The Frogs

Name: The Frogs
Author: Aristophanes

Aristophanes

text from Project Gutenberg

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THE FROGS OF ARISTOPHANES

By Aristophanes

The Harvard Classics

Edited By Charles W Eliot Lld

Nine Greek Dramas

By Æschylus, Sophocles, Euripides And Aristophanes

Translations By

E D A Morshead
E H Plumptre
Gilbert Murray
And
B B Rogers

With Introductions And Notes

VOLUME 8

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTORY NOTE

DRAMATIS PERSONÆ

INTRODUCTORY NOTE

Aristophanes, the greatest of comic writers in Greek and in the opinion of many, in any language, is the only one of the Attic comedians any of whose works has survived in complete form He was born in Athens about the middle of the fifth century B C, and had his first comedy produced when he was so young that his name was withheld on account of his youth. He is credited with over forty plays, eleven of which survive, along with the names and fragments of some twenty-six others. His satire deal with political, religious, and literary topics, and with all its humor and fancy is evidently the outcome of profound conviction and a genuine patriotism. The Attic comedy was produced at the festivals of Dionysus, which were marked by great license, and to this, rather than to the individual taste of the poet, must be ascribed the undoubted coarseness of many of the jests. Aristophanes seems, indeed, to have been regarded by his contemporaries as a man of noble character. He died shortly after the production of his "Plutus," in 388 B. C.

"The Frogs" was produced the year after the death of Euripides, and laments the decay of Greek tragedy which Aristophanes attributed to that writer. It is an admirable example of the brilliance of his style, and of that mingling of wit and poetry with rollicking humor and keen satirical point which is his chief characteristic. Here, as elsewhere, he stands for tradition against innovation of all kinds, whether in politics, religion, or art. The hostility to Euripides displayed here and in several other plays, like his attacks on Socrates, is a result of this attitude of conservatism. The present play is notable also as a piece of elaborate if not over-serious literary criticism from the pen of a great poet.

THE FROGS OF ARISTOPHANES

DRAMATIS PERSONÆ

THE GOD DIONYSUS

XANTHIAS, his slave

AESCHYLUS

EURIPIDES

HERACLES

PLUTO

CHARON AEACUS, house porter to Pluto

A CORPSE

A MAIDSERVANT OF PERSEPHONE

A LANDLADY IN HADES

PLATHANE, her servant

A CHORUS OF FROGS

A CHORUS OF INITIATED PERSONS

Attendants at a Funeral;

Women worshipping Iacchus;

Servants of Pluto, &c.

XANTHIAS

I'm getting crushed:

my shoulder's aching.

getting crushed

my shoulder's aching

him

he

Air, Zeus's chamber Time's foot
'Twas not my mind that swore: my tongue committed
A little perjury on its own account.

Let them go

so

he

To Xan.

To Xan.

To DIO. Calling.

To DIO.

I

pointing to the audience

To the Spectre

A flute is played behind the scenes

In the distance

The calling forth of Iacchus

(The welcome to Iacchus.)

(The warning-off of the profane.)

The start of the procession

The processional hymn to Persephone

The processional hymn to Demeter

The processional hymn to Iacchus

The banter at the bridge of Cephisus

The departure for the Thriasian Plain

I

you

very

you

Striking out

In agony

he's

you

Aeacus strikes him

Incredulously

Strikes DIO

Cheerfully

Shrieking Calmly

Screaming

Regards the audience

he

you

to the Chorus

To Eur

To Aesch

your

my

his

What's amiss? Why was that? How is this?

Why, where's my pitcher? What's the matter?
    'Tis dead and gone my last year's platter.
    Who gnawed these olives? Bless the sprat,
    Who nibbled off the head of that?
    And where's the garlic vanished, pray,
    I purchased only yesterday?

him

him

ye

Evir alake

that

their

you

my

that

my you

he is poor,
too poor by far

I

Grave Hermes, witnessing a father's power. Be thou my saviour
and mine aid to-day, For here I come and hither I return.

him

my

To Dio

To Eur

Grave Hermes, witnessing a father's power

to Eur

Be thou my saviour and mine aid to-day, For here I come, and
hither I return

Aside

you

Now on this funeral mound I call my father To hear, to
hearken.

your

A happy man was Oedipus at first

Then he became the wretchedest of men.

'Aegyptus, sailing with his fifty sons, As ancient legends mostly
tell the tale, Touching at Argos

Bacchus, who, clad in fawnskins, leaps and bounds
With torch and thyrsus in the choral dance Along Parnassus

No man is blest in every single thing. One
is of noble birth, but lacking means. Another, baseborn

Once Cadmus, quitting the Sidonian town, Agenor's offspring

him

Pelops, the son of Tantalus, while driving His
mares to Pisa

Oeneus once
reaping

Oeneus once reaping an
abundant harvest, Offering the firstfruits

Zeus, as by
Truth's own voice the tale is told,

A slight pause, during which the music of a flute is heard. The music
continues to the end of line 1277 as an accompaniment to the
recitative

why hearing the voice of the
hero-dividing. Hah! smiting! approachest thou not to the rescue
abide, are adoring our ancestor Hermes. Hah! smiting!
approachest thou not to the rescue?

Atreides, thou noblest of
all the Achaeans. Hah! smiting! approachest thou not to the rescue

will quickly the Temple of
Artemis open. Hah! smiting! approachest thou not to the rescue?
I know it the omen the chieftains encountered. Hah!
smiting! approachest thou not to the rescue?

Achaea, the lords of the mighty
Hellenes

the Sphinx, the unchancy, the chieftainess blood-hound.
and hand the avengers the terrible eagle

winged hounds of the air he provided a booty.

he

To Dio

To Eur

O that the Argo had not winged her way
River Spercheius, cattle-grazing haunts

Cuckoo! let go. O look, by far the lowest

you

Persuasion's only shrine is eloquent speech.
Death loves not gifts, alone amongst the gods

"Achilles threw two singles and a four

In his right hand he grasped an iron-clamped mace

Chariot on chariot, corpse on corpse was hurled

he

your

To Aesch you?

your

To Aesch.

this
this

this

More by Aristophanes

Lysistrata
You get a bawdy, unruly comedy where Lysistrata organizes Athenian women to withhold sex until the men stop the war. The jokes are blunt and the choral shouting feels theatrical, but beneath it is a surprisingly sharp fantasy of ordinary people forcing peace into the room.
Peace
You follow Trygaeus, an Athenian who rides a giant dung beetle into heaven to bring Peace back from a pit where War has buried her. It’s earthy, ridiculous, and politically sharp, especially when farmers celebrate the return of ordinary work, though its broad jokes can feel very much of its time.
The Acharnians
You get Aristophanes at his most gloriously unreasonable: Dikaiopolis argues for peace while the chorus of charcoal burners fumes, and the play ricochets between filthy jokes, theatrical parody, and a surprisingly serious case against war. It’s rough, loud, and smarter than its slapstick first suggests.

The Frogs

Aristophanes

text from Project Gutenberg

scroll plz ↓

THE FROGS OF ARISTOPHANES

By Aristophanes

The Harvard Classics

Edited By Charles W Eliot Lld

Nine Greek Dramas

By Æschylus, Sophocles, Euripides And Aristophanes

Translations By

E D A Morshead
E H Plumptre
Gilbert Murray
And
B B Rogers

With Introductions And Notes

VOLUME 8

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTORY NOTE

DRAMATIS PERSONÆ

INTRODUCTORY NOTE

THE FROGS OF ARISTOPHANES

DRAMATIS PERSONÆ

THE GOD DIONYSUS

XANTHIAS, his slave

AESCHYLUS

EURIPIDES

HERACLES

PLUTO

CHARON AEACUS, house porter to Pluto

A CORPSE

A MAIDSERVANT OF PERSEPHONE

A LANDLADY IN HADES

PLATHANE, her servant

A CHORUS OF FROGS

A CHORUS OF INITIATED PERSONS

Attendants at a Funeral;

Women worshipping Iacchus;

Servants of Pluto, &c.

More by Aristophanes

Lysistrata
You get a bawdy, unruly comedy where Lysistrata organizes Athenian women to withhold sex until the men stop the war. The jokes are blunt and the choral shouting feels theatrical, but beneath it is a surprisingly sharp fantasy of ordinary people forcing peace into the room.
Peace
You follow Trygaeus, an Athenian who rides a giant dung beetle into heaven to bring Peace back from a pit where War has buried her. It’s earthy, ridiculous, and politically sharp, especially when farmers celebrate the return of ordinary work, though its broad jokes can feel very much of its time.
The Acharnians
You get Aristophanes at his most gloriously unreasonable: Dikaiopolis argues for peace while the chorus of charcoal burners fumes, and the play ricochets between filthy jokes, theatrical parody, and a surprisingly serious case against war. It’s rough, loud, and smarter than its slapstick first suggests.

THE FROGS OF ARISTOPHANES

By Aristophanes

The Harvard Classics Edited By Charles W Eliot Lld Nine Greek Dramas By Æschylus, Sophocles, Euripides And Aristophanes

Translations By E D A Morshead E H Plumptre Gilbert Murray And B B Rogers

With Introductions And Notes VOLUME 8

INTRODUCTORY NOTE

THE FROGS OF ARISTOPHANES

THE FROGS OF ARISTOPHANES

By Aristophanes

The Harvard Classics Edited By Charles W Eliot Lld Nine Greek Dramas By Æschylus, Sophocles, Euripides And Aristophanes

Translations By E D A Morshead E H Plumptre Gilbert Murray And B B Rogers

With Introductions And Notes VOLUME 8

INTRODUCTORY NOTE

THE FROGS OF ARISTOPHANES

The Harvard Classics

Edited By Charles W Eliot Lld

Nine Greek Dramas

By Æschylus, Sophocles, Euripides And Aristophanes

Translations By

E D A Morshead
E H Plumptre
Gilbert Murray
And
B B Rogers

With Introductions And Notes

VOLUME 8

The Harvard Classics

Edited By Charles W Eliot Lld

Nine Greek Dramas

By Æschylus, Sophocles, Euripides And Aristophanes

Translations By

E D A Morshead
E H Plumptre
Gilbert Murray
And
B B Rogers

With Introductions And Notes

VOLUME 8