Oh, marriage so
auspicious
for our city!
Aristophanes
Leave me alone.
POSIDON. Ugh! the cursed savage! you are by far the most barbarous of all
the gods. --Tell me, Heracles, what are we going to do?
HERACLES. I have already told you that I want to strangle the fellow who
has dared to block us in.
POSIDON. But, my friend, we are envoys of peace.
HERACLES. All the more reason why I wish to strangle him.
PISTHETAERUS. Hand me the cheese-grater; bring me the silphium for sauce;
pass me the cheese and watch the coals. [363]
HERACLES. Mortal! we who greet you are three gods.
PISTHETAERUS. Wait a bit till I have prepared my silphium pickle.
HERACLES. What are these meats? [364]
PISTHETAERUS. These are birds that have been punished with death for
attacking the people's friends.
HERACLES. And you are seasoning them before answering us?
PISTHETAERUS. Ah! Heracles! welcome, welcome! What's the matter? [365]
HERACLES. The gods have sent us here as ambassadors to treat for peace.
A SERVANT. There's no more oil in the flask.
PISTHETAERUS. And yet the birds must be thoroughly basted with it. [366]
HERACLES. We have no interest to serve in fighting you; as for you, be
friends and we promise that you shall always have rain-water in your
pools and the warmest of warm weather. So far as these points go we are
armed with plenary authority.
PISTHETAERUS. We have never been the aggressors, and even now we are as
well disposed for peace as yourselves, provided you agree to one
equitable condition, namely, that Zeus yield his sceptre to the birds. If
only this is agreed to, I invite the ambassadors to dinner.
HERACLES. That's good enough for me. I vote for peace.
POSIDON. You wretch! you are nothing but a fool and a glutton. Do you
want to dethrone your own father?
PISTHETAERUS. What an error! Why, the gods will be much more powerful if
the birds govern the earth. At present the mortals are hidden beneath the
clouds, escape your observation, and commit perjury in your name; but if
you had the birds for your allies, and a man, after having sworn by the
crow and Zeus, should fail to keep his oath, the crow would dive down
upon him unawares and pluck out his eye.
POSIDON. Well thought of, by Posidon! [367]
HERACLES. My notion too.
PISTHETAERUS. (_to the Triballian_). And you, what's your opinion?
TRIBALLUS. Nabaisatreu. [368]
PISTHETAERUS. D'you see? he also approves. But hear another thing in
which we can serve you. If a man vows to offer a sacrifice to some god
and then procrastinates, pretending that the gods can wait, and thus does
not keep his word, we shall punish his stinginess.
POSIDON. Ah! ah! and how?
PISTHETAERUS. While he is counting his money or is in the bath, a kite
will relieve him, before he knows it, either in coin or in clothes, of
the value of a couple of sheep, and carry it to the god.
HERACLES. I vote for restoring them the sceptre.
POSIDON. Ask the Triballian.
HERACLES. Hi! Triballian, do you want a thrashing?
TRIBALLUS. Saunaka baktarikrousa. [368]
HERACLES. He says, "Right willingly. "
POSIDON. If that be the opinion of both of you, why, I consent too.
HERACLES. Very well! we accord the sceptre.
PISTHETAERUS. Ah! I was nearly forgetting another condition. I will leave
Here to Zeus, but only if the young Basileia is given me in marriage.
POSIDON. Then you don't want peace. Let us withdraw.
PISTHETAERUS. It matters mighty little to me. Cook, look to the gravy.
HERACLES. What an odd fellow this Posidon is! Where are you off to? Are
we going to war about a woman?
POSIDON. What else is there to do?
HERACLES. What else? Why, conclude peace.
POSIDON. Oh! the ninny! do you always want to be fooled? Why, you are
seeking your own downfall. If Zeus were to die, after having yielded them
the sovereignty, you would be ruined, for you are the heir of all the
wealth he will leave behind.
PISTHETAERUS. Oh! by the gods! how he is cajoling you. Step aside, that I
may have a word with you. Your uncle is getting the better of you, my
poor friend. [369] The law will not allow you an obolus of the paternal
property, for you are a bastard and not a legitimate child.
HERACLES. I a bastard! What's that you tell me?
PISTHETAERUS. Why, certainly; are you not born of a stranger woman? [370]
Besides, is not Athene recognized as Zeus' sole heiress? And no daughter
would be that, if she had a legitimate brother.
HERACLES. But what if my father wished to give me his property on his
death-bed, even though I be a bastard?
PISTHETAERUS. The law forbids it, and this same Posidon would be the
first to lay claim to his wealth, in virtue of being his legitimate
brother. Listen; thus runs Solon's law: "A bastard shall not inherit, if
there are legitimate children; and if there are no legitimate children,
the property shall pass to the nearest kin. "
HERACLES. And I get nothing whatever of the paternal property?
PISTHETAERUS. Absolutely nothing. But tell me, has your father had you
entered on the registers of his phratria? [371]
HERACLES. No, and I have long been surprised at the omission.
PISTHETAERUS. What ails you, that you should shake your fist at heaven?
Do you want to fight it? Why, be on my side, I will make you a king and
will feed you on bird's milk and honey.
HERACLES. Your further condition seems fair to me. I cede you the young
damsel.
POSIDON. But I, I vote against this opinion.
PISTHETAERUS. Then all depends on the Triballian. (_To the Triballian. _)
What do you say?
TRIBALLUS. Big bird give daughter pretty and queen.
HERACLES. You say that you give her?
POSIDON. Why no, he does not say anything of the sort, that he gives her;
else I cannot understand any better than the swallows.
PISTHETAERUS. Exactly so. Does he not say she must be given to the
swallows?
POSIDON. Very well! you two arrange the matter; make peace, since you
wish it so; I'll hold my tongue.
HERACLES. We are of a mind to grant you all that you ask. But come up
there with us to receive Basileia and the celestial bounty.
PISTHETAERUS. Here are birds already cut up, and very suitable for a
nuptial feast.
HERACLES. You go and, if you like, I will stay here to roast them.
PISTHETAERUS. You to roast them! you are too much the glutton; come along
with us.
HERACLES. Ah! how well I would have treated myself!
PISTHETAERUS. Let some bring me a beautiful and magnificent tunic for the
wedding.
CHORUS. [372] At Phanae,[373] near the Clepsydra,[374] there dwells a
people who have neither faith nor law, the Englottogastors,[375] who
reap, sow, pluck the vines and the figs[376] with their tongues; they
belong to a barbaric race, and among them the Philippi and the
Gorgiases[377] are to be found; 'tis these Englottogastorian Phillippi
who introduced the custom all over Attica of cutting out the tongue
separately at sacrifices. [378]
A MESSENGER. Oh, you, whose unbounded happiness I cannot express in
words, thrice happy race of airy birds, receive your king in your
fortunate dwellings. More brilliant than the brightest star that illumes
the earth, he is approaching his glittering golden palace; the sun itself
does not shine with more dazzling glory. He is entering with his bride at
his side[379] whose beauty no human tongue can express; in his hand he
brandishes the lightning, the winged shaft of Zeus; perfumes of
unspeakable sweetness pervade the ethereal realms. 'Tis a glorious
spectacle to see the clouds of incense wafting in light whirlwinds before
the breath of the Zephyr! But here he is himself. Divine Muse! let thy
sacred lips begin with songs of happy omen.
CHORUS. Fall back! to the right! to the left! advance! [380] Fly around
this happy mortal, whom Fortune loads with her blessings. Oh! oh! what
grace! what beauty!
Oh, marriage so auspicious for our city! All honour
to this man! 'tis through him that the birds are called to such glorious
destinies. Let your nuptial hymns, your nuptial songs, greet him and his
Basileia! 'Twas in the midst of such festivities that the Fates formerly
united Olympian Here to the King who governs the gods from the summit of
his inaccessible throne. Oh! Hymen! oh! Hymenaeus! Rosy Eros with the
golden wings held the reins and guided the chariot; 'twas he, who
presided over the union of Zeus and the fortunate Here. Oh! Hymen! oh!
Hymenaeus!
PISTHETAERUS. I am delighted with your songs, I applaud your verses. Now
celebrate the thunder that shakes the earth, the flaming lightning of
Zeus and the terrible flashing thunderbolt.
CHORUS. Oh, thou golden flash of the lightning! oh, ye divine shafts of
flame, that Zeus has hitherto shot forth! Oh, ye rolling thunders, that
bring down the rain! 'Tis by the order of our king that ye shall now
stagger the earth! Oh, Hymen! 'tis through thee that he commands the
universe and that he makes Basileia, whom he has robbed from Zeus, take
her seat at his side. Oh! Hymen! oh! Hymenaeus!
PISTHETAERUS. Let all the winged tribes of our fellow-citizens follow the
bridal couple to the palace of Zeus[381] and to the nuptial couch!
Stretch forth your hands, my dear wife! Take hold of me by my wings and
let us dance; I am going to lift you up and carry you through the air.
CHORUS. Oh, joy! Io Paean! Tralala! victory is thine, oh, thou greatest
of the gods!
* * * * *
FINIS OF "THE BIRDS"
* * * * *
Footnotes:
[175] Euelpides is holding a jay and Pisthetaerus a crow; they are the
guides who are to lead them to the kingdom of the birds.
[176] A stranger, who wanted to pass as an Athenian, although coming
originally from a far-away barbarian country.
[177] A king of Thrace, a son of Ares, who married Procne, the daughter
of Pandion, King of Athens, whom he had assisted against the Megarians.
He violated his sister-in-law, Philomela, and then cut out her tongue;
she nevertheless managed to convey to her sister how she had been
treated. They both agreed to kill Itys, whom Procne had born to Tereus,
and dished up the limbs of his own son to the father; at the end of the
meal Philomela appeared and threw the child's head upon the table. Tereus
rushed with drawn sword upon the princesses, but all the actors in this
terrible scene were metamorphised. Tereus became an Epops (hoopoe),
Procne a swallow, Philomela a nightingale, and Itys a goldfinch.
According to Anacreon and Apollodorus it was Procne who became the
nightingale and Philomela the swallow, and this is the version of the
tradition followed by Aristophanes.
[178] An Athenian who had some resemblance to a jay--so says the
Scholiast, at any rate.
[179] Literally, _to go to the crows_, a proverbial expression equivalent
to our _going to the devil_.
[180] They leave Athens because of their hatred of lawsuits and
informers; this is the especial failing of the Athenians satirized in
'The Wasps. '
[181] Myrtle boughs were used in sacrifices, and the founding of every
colony was started by a sacrifice.
[182] The actors wore masks made to resemble the birds they were supposed
to represent.
[183] Fear had had disastrous effects upon Euelpides' internal economy,
this his feet evidenced.
[184] The same mishap had occurred to Pisthetaerus.
[185] The Greek word for a wren, [Greek: trochilos], is derived from the
same root as [Greek: trechein], to run.
[186] No doubt there was some scenery to represent a forest. Besides,
there is a pun intended. The words answering for _forest_ and _door_
([Greek: hul_e and thura]) in Greek only differ slightly in sound.
[187] Sophocles had written a tragedy about Tereus, in which, no doubt,
the king finally appears as a hoopoe.
[188] A [Greek: para prosdokian]; one would expect the question to be
"bird or man. "--Are you a peacock? The hoopoe resembles the peacock
inasmuch as both have crests.
[189] Athens.
[190] The Athenians were madly addicted to lawsuits. (_Vide_ 'The
Wasps. ')
[191] As much as to say, _Then you have such things as anti-dicasts? _ And
Euelpides practically replies, _Very few_.
[192] His name was Aristocrates; he was a general and commanded a fleet
sent in aid of Corcyra.
[193] The State galley, which carried the officials of the Athenian
republic to their several departments and brought back those whose time
had expired; it was this galley that was sent to Sicily to fetch back
Alcibiades, who was accused of sacrilege.
[194] A tragic poet, who was a leper; there is a play, of course, on the
Lepreum.
[195] An allusion to Opuntius, who was one-eyed.
[196] The newly-married ate a sesame cake, decorated with garlands of
myrtle, poppies, and mint.
[197] From [Greek: polein], to turn.
[198] The Greek words for _pole_ and _city_ ([Greek: polos] and [Greek:
polis]) only differ by a single letter.
[199] Boeotia separated Attica from Phocis.
[200] He swears by the powers that are to him dreadful.
[201] As already stated, according to the legend, accepted by
Aristophanes, it was Procne who was turned into the nightingale.
[202] The son of Tereus and Procne.
[203] An African bird, that comes to the southern countries of Europe, to
Greece, Italy, and Spain; it is even seen in Provence.
[204] Aristophanes amusingly mixes up real birds with people and
individuals, whom he represents in the form of birds; he is personifying
the Medians here.
[205] Philocles, a tragic poet, had written a tragedy on Tereus, which
was simply a plagiarism of the play of the same name by Sophocles.
Philocles is the son of Epops, because he got his inspiration from
Sophocles' Tereus, and at the same time is father to Epops, since he
himself produced another Tereus.
[206] This Hipponicus is probably the orator whose ears Alcibiades boxed
to gain a bet; he was a descendant of Callias, who was famous for his
hatred of Pisistratus.
[207] This Callias, who must not be confounded with the foe of
Pisistratus, had ruined himself.
[208] Cleonymus had cast away his shield; he was as great a glutton as he
was a coward.
[209] A race in which the track had to be circled twice.
[210] A people of Asia Minor; when pursued by the Ionians they took
refuge in the mountains.
[211] An Athenian barber.
[212] The owl was dedicated to Athene, and being respected at Athens, it
had greatly multiplied. Hence the proverb, _taking owls to Athens_,
similar to our English _taking coals to Newcastle_.
[213] An allusion to the Feast of Pots; it was kept at Athens on the
third day of the Anthesteria, when all sorts of vegetables were stewed
together and offered for the dead to Bacchus and Athene. This Feast was
peculiar to Athens. --Hence Pisthetaerus thinks that the owl will
recognize they are Athenians by seeing the stew-pots, and as he is an
Athenian bird, he will not attack them.
[214] Nicias, the famous Athenian general. --The siege of Melos in 417
B. C. , or two years previous to the production of 'The Birds,' had
especially done him great credit. He was joint commander of the Sicilian
expedition.
[215] Procne, the daughter of Pandion, King of Athens.
[216] A space beyond the walls of Athens which contained the gardens of
the Academy and the graves of citizens who had died for their country.
[217] A town in Western Argolis, where the Athenians had been recently
defeated. The somewhat similar word in Greek, [Greek: ornithes],
signifies _birds_.
[218] Epops is addressing the two slaves, no doubt Xanthias and Manes,
who are mentioned later on.
[219] It was customary, when speaking in public and also at feasts, to
wear a chaplet; hence the question Euelpides puts. The guests wore
chaplets of flowers, herbs, and leaves, which had the property of being
refreshing.
[220] A deme of Attica. In Greek the word ([Greek: kephalai]) also means
_heads_, and hence the pun.
[221] One of Darius' best generals. After his expedition against the
Scythians, this prince gave him the command of the army which he left in
Europe. Megabyzus took Perinthos (afterwards called Heraclea) and
conquered Thrace.
[222] All Persians wore the tiara, but always on one side; the Great King
alone wore it straight on his head.
[223] Noted as the birthplace of Thucydides, a deme of Attica of the
tribe of Leontis. Demosthenes tells us it was thirty-five stadia from
Athens.
[224] The appearance of the kite in Greece betokened the return of
springtime; it was therefore worshipped as a symbol of that season.
[225] To look at the kite, who no doubt was flying high in the sky.
[226] As already shown, the Athenians were addicted to carrying small
coins in their mouths. --This obolus was for the purpose of buying flour
to fill the bag he was carrying.
[227] In Phoenicia and Egypt the cuckoo makes its appearance about
harvest-time.
[228] This was an Egyptian proverb, meaning, _When the cuckoo sings we go
harvesting_. Both the Phoenicians and the Egyptians practised
circumcision.
[229] The staff, called a sceptre, generally terminated in a piece of
carved work, representing a flower, a fruit, and most often a bird.
[230] A general accused of treachery. The bird watches Lysicrates,
because, according to Pisthetaerus, he had a right to a share of the
presents.
[231] It is thus that Phidias represents his Olympian Zeus.
[232] One of the diviners sent to Sybaris (in Magna Graecia, S. Italy)
with the Athenian colonists, who rebuilt the town under the new name of
Thurium.
[233] As if he were saying, "Oh, gods! " Like Lampon, he swears by the
birds, instead of swearing by the gods. --The names of these birds are
those of two of the Titans.
[234] Alcmena, wife of Amphitryon, King of Thebes and mother of
Heracles. --Semele, the daughter of Cadmus and Hermione and mother of
Bacchus; both seduced by Zeus. --Alope, daughter of Cercyon, a robber, who
reigned at Eleusis and was conquered by Perseus. Alope was honoured with
Posidon's caresses; by him she had a son named Hippothous, at first
brought up by shepherds but who afterwards was restored to the throne of
his grandfather by Theseus.
[235] Because the bald patch on the coot's head resembles the shaven and
depilated 'motte. '
[236] Because water is the duck's domain, as it is that of Posidon.
[237] Because the gull, like Heracles, is voracious.
[238] The Germans still call it _Zaunkonig_ and the French _roitelet_,
both names thus containing the idea of _king_.
[239] The Scholiast draws our attention to the fact that Homer says this
of Here and not of Iris (Iliad, V. 778); it is only another proof that
the text of Homer has reached us in a corrupted form, or it may be that
Aristophanes was liable, like other people, to occasional mistakes of
quotation.
[240] In sacrifices.
[241] An Athenian proverb.
[242] A celebrated temple to Zeus in an oasis of Libya.
[243] Nicias was commander, along with Demosthenes, and later on
Alcibiades, of the Athenian forces before Syracuse, in the ill-fated
Sicilian Expedition, 415-413 B. C. He was much blamed for dilatoriness and
indecision.
[244] Servants of Pisthetaerus and Euelpides.
[245] It has already been mentioned that, according to the legend
followed by Aristophanes, Procne had been changed into a nightingale and
Philomela into a swallow.
[246] The actor, representing Procne, was dressed out as a courtesan, but
wore the mask of a bird.
[247] Young unmarried girls wore golden ornaments; the apparel of married
women was much simpler.
[248] The actor, representing Procne, was a flute-player.
[249] The parabasis.
[250] A sophist of the island of Ceos, a disciple of Protagoras, as
celebrated for his knowledge as for his eloquence. The Athenians
condemned him to death as a corrupter of youth in 396 B. C.
[251] Lovers were wont to make each other presents of birds. The cock and
the goose are mentioned, of course, in jest.
[252] i. e. that it gave notice of the approach of winter, during which
season the Ancients did not venture to sea.
[253] A notorious robber.
[254] Meaning, "_We are your oracles. _"--Dodona was an oracle in
Epirus. --The temple of Zeus there was surrounded by a dense forest, all
the trees of which were endowed with the gift of prophecy; both the
sacred oaks and the pigeons that lived in them answered the questions of
those who came to consult the oracle in pure Greek.
[255] The Greek word for _omen_ is the same as that for _bird_--[Greek:
ornis].
[256] A satire on the passion of the Greeks for seeing an omen in
everything.
[257] An imitation of the nightingale's song.
[258] God of the groves and wilds.
[259] The 'Mother of the Gods'; roaming the mountains, she held dances,
always attended by Pan and his accompanying rout of Fauns and Satyrs.
[260] An allusion to cock-fighting; the birds are armed with brazen
spurs.
[261] An allusion to the spots on this bird, which resemble the scars
left by a branding iron.
[262] He was of Asiatic origin, but wished to pass for an Athenian.
[263] Or Philamnon, King of Thrace; the Scholiast remarks that the
Phrygians and the Thracians had a common origin.
[264] The Greek word here, [Greek: pappos], is also the name of a little
bird.
[265] A basket-maker who had become rich. --The Phylarchs were the headmen
of the tribes, [Greek: Phulai]. They presided at the private assemblies
and were charged with the management of the treasury. --The Hipparchs, as
the name implies, were the leaders of the cavalry; there were only two of
these in the Athenian army.
[266] He had now become a senator, member of the [Greek: Boul_e].
[267] Pisthetaerus and Euelpides now both return with wings.
[268] Meaning, 'tis we who wanted to have these wings. --The verse from
Aeschylus, quoted here, is taken from 'The Myrmidons,' a tragedy of which
only a few fragments remain.
[269] The Greek word signified the city of Sparta, and also a kind of
broom used for weaving rough matting, which served for the beds of the
very poor.
[270] A fanciful name constructed from [Greek: nephel_e], a
cloud, and [Greek: kokkux], a cuckoo; thus a city of clouds and
cuckoos. --_Wolkenkukelheim_[*] is a clever approximation in German.
Cloud-cuckoo-town, perhaps, is the best English equivalent.
[* Transcriber's note: So in original. The correct German word is
_Wolkenkuckucksheim_. ]
[271] He was a boaster nicknamed [Greek: Kapnos], _smoke_, because he
promised a great deal and never kept his word.
[272] Also mentioned in 'The Wasps. '
[273] Because the war of the Titans against the gods was only a fiction
of the poets.
[274] A sacred cloth, with which the statue of Athene in the Acropolis
was draped.
[275] Meaning, to be patron-goddess of the city. Athene had a temple of
this name.
[276] An Athenian effeminate, frequently ridiculed by Aristophanes.
[277] This was the name of the wall surrounding the Acropolis.
[278] i. e. the fighting-cock.
[279] To waken the sentinels, who might else have fallen asleep. --There
are several merry contradictions in the various parts of this list of
injunctions.
[280] In allusion to the leather strap which flute-players wore to
constrict the cheeks and add to the power of the breath. The performer
here no doubt wore a raven's mask.
[281] Hellanicus, the Mitylenian historian, tells that this surname of
Artemis is derived from Colaenus, King of Athens before Cecrops and a
descendant of Hermes.
POSIDON. Ugh! the cursed savage! you are by far the most barbarous of all
the gods. --Tell me, Heracles, what are we going to do?
HERACLES. I have already told you that I want to strangle the fellow who
has dared to block us in.
POSIDON. But, my friend, we are envoys of peace.
HERACLES. All the more reason why I wish to strangle him.
PISTHETAERUS. Hand me the cheese-grater; bring me the silphium for sauce;
pass me the cheese and watch the coals. [363]
HERACLES. Mortal! we who greet you are three gods.
PISTHETAERUS. Wait a bit till I have prepared my silphium pickle.
HERACLES. What are these meats? [364]
PISTHETAERUS. These are birds that have been punished with death for
attacking the people's friends.
HERACLES. And you are seasoning them before answering us?
PISTHETAERUS. Ah! Heracles! welcome, welcome! What's the matter? [365]
HERACLES. The gods have sent us here as ambassadors to treat for peace.
A SERVANT. There's no more oil in the flask.
PISTHETAERUS. And yet the birds must be thoroughly basted with it. [366]
HERACLES. We have no interest to serve in fighting you; as for you, be
friends and we promise that you shall always have rain-water in your
pools and the warmest of warm weather. So far as these points go we are
armed with plenary authority.
PISTHETAERUS. We have never been the aggressors, and even now we are as
well disposed for peace as yourselves, provided you agree to one
equitable condition, namely, that Zeus yield his sceptre to the birds. If
only this is agreed to, I invite the ambassadors to dinner.
HERACLES. That's good enough for me. I vote for peace.
POSIDON. You wretch! you are nothing but a fool and a glutton. Do you
want to dethrone your own father?
PISTHETAERUS. What an error! Why, the gods will be much more powerful if
the birds govern the earth. At present the mortals are hidden beneath the
clouds, escape your observation, and commit perjury in your name; but if
you had the birds for your allies, and a man, after having sworn by the
crow and Zeus, should fail to keep his oath, the crow would dive down
upon him unawares and pluck out his eye.
POSIDON. Well thought of, by Posidon! [367]
HERACLES. My notion too.
PISTHETAERUS. (_to the Triballian_). And you, what's your opinion?
TRIBALLUS. Nabaisatreu. [368]
PISTHETAERUS. D'you see? he also approves. But hear another thing in
which we can serve you. If a man vows to offer a sacrifice to some god
and then procrastinates, pretending that the gods can wait, and thus does
not keep his word, we shall punish his stinginess.
POSIDON. Ah! ah! and how?
PISTHETAERUS. While he is counting his money or is in the bath, a kite
will relieve him, before he knows it, either in coin or in clothes, of
the value of a couple of sheep, and carry it to the god.
HERACLES. I vote for restoring them the sceptre.
POSIDON. Ask the Triballian.
HERACLES. Hi! Triballian, do you want a thrashing?
TRIBALLUS. Saunaka baktarikrousa. [368]
HERACLES. He says, "Right willingly. "
POSIDON. If that be the opinion of both of you, why, I consent too.
HERACLES. Very well! we accord the sceptre.
PISTHETAERUS. Ah! I was nearly forgetting another condition. I will leave
Here to Zeus, but only if the young Basileia is given me in marriage.
POSIDON. Then you don't want peace. Let us withdraw.
PISTHETAERUS. It matters mighty little to me. Cook, look to the gravy.
HERACLES. What an odd fellow this Posidon is! Where are you off to? Are
we going to war about a woman?
POSIDON. What else is there to do?
HERACLES. What else? Why, conclude peace.
POSIDON. Oh! the ninny! do you always want to be fooled? Why, you are
seeking your own downfall. If Zeus were to die, after having yielded them
the sovereignty, you would be ruined, for you are the heir of all the
wealth he will leave behind.
PISTHETAERUS. Oh! by the gods! how he is cajoling you. Step aside, that I
may have a word with you. Your uncle is getting the better of you, my
poor friend. [369] The law will not allow you an obolus of the paternal
property, for you are a bastard and not a legitimate child.
HERACLES. I a bastard! What's that you tell me?
PISTHETAERUS. Why, certainly; are you not born of a stranger woman? [370]
Besides, is not Athene recognized as Zeus' sole heiress? And no daughter
would be that, if she had a legitimate brother.
HERACLES. But what if my father wished to give me his property on his
death-bed, even though I be a bastard?
PISTHETAERUS. The law forbids it, and this same Posidon would be the
first to lay claim to his wealth, in virtue of being his legitimate
brother. Listen; thus runs Solon's law: "A bastard shall not inherit, if
there are legitimate children; and if there are no legitimate children,
the property shall pass to the nearest kin. "
HERACLES. And I get nothing whatever of the paternal property?
PISTHETAERUS. Absolutely nothing. But tell me, has your father had you
entered on the registers of his phratria? [371]
HERACLES. No, and I have long been surprised at the omission.
PISTHETAERUS. What ails you, that you should shake your fist at heaven?
Do you want to fight it? Why, be on my side, I will make you a king and
will feed you on bird's milk and honey.
HERACLES. Your further condition seems fair to me. I cede you the young
damsel.
POSIDON. But I, I vote against this opinion.
PISTHETAERUS. Then all depends on the Triballian. (_To the Triballian. _)
What do you say?
TRIBALLUS. Big bird give daughter pretty and queen.
HERACLES. You say that you give her?
POSIDON. Why no, he does not say anything of the sort, that he gives her;
else I cannot understand any better than the swallows.
PISTHETAERUS. Exactly so. Does he not say she must be given to the
swallows?
POSIDON. Very well! you two arrange the matter; make peace, since you
wish it so; I'll hold my tongue.
HERACLES. We are of a mind to grant you all that you ask. But come up
there with us to receive Basileia and the celestial bounty.
PISTHETAERUS. Here are birds already cut up, and very suitable for a
nuptial feast.
HERACLES. You go and, if you like, I will stay here to roast them.
PISTHETAERUS. You to roast them! you are too much the glutton; come along
with us.
HERACLES. Ah! how well I would have treated myself!
PISTHETAERUS. Let some bring me a beautiful and magnificent tunic for the
wedding.
CHORUS. [372] At Phanae,[373] near the Clepsydra,[374] there dwells a
people who have neither faith nor law, the Englottogastors,[375] who
reap, sow, pluck the vines and the figs[376] with their tongues; they
belong to a barbaric race, and among them the Philippi and the
Gorgiases[377] are to be found; 'tis these Englottogastorian Phillippi
who introduced the custom all over Attica of cutting out the tongue
separately at sacrifices. [378]
A MESSENGER. Oh, you, whose unbounded happiness I cannot express in
words, thrice happy race of airy birds, receive your king in your
fortunate dwellings. More brilliant than the brightest star that illumes
the earth, he is approaching his glittering golden palace; the sun itself
does not shine with more dazzling glory. He is entering with his bride at
his side[379] whose beauty no human tongue can express; in his hand he
brandishes the lightning, the winged shaft of Zeus; perfumes of
unspeakable sweetness pervade the ethereal realms. 'Tis a glorious
spectacle to see the clouds of incense wafting in light whirlwinds before
the breath of the Zephyr! But here he is himself. Divine Muse! let thy
sacred lips begin with songs of happy omen.
CHORUS. Fall back! to the right! to the left! advance! [380] Fly around
this happy mortal, whom Fortune loads with her blessings. Oh! oh! what
grace! what beauty!
Oh, marriage so auspicious for our city! All honour
to this man! 'tis through him that the birds are called to such glorious
destinies. Let your nuptial hymns, your nuptial songs, greet him and his
Basileia! 'Twas in the midst of such festivities that the Fates formerly
united Olympian Here to the King who governs the gods from the summit of
his inaccessible throne. Oh! Hymen! oh! Hymenaeus! Rosy Eros with the
golden wings held the reins and guided the chariot; 'twas he, who
presided over the union of Zeus and the fortunate Here. Oh! Hymen! oh!
Hymenaeus!
PISTHETAERUS. I am delighted with your songs, I applaud your verses. Now
celebrate the thunder that shakes the earth, the flaming lightning of
Zeus and the terrible flashing thunderbolt.
CHORUS. Oh, thou golden flash of the lightning! oh, ye divine shafts of
flame, that Zeus has hitherto shot forth! Oh, ye rolling thunders, that
bring down the rain! 'Tis by the order of our king that ye shall now
stagger the earth! Oh, Hymen! 'tis through thee that he commands the
universe and that he makes Basileia, whom he has robbed from Zeus, take
her seat at his side. Oh! Hymen! oh! Hymenaeus!
PISTHETAERUS. Let all the winged tribes of our fellow-citizens follow the
bridal couple to the palace of Zeus[381] and to the nuptial couch!
Stretch forth your hands, my dear wife! Take hold of me by my wings and
let us dance; I am going to lift you up and carry you through the air.
CHORUS. Oh, joy! Io Paean! Tralala! victory is thine, oh, thou greatest
of the gods!
* * * * *
FINIS OF "THE BIRDS"
* * * * *
Footnotes:
[175] Euelpides is holding a jay and Pisthetaerus a crow; they are the
guides who are to lead them to the kingdom of the birds.
[176] A stranger, who wanted to pass as an Athenian, although coming
originally from a far-away barbarian country.
[177] A king of Thrace, a son of Ares, who married Procne, the daughter
of Pandion, King of Athens, whom he had assisted against the Megarians.
He violated his sister-in-law, Philomela, and then cut out her tongue;
she nevertheless managed to convey to her sister how she had been
treated. They both agreed to kill Itys, whom Procne had born to Tereus,
and dished up the limbs of his own son to the father; at the end of the
meal Philomela appeared and threw the child's head upon the table. Tereus
rushed with drawn sword upon the princesses, but all the actors in this
terrible scene were metamorphised. Tereus became an Epops (hoopoe),
Procne a swallow, Philomela a nightingale, and Itys a goldfinch.
According to Anacreon and Apollodorus it was Procne who became the
nightingale and Philomela the swallow, and this is the version of the
tradition followed by Aristophanes.
[178] An Athenian who had some resemblance to a jay--so says the
Scholiast, at any rate.
[179] Literally, _to go to the crows_, a proverbial expression equivalent
to our _going to the devil_.
[180] They leave Athens because of their hatred of lawsuits and
informers; this is the especial failing of the Athenians satirized in
'The Wasps. '
[181] Myrtle boughs were used in sacrifices, and the founding of every
colony was started by a sacrifice.
[182] The actors wore masks made to resemble the birds they were supposed
to represent.
[183] Fear had had disastrous effects upon Euelpides' internal economy,
this his feet evidenced.
[184] The same mishap had occurred to Pisthetaerus.
[185] The Greek word for a wren, [Greek: trochilos], is derived from the
same root as [Greek: trechein], to run.
[186] No doubt there was some scenery to represent a forest. Besides,
there is a pun intended. The words answering for _forest_ and _door_
([Greek: hul_e and thura]) in Greek only differ slightly in sound.
[187] Sophocles had written a tragedy about Tereus, in which, no doubt,
the king finally appears as a hoopoe.
[188] A [Greek: para prosdokian]; one would expect the question to be
"bird or man. "--Are you a peacock? The hoopoe resembles the peacock
inasmuch as both have crests.
[189] Athens.
[190] The Athenians were madly addicted to lawsuits. (_Vide_ 'The
Wasps. ')
[191] As much as to say, _Then you have such things as anti-dicasts? _ And
Euelpides practically replies, _Very few_.
[192] His name was Aristocrates; he was a general and commanded a fleet
sent in aid of Corcyra.
[193] The State galley, which carried the officials of the Athenian
republic to their several departments and brought back those whose time
had expired; it was this galley that was sent to Sicily to fetch back
Alcibiades, who was accused of sacrilege.
[194] A tragic poet, who was a leper; there is a play, of course, on the
Lepreum.
[195] An allusion to Opuntius, who was one-eyed.
[196] The newly-married ate a sesame cake, decorated with garlands of
myrtle, poppies, and mint.
[197] From [Greek: polein], to turn.
[198] The Greek words for _pole_ and _city_ ([Greek: polos] and [Greek:
polis]) only differ by a single letter.
[199] Boeotia separated Attica from Phocis.
[200] He swears by the powers that are to him dreadful.
[201] As already stated, according to the legend, accepted by
Aristophanes, it was Procne who was turned into the nightingale.
[202] The son of Tereus and Procne.
[203] An African bird, that comes to the southern countries of Europe, to
Greece, Italy, and Spain; it is even seen in Provence.
[204] Aristophanes amusingly mixes up real birds with people and
individuals, whom he represents in the form of birds; he is personifying
the Medians here.
[205] Philocles, a tragic poet, had written a tragedy on Tereus, which
was simply a plagiarism of the play of the same name by Sophocles.
Philocles is the son of Epops, because he got his inspiration from
Sophocles' Tereus, and at the same time is father to Epops, since he
himself produced another Tereus.
[206] This Hipponicus is probably the orator whose ears Alcibiades boxed
to gain a bet; he was a descendant of Callias, who was famous for his
hatred of Pisistratus.
[207] This Callias, who must not be confounded with the foe of
Pisistratus, had ruined himself.
[208] Cleonymus had cast away his shield; he was as great a glutton as he
was a coward.
[209] A race in which the track had to be circled twice.
[210] A people of Asia Minor; when pursued by the Ionians they took
refuge in the mountains.
[211] An Athenian barber.
[212] The owl was dedicated to Athene, and being respected at Athens, it
had greatly multiplied. Hence the proverb, _taking owls to Athens_,
similar to our English _taking coals to Newcastle_.
[213] An allusion to the Feast of Pots; it was kept at Athens on the
third day of the Anthesteria, when all sorts of vegetables were stewed
together and offered for the dead to Bacchus and Athene. This Feast was
peculiar to Athens. --Hence Pisthetaerus thinks that the owl will
recognize they are Athenians by seeing the stew-pots, and as he is an
Athenian bird, he will not attack them.
[214] Nicias, the famous Athenian general. --The siege of Melos in 417
B. C. , or two years previous to the production of 'The Birds,' had
especially done him great credit. He was joint commander of the Sicilian
expedition.
[215] Procne, the daughter of Pandion, King of Athens.
[216] A space beyond the walls of Athens which contained the gardens of
the Academy and the graves of citizens who had died for their country.
[217] A town in Western Argolis, where the Athenians had been recently
defeated. The somewhat similar word in Greek, [Greek: ornithes],
signifies _birds_.
[218] Epops is addressing the two slaves, no doubt Xanthias and Manes,
who are mentioned later on.
[219] It was customary, when speaking in public and also at feasts, to
wear a chaplet; hence the question Euelpides puts. The guests wore
chaplets of flowers, herbs, and leaves, which had the property of being
refreshing.
[220] A deme of Attica. In Greek the word ([Greek: kephalai]) also means
_heads_, and hence the pun.
[221] One of Darius' best generals. After his expedition against the
Scythians, this prince gave him the command of the army which he left in
Europe. Megabyzus took Perinthos (afterwards called Heraclea) and
conquered Thrace.
[222] All Persians wore the tiara, but always on one side; the Great King
alone wore it straight on his head.
[223] Noted as the birthplace of Thucydides, a deme of Attica of the
tribe of Leontis. Demosthenes tells us it was thirty-five stadia from
Athens.
[224] The appearance of the kite in Greece betokened the return of
springtime; it was therefore worshipped as a symbol of that season.
[225] To look at the kite, who no doubt was flying high in the sky.
[226] As already shown, the Athenians were addicted to carrying small
coins in their mouths. --This obolus was for the purpose of buying flour
to fill the bag he was carrying.
[227] In Phoenicia and Egypt the cuckoo makes its appearance about
harvest-time.
[228] This was an Egyptian proverb, meaning, _When the cuckoo sings we go
harvesting_. Both the Phoenicians and the Egyptians practised
circumcision.
[229] The staff, called a sceptre, generally terminated in a piece of
carved work, representing a flower, a fruit, and most often a bird.
[230] A general accused of treachery. The bird watches Lysicrates,
because, according to Pisthetaerus, he had a right to a share of the
presents.
[231] It is thus that Phidias represents his Olympian Zeus.
[232] One of the diviners sent to Sybaris (in Magna Graecia, S. Italy)
with the Athenian colonists, who rebuilt the town under the new name of
Thurium.
[233] As if he were saying, "Oh, gods! " Like Lampon, he swears by the
birds, instead of swearing by the gods. --The names of these birds are
those of two of the Titans.
[234] Alcmena, wife of Amphitryon, King of Thebes and mother of
Heracles. --Semele, the daughter of Cadmus and Hermione and mother of
Bacchus; both seduced by Zeus. --Alope, daughter of Cercyon, a robber, who
reigned at Eleusis and was conquered by Perseus. Alope was honoured with
Posidon's caresses; by him she had a son named Hippothous, at first
brought up by shepherds but who afterwards was restored to the throne of
his grandfather by Theseus.
[235] Because the bald patch on the coot's head resembles the shaven and
depilated 'motte. '
[236] Because water is the duck's domain, as it is that of Posidon.
[237] Because the gull, like Heracles, is voracious.
[238] The Germans still call it _Zaunkonig_ and the French _roitelet_,
both names thus containing the idea of _king_.
[239] The Scholiast draws our attention to the fact that Homer says this
of Here and not of Iris (Iliad, V. 778); it is only another proof that
the text of Homer has reached us in a corrupted form, or it may be that
Aristophanes was liable, like other people, to occasional mistakes of
quotation.
[240] In sacrifices.
[241] An Athenian proverb.
[242] A celebrated temple to Zeus in an oasis of Libya.
[243] Nicias was commander, along with Demosthenes, and later on
Alcibiades, of the Athenian forces before Syracuse, in the ill-fated
Sicilian Expedition, 415-413 B. C. He was much blamed for dilatoriness and
indecision.
[244] Servants of Pisthetaerus and Euelpides.
[245] It has already been mentioned that, according to the legend
followed by Aristophanes, Procne had been changed into a nightingale and
Philomela into a swallow.
[246] The actor, representing Procne, was dressed out as a courtesan, but
wore the mask of a bird.
[247] Young unmarried girls wore golden ornaments; the apparel of married
women was much simpler.
[248] The actor, representing Procne, was a flute-player.
[249] The parabasis.
[250] A sophist of the island of Ceos, a disciple of Protagoras, as
celebrated for his knowledge as for his eloquence. The Athenians
condemned him to death as a corrupter of youth in 396 B. C.
[251] Lovers were wont to make each other presents of birds. The cock and
the goose are mentioned, of course, in jest.
[252] i. e. that it gave notice of the approach of winter, during which
season the Ancients did not venture to sea.
[253] A notorious robber.
[254] Meaning, "_We are your oracles. _"--Dodona was an oracle in
Epirus. --The temple of Zeus there was surrounded by a dense forest, all
the trees of which were endowed with the gift of prophecy; both the
sacred oaks and the pigeons that lived in them answered the questions of
those who came to consult the oracle in pure Greek.
[255] The Greek word for _omen_ is the same as that for _bird_--[Greek:
ornis].
[256] A satire on the passion of the Greeks for seeing an omen in
everything.
[257] An imitation of the nightingale's song.
[258] God of the groves and wilds.
[259] The 'Mother of the Gods'; roaming the mountains, she held dances,
always attended by Pan and his accompanying rout of Fauns and Satyrs.
[260] An allusion to cock-fighting; the birds are armed with brazen
spurs.
[261] An allusion to the spots on this bird, which resemble the scars
left by a branding iron.
[262] He was of Asiatic origin, but wished to pass for an Athenian.
[263] Or Philamnon, King of Thrace; the Scholiast remarks that the
Phrygians and the Thracians had a common origin.
[264] The Greek word here, [Greek: pappos], is also the name of a little
bird.
[265] A basket-maker who had become rich. --The Phylarchs were the headmen
of the tribes, [Greek: Phulai]. They presided at the private assemblies
and were charged with the management of the treasury. --The Hipparchs, as
the name implies, were the leaders of the cavalry; there were only two of
these in the Athenian army.
[266] He had now become a senator, member of the [Greek: Boul_e].
[267] Pisthetaerus and Euelpides now both return with wings.
[268] Meaning, 'tis we who wanted to have these wings. --The verse from
Aeschylus, quoted here, is taken from 'The Myrmidons,' a tragedy of which
only a few fragments remain.
[269] The Greek word signified the city of Sparta, and also a kind of
broom used for weaving rough matting, which served for the beds of the
very poor.
[270] A fanciful name constructed from [Greek: nephel_e], a
cloud, and [Greek: kokkux], a cuckoo; thus a city of clouds and
cuckoos. --_Wolkenkukelheim_[*] is a clever approximation in German.
Cloud-cuckoo-town, perhaps, is the best English equivalent.
[* Transcriber's note: So in original. The correct German word is
_Wolkenkuckucksheim_. ]
[271] He was a boaster nicknamed [Greek: Kapnos], _smoke_, because he
promised a great deal and never kept his word.
[272] Also mentioned in 'The Wasps. '
[273] Because the war of the Titans against the gods was only a fiction
of the poets.
[274] A sacred cloth, with which the statue of Athene in the Acropolis
was draped.
[275] Meaning, to be patron-goddess of the city. Athene had a temple of
this name.
[276] An Athenian effeminate, frequently ridiculed by Aristophanes.
[277] This was the name of the wall surrounding the Acropolis.
[278] i. e. the fighting-cock.
[279] To waken the sentinels, who might else have fallen asleep. --There
are several merry contradictions in the various parts of this list of
injunctions.
[280] In allusion to the leather strap which flute-players wore to
constrict the cheeks and add to the power of the breath. The performer
here no doubt wore a raven's mask.
[281] Hellanicus, the Mitylenian historian, tells that this surname of
Artemis is derived from Colaenus, King of Athens before Cecrops and a
descendant of Hermes.
