brother too, another tragedian, and
another son of Carcinus.
PHILOCLEON. Him I will devour for my dinner.
BDELYCLEON. Oh! ye gods! I see nothing but crabs. [169] Here is yet
another son of Carcinus.
PHILOCLEON. What is't comes here? A shrimp or a spider? [170]
BDELYCLEON. 'Tis a crab,[171]--a crabkin, the smallest of its kind; he
writes tragedies.
PHILOCLEON. Oh! Carcinus, how proud you should be of your brood! What a
crowd of kinglets have come swooping down here!
BDELYCLEON. Come, come, my poor father, you will have to measure yourself
against them.
PHILOCLEON. Have pickle prepared for seasoning them, if I am bound to
prove the victor.
CHORUS. Let us stand out of the way a little, so that they may twirl at
their ease. Come, illustrious children of this inhabitant of the briny,
brothers of the shrimps, skip on the sand and the shore of the barren
sea; show us the lightning whirls and twirls of your nimble limbs.
Glorious offspring of Phrynichus,[172] let fly your kicks, so that the
spectators may be overjoyed at seeing your legs so high in air. Twist,
twirl, tap your bellies, kick your legs to the sky. Here comes your
famous father, the ruler of the sea,[173] delighted to see his three
lecherous kinglets. [174] Go on with your dancing, if it pleases you, but
as for us, we shall not join you. Lead us promptly off the stage, for
never a Comedy yet was seen where the Chorus finished off with a dance.
* * * * *
FINIS OF "THE WASPS"
* * * * *
Footnotes:
[1] Meaning, Bdelycleon will thrash you if you do not keep a good watch
on his father.
[2] The Corybantes, priests of Cybele, comported themselves like madmen
in the celebration of their mysteries and made the air resound with the
the noise of their drums.
[3] Cleonymus had shown himself equally cowardly on all occasions; he is
frequently referred to by Aristophanes, both in this and other comedies.
[4] The cloak and the staff were the insignia of the dicasts; the poet
describes them as sheep, because they were Cleon's servile tools.
[5] An allusion to Cleon, who was a tanner.
[6] In Greek, [Greek: d_emos] ([Greek: d_emos], _fat_; [Greek: d_? mos],
_people_) means both _fat_ and _people_.
[7] A tool of Cleon's; he had been sent on an embassy to Persia (_vide_
'The Acharnians'). The crow is a thief and rapacious, just as Theorus
was.
[8] In his life of Alcibiades, Plutarch mentions this defect in his
speech; or it may have been a 'fine gentleman' affectation.
[9] Among the Greeks, _going to the crows_ was equivalent to our _going
to the devil_.
[10] No doubt the fee generally given to the street diviners who were
wont to interpret dreams.
[11] Coarse buffoonery was welcomed at Megara, where, by the by, it is
said that Comedy had its birth.
[12] To gain the favour of the audience, the Comic poets often caused
fruit and cakes to be thrown to them.
[13] The gluttony of Heracles was a constant subject of jest with the
Comic poets.
[14] The incident of Pylos (see 'The Knights').
[15] The Greek word for _friend of strangers_ is [Greek: philoxenos],
which happened also to be the name of one of the vilest debauchees in
Athens.
[16] The tribunal of the Heliasts came next in dignity only to the
Areopagus. The dicasts, or jurymen, generally numbered 500; at times it
would call in the assistance of one or two other tribunals, and the
number of judges would then rise to 1000 or even 1500.
[17] A water-clock, used in the courts for limiting the time of the
pleaders.
[18] The pebble was held between the thumb and two fingers, in the same
way as one would hold a pinch of incense.
[19] A young Athenian of great beauty, also mentioned by Plato in his
'Gorgias. ' Lovers were font of writing the name of the object of their
adoration on the walls (see 'The Acharnians').
[20] [Greek: K_emos], the Greek term for the funnel-shaped top of the
voting urn, into which the judges dropped their voting pebbles.
[21] Racine has introduced this incident with some modification into his
'Plaideurs. '
[22] Although called _Heliasts_ ([Greek: H_elios], the sun), the judges
sat under cover. One of the columns that supported the roof is here
referred to.
[23] The juryman gave his vote for condemnation by tracing a line
horizontally across a waxed tablet. This was one method in use; another
was by means of pebbles placed in one or other of two voting urns.
[24] Used for the purpose of voting. There were two urns, one for each of
the two opinions, and each heliast placed a pebble in one of them.
[25] The Heliast's badge of office.
[26] To prepare him for initiation into the mysteries of the Corybantes.
[27] Who pretended to cure madness; they were priests of Cybele.
[28] The sacred instrument of the Corybantes.
[29] _Friend of Cleon,_ who had raised the daily salary of the Heliasts
to three obols.
[30] _Enemy of Cleon. _
[31] The smoke of fig-wood is very acrid, like the character of the
Heliasts.
[32] Used for closing the chimney, when needed.
[33] Which had been stretched all round the courtyard to prevent his
escape.
[34] Market-day.
[35] He enters the courtyard, returning with the ass, under whose belly
Philocleon is clinging.
[36] In the Odyssey (Bk. IX) Homer makes his hero, 'the wily' Odysseus,
escape from the Cyclops' cave by clinging on under a ram's belly, which
slips past its blinded master without noticing the trick played on him.
Odysseus, when asked his name by the Cyclops, replies, _Outis_, Nobody.
[37] A name formed out of two Greek words, meaning, _running away on a
horse_.
[38] The story goes that a traveller who had hired an ass, having placed
himself in its shadow to escape the heat of the sun, was sued by the
driver, who had pretended that he had let the ass, not but its shadow;
hence the Greek proverb, _to quarrel about the shade of an ass_, i. e.
about nothing at all.
[39] When you inherit from me.
[40] There is a similar incident in the 'Plaideurs. '
[41] A Macedonian town in the peninsula of Pallene; it had shaken off the
Athenian yoke and was not retaken for two years.
[42] A disciple of Thespis, who even in his infancy devoted himself to
the dramatic art. He was the first to introduce female characters on the
stage. He flourished about 500 B. C. , having won his first prize for
Tragedy in 511 B. C. , twelve years before Aeschylus.
[43] Originally subjected to Sparta by Pausanias in 478 B. C. , it was
retaken by Cimon in 471, or forty-eight years previous to the production
of 'The Wasps. ' The old Heliasts refer to this latter event.
[44] An Athenian general, who had been defeated when sent to Sicily with
a fleet to the succour of Leontini; no doubt Cleon had charged him with
treachery.
[45] The Samians were in league with the Persians, but a certain
Carystion betrayed the plot, and thanks to this the Athenians were able
to retake Samos before the island had obtained help from Asia.
[46] The towns of Thrace, up to that time the faithful allies of Athens,
were beginning to throw off her yoke.
[47] Who fulfilled the office of president.
[48] Meaning, "Will it only remain for us to throw ourselves into the
water? " Helle, taken by a ram across the narrow strait, called the
Hellespont after her name, fell into the waves and was drowned.
[49] He is a prisoner inside, and speaks through the closed doors.
[50] This boiling, acid pickle reminds him of the fiery, acrid temper of
the heliasts.
[51] A name invented for the occasion; it really means, _Cleon who holds
the people in his snares_.
[52] When he entered Troy as a spy.
[53] The island of Naxos was taken by Cimon, in consequence of sedition
in the town of Naxos, about fifty years before the production of 'The
Wasps. '
[54] One of the titles under which Artemis, the goddess of the chase, was
worshipped.
[55] Demeter and Persephone.
This was an accusation frequently brought
against people in Athens.
[56] An orator of great violence of speech and gesture.
[57] For Philocleon, the titulary god was Lycus, the son of Pandion, the
King of Athens, because a statue stood erected to him close to the spot
where the tribunals sat, and because he recognized no other fatherland
but the tribunals.
[58] A debauchee and an embezzler of public funds, already mentioned a
little above.
[59] Aristophanes speaks of him in 'The Birds' as a traitor and as an
alien who usurped the rights of the city.
[60] A Greek proverb signifying "Much ado about nothing. "
[61] A Spartan general, who perished in the same battle as Cleon, before
Amphipolis, in 422 B. C.
[62] Meaning, the mere beginnings of any matter.
[63] This 'figure of love'--woman atop of the man--is known in Greek as
[Greek: hippos] (Latin _equus_, 'the horse'); note the play upon words
with the name Hippias.
[64] A tragic poet, who was a great lover of good cheer, it appears.
[65] Old men, who carried olive branches in the processions of the
Panathenaea. Those whose great age or infirmity forbade their being used
for any other purpose were thus employed.
[66] An obscene pun. [Greek: Choiros] means both _a sow_ and the female
organ.
[67] A celebrated actor.
[68] There were two tragedies named 'Niobe,' one by Aeschylus and the
other by Sophocles, both now lost.
[69] A double strap, which flute-players applied to their lips and was
said to give softness to the tones.
[70] The shell was fixed over the seal to protect it.
[71] A calumniator and a traitor (see 'The Acharnians').
[72] Cleonymus, whose name the poet modifies, so as to introduce the idea
of a flatterer ([Greek: kolax]).
[73] Another flatterer, a creature of Cleon's.
[74] Athenian poor, having no purse, would put small coins into mouth for
safety. We know that the triobolus was the daily of the judges. Its value
was about 4-1/2 d.
[75] A jar of wine, which he had bought with his pay.
[76] A jar with two long ears or handles, in this way resembling an ass.
[77] A well-known flute-player.
[78] We have already seen that when accepting his son's challenge he
swore to fall upon his sword if defeated in the debate.
[79] Pericles had first introduced the custom of sending poor citizens,
among whom the land was divided, into the conquered countries. The island
of Aegina had been mainly divided in this way among Athenian colonists.
[80] The choenix was a measure corresponding to our quart.
[81] A verse borrowed from Euripides' 'Bellerophon. '
[82] i. e. a legislator. The name given in Athens to the last six of the
nine Archons, because it was their special duty to see the laws
respected.
[83] Mentioned both in 'The Acharnians' and 'The Knights. '
[84] The drachma was worth six obols, or twice the pay of a heliast.
[85] We have already seen that the Athenians sometimes kept their small
money in their mouth.
[86] Which were placed in the courts; dogs were sacrificed on them.
[87] As already stated, the statue of Lycus stood close to the place
where the tribunals sat.
[88] The barrier in the Heliaea, which separated the heliasts from the
public.
[89] The whole of this comic trial of the dog Labes is an allusion to the
general Laches, already mentioned, who had failed in Sicily. He was
accused of taking bribes of money from the Sicilians.
[90] To serve for a bar.
[91] This was a customary formula, [Greek: aph' Estias archou], "begin
from Hestia," first adore Vesta, the god of the family hearth. In similar
fashion, the Romans said, _ab Jove principium_.
[92] For conviction and acquittal.
[93] On which the sentence was entered.
[94] No doubt the stew-pot and the wine-jar.
[95] The _article_ Bdelycleon had brought. --The clepsydra was a kind of
water-clock; the other vessel is compared to it, because of the liquid in
it.
[96] A title of Apollo, worshipped as the god of healing.
[97] A title of Apollo, because of the sacrifices, which the Athenians
offered him in the streets, from [Greek: aguia], a street.
[98] Bdelycleon.
[99] The formula used by the president before declaring the sitting of
the Court opened.
[100] That is, by way of fine.
[101] A reference to the peculations Laches was supposed to have
practised in keeping back part of the pay of the Athenian sailors engaged
in the Sicilian Expedition.
[102] The [Greek: Thesmothetai] at Athens were the six junior Archons,
who judged cases assigned to no special Court, presided at the allotment
of magistrates, etc.
[103] Thucydides, son of Milesias, when accused by Pericles, could not
say a word in his own defence. One would have said his tongue was
paralysed. He was banished. --He must not be confounded with Thucydides
the historian, whose exile took place after the production of 'The
Wasps. '
[104] When the judges were touched by the pleading of the orator and were
decided on acquittal, they said to the defending advocate, "_Cease
speaking, descend from the rostrum. _"
[105] There were two urns, one called that of Conviction, the other of
Acquittal.
[106] Meaning, that he had at first produced pieces under the name of
other poets, such as Callistrates and Phidonides.
[107] Eurycles, an Athenian diviner, surnamed the Engastromythes ([Greek:
muthos], speech, [Greek: en gastri], in the belly), because he was
believed to be inspired by a genius within him. --The same name was also
given to the priestesses of Apollo, who spoke their oracles without
moving their lips.
[108] Some poets misused their renown as a means of seduction among young
men.
[109] Cleon, whom he attacked in 'The Knights,' the first Comedy that
Aristophanes had produced in his own name.
[110] Cynna, like Salabaccha, was a shameless courtesan of the day.
[111] The lamiae were mysterious monsters, to whom the ancients ascribed
the most varied forms. They were depicted most frequently with the face
and bosom of a woman and the body of a serpent. Here Aristophanes endows
them with organs of virility. It was said that the blood of young men had
a special attraction for them. These lines, abusive of Cleon, occur again
in the 'Peace,' II. 738-42.
[112] Socrates and the sophists, with whom the poet confounds him in his
attacks.
[113] He likens them to vampires.
[114] The third Archon, whose duty was the protection of strangers. All
cases involving the rights of citizenship were tried before him. These
were a frequent cause of lawsuit at Athens.
[115] 'The Clouds' had not been well received.
[116] Aristophanes lets it be understood that the refusal to crown him
arose from the fact that he had been too bold in his attack.
[117] To perfume their caskets, etc. , the Ancients placed scented fruit,
especially oranges, in them.
[118] The pastimes of love.
[119] At Marathon, where the Athenians defeated the Persian invaders, 490
B. C. The battle-field is a plain on the north-east coast of Attica, about
twenty-seven miles from Athens.
[120] A favourable omen, of course. The owl was the bird of Athene.
[121] An allusion to Cimon's naval victories.
[122] The Cyclades islands and many towns on the coast of Asia Minor.
[123] The tribunals.
[124] The six last Archons presided over the civil courts and were styled
Thesmothetae (see above).
[125] Magistrates, who had charge of criminal cases.
[126] Built by Pericles. Musical contests were held there. Here also took
place distributions of flour, and the presence of the magistrates was no
doubt necessary to decide on the spot any disputes that might arise
regarding this.
[127] This, says the Scholiast, refers to magistrates appointed for the
upkeep of the walls. They were selected by ballot from amongst the
general body of Heliasts.
[128] The demagogues and their flatterers.
[129] The battle of Artemisium on the Euboean coast; a terrible storm
arose and almost destroyed the barbarian fleet, while sparing that of the
Athenians.
[130] A mantle trimmed with fur.
[131] A rural deme of Attica. Rough coats were made there, formed of
skins sewn together.
[132] An effeminate poet.
[133] He compares the thick, shaggy stuff of the pelisse to the
intestines of a bullock, which have a sort of crimped and curled look.
[134] An Attic talent was equal to about fifty-seven pounds avoirdupois.
[135] He grumbles over his own good fortune, as old men will.
[136] Lamia, the daughter of Belus and Libya, was loved by Zeus. Here
deprived her of her beauty and instilled her with a passion for blood;
she is said to have plucked babes from their mothers' breast to devour
them. Weary of her crimes, the gods turned her into a beast of prey.
[137] Theagenes, of the Acharnian deme, was afflicted with a weakness
which caused him to be constantly letting off loud, stinking farts, even
in public--the cause of many gibes on the part of the Comic poets and his
contemporaries.
[138] He had been sent on a mission as an armed ambassador, i. e. as a
common soldier, whose pay was two obols.
[139] The [Greek: pankration] was a combined exercise, including both
wrestling and boxing.
[140] All these names have been already mentioned.
[141] Each time Philocleon takes up the song with words that are a satire
on the guest who begins the strain.
[142] King Admetus (Euripides' 'Alcestis') had suffered his devoted wife
Alcestis to die to save his life when ill to death. Heracles, however, to
repay former benefits received, descended into Hades and rescued Alcestis
from Pluto's clutches.
[143] A famous epicure, the Lucullus of Athens (see 'The Acharnians').
[144] A parasite renowned for his gluttony.
[145] A town in Thessaly.
[146] Because of his poverty.
[147] Four lines in 'The Knights' describe the infamous habits of
Ariphrades in detail.
[148] That is, it ceases to support it; Aristophanes does the same to
Cleon.
[149] Referring to Lysistratus' leanness.
[150] A tragic actor, whose wardrobe had been sold up, so the story went,
by his creditors.
[151] He enters, followed closely by the persons he has ill-used, and
leading a flute-girl by the hand.
[152] Meaning his penis.
[153] Dardanus, a district of Asia Minor, north of the Troad, supplied
many flute-girls to the cities of Greece.
[154] Pointing to the flute-girl's _motte_.
[155] He tells his son the very story the latter had taught him.
[156] The name of the baker's wife.
[157] Or Agoranomi, who numbered ten at Athens.
[158] The disciple of Socrates.
[159] Lasus, a musician and dithyrambic poet, born about 500 B. C. in
Argolis, was the rival of Simonides and thought himself his superior.
[160] Ino, the daughter of Cadmus and Harmonia. Being pursued by her
husband, Athamas, whom the Fury Tisiphone had driven mad, she threw
herself into the sea with Melicerta, whereupon they were both changed
into sea-goddesses. --This is the subject of one of Euripides' tragedies.
[161] A famous town in Magna Graecia, south coast of Italy.
[162] A celebrated physician. --Philocleon means, "Instead of starting an
action, go and have yourself cared for; that is better worth your while. "
[163] The dances that Thespis, the originator of Tragedy, interspersed
with the speaking parts of his plays.
[164] A verse borrowed from an unknown Tragedy.
[165] As was done in the stadia when the races were to be started.
[166] The ancients considered it a specific against madness.
[167] Phrynichus, like all the ancient tragic writers, mingled many
dances with his pieces.
[168] Tragic poet. His three sons had also written tragedies and were
dancers into the bargain.
[169] Carcinus, by a mere transposition of the accent ([Greek:
karkivos]), means _crab_ in Greek; hence the pun.
[170] Carcinus' sons were small and thin.
[171] The third son of Carcinus.
[172] Meaning, the three sons of Carcinus, the dancers, because, as
mentioned before, Phrynichus often introduced a chorus of dancers into
his Tragedies.
[173] Carcinus himself.
[174] The Greek word is [Greek: triorchoi]--possessed of three testicles,
of three-testicle power, inordinately lecherous; with the change of a
letter ([Greek: triarchoi]) it means 'three rulers,' 'three kinglets. '
THE BIRDS
INTRODUCTION
The Birds' differs markedly from all the other Comedies of Aristophanes
which have come down to us in subject and general conception. It is just
an extravaganza pure and simple--a graceful, whimsical theme chosen
expressly for the sake of the opportunities it afforded of bright,
amusing dialogue, pleasing lyrical interludes, and charming displays of
brilliant stage effects and pretty dresses. Unlike other plays of the
same Author, there is here apparently no serious political _motif_
underlying the surface burlesque and buffoonery.
Some critics, it is true, profess to find in it a reference to the
unfortunate Sicilian Expedition, then in progress, and a prophecy of its
failure and the political downfall of Alcibiades. But as a matter of
fact, the whole thing seems rather an attempt on the dramatist's part to
relieve the overwrought minds of his fellow-citizens, anxious and
discouraged at the unsatisfactory reports from before Syracuse, by a work
conceived in a lighter vein than usual and mainly unconnected with
contemporary realities.
The play was produced in the year 414 B. C. , just when success or failure
in Sicily hung in the balance, though already the outlook was gloomy, and
many circumstances pointed to impending disaster. Moreover, the public
conscience was still shocked and perturbed over the mysterious affair of
the mutilation of the Hermae, which had occurred immediately before the
sailing of the fleet, and strongly suspicious of Alcibiades'
participation in the outrage. In spite of the inherent charm of the
subject, the splendid outbursts of lyrical poetry in some of the choruses
and the beauty of the scenery and costumes, 'The Birds' failed to win the
first prize. This was acclaimed to a play of Aristophanes' rival,
Amipsias, the title of which, 'The Comastae,' _or_ 'Revellers,' "seems
to imply that the chief interest was derived from direct allusions to the
outrage above mentioned and to the individuals suspected to have been
engaged in it. "
For this reason, which militated against its immediate success, viz. the
absence of direct allusion to contemporary politics--there are, of
course, incidental references here and there to topics and personages of
the day--the play appeals perhaps more than any other of our Author's
productions to the modern reader. Sparkling wit, whimsical fancy, poetic
charm, are of all ages, and can be appreciated as readily by ourselves as
by an Athenian audience of two thousand years ago, though, of course,
much is inevitably lost "without the important adjuncts of music,
scenery, dresses and what we may call 'spectacle' generally, which we
know in this instance to have been on the most magnificent scale. "
"The plot is this. Euelpides and Pisthetaerus, two old Athenians,
disgusted with the litigiousness, wrangling and sycophancy of their
countrymen, resolve upon quitting Attica. Having heard of the fame of
Epops (the hoopoe), sometime called Tereus, and now King of the Birds,
they determine, under the direction of a raven and a jackdaw, to seek
from him and his subject birds a city free from all care and strife. "
Arrived at the Palace of Epops, they knock, and Trochilus (the wren), in
a state of great flutter, as he mistakes them for fowlers, opens the door
and informs them that his Majesty is asleep. When he awakes, the
strangers appear before him, and after listening to a long and eloquent
harangue on the superior attractions of a residence among the birds, they
propose a notable scheme of their own to further enhance its advantages
and definitely secure the sovereignty of the universe now exercised by
the gods of Olympus.
The birds are summoned to meet in general council. They come flying up
from all quarters of the heavens, and after a brief misunderstanding,
during which they come near tearing the two human envoys to pieces, they
listen to the exposition of the latters' plan. This is nothing less than
the building of a new city, to be called Nephelococcygia, or
'Cloud-cuckoo-town,' between earth and heaven, to be garrisoned and
guarded by the birds in such a way as to intercept all communication of
the gods with their worshippers on earth. All steam of sacrifice will be
prevented from rising to Olympus, and the Immortals will very soon be
starved into an acceptance of any terms proposed.
The new Utopia is duly constructed, and the daring plan to secure the
sovereignty is in a fair way to succeed. Meantime various quacks and
charlatans, each with a special scheme for improving things, arrive from
earth, and are one after the other exposed and dismissed. Presently
arrives Prometheus, who informs Epops of the desperate straits to which
the gods are by this time reduced, and advises him to push his claims and
demand the hand of Basileia (Dominion), the handmaid of Zeus. Next an
embassy from the Olympians appears on the scene, consisting of Heracles,
Posidon and a god from the savage regions of the Triballians. After some
disputation, it is agreed that all reasonable demands of the birds are to
be granted, while Pisthetaerus is to have Basileia as his bride. The
comedy winds up with the epithalamium in honour of the nuptials.
* * * * *
THE BIRDS
DRAMATIS PERSONAE
EUELPIDES.
PISTHETAERUS.
EPOPS (the Hoopoe).
TROCHILUS, Servant to Epops.
PHOENICOPTERUS.
HERALDS.
A PRIEST.
A POET.
A PROPHET.
METON, a Geometrician.
