146

Eupolis

rather than of billy-goats, are obvious, easy conclusions, which does not nec-
essarily make them true; see the general introduction to the play.

fr. 25 K.-A. (23 K.)
Poll. 10.151
και μιξάμενοι δ’ αν ε’ίποιμεν σκεύη βαλλάντια καί βαλλαντίδια (Meineke :
βαλάντια καί βαλαντίδια Poll.), ώς έν Αίξίν (ΑΙξίν Poll.BCL: Έξίν Poll.F: Γυναιξίν Poll.5:
om. Poll.Α) Εΰπολις. καί θυλάκιον δε καί θυλακίσκον- Αριστοφάνης γοϋν έν Τριφάλητι
τούτο ύποδηλοϊ, όταν φη (fr. 557)·-
And abandoning an organized presentation of implements, we would say ballantia
and b a ll a n t i d i a (thus Meineke : balantia and balantidia Poll.), as Eupolis (does)
in Aiges (thus Poll.BCL : Eges Poll.5 : Gynaikes, “Women” Poll.5 : om. Poll.A). And also
thylakion and thylakiskon·, Aristophanes in Triphales, for example, implies this when
he says (fr. 557):-
Meter The word scans —probably iambic trimeter, with βαλλαντίδια
representing —
Discussion Meineke 1839 11.434
Citation context The beginning of an appendix to a long discussion of σκεύη
(“implements”) of various sorts organized by craft, introducing an additional
set of words that do not fall easily into such categories. Ar. fr. 557 is apparently
cited in part because it uses both θυλακίσκον (“little sack” for shopping; cf.
Ar. V. 314-15 with Biles-Olson 2015 ad loc.) and βαλλάντιον.
Text The spelling in -λλ- (Meineke) is metrically guaranteed at Ar. Ra. 772
(where some manuscripts have a form of the word with a single lambda,
as in Pollux here and elsewhere); [Simon.] AP 5.159.3 = HE 3302 = FGE 930
(Hellenistic).
Interpretation βαλλάντιον (“purse”; etymology uncertain, but probably pre-
Greek) is common colloquial vocabulary (e.g. Telecl. fr. 44.2; Ar. Eq. 707,1197;
Lys. 1054; Pl. Smp. 190e; cf. βαλλαντιοτόμος “cut-purse” at e. g. X. Mem. 1.2.62;
Pl. R. 552d). Eupolis’ βαλλαντίδιον (attested elsewhere before the Byzantine
period only at Hid. 2.30.3) is properly a diminutive (cf. fr. 220.2 κυνιδίοισι), but
so is βαλλάντιον, and whether any difference in sense was felt between the
two is unclear, given the lack of any non-diminutive primitive; cf. ίμάτιον =
ίματίδιον; Petersen 1910. 210-11. For purses (needed because Greek clothing
lacked pockets; the alternative was to carry one’s money in one’s mouth), see
Olson 2002 on Ar. Ach. 130-1; Lee 2015. 169-70.