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Eupolis

Σφ 2.92 (p. 24 Wessner)
Baptae dicuntur molies et effeminati, quo titulo Eupolis et Aristophanes
comoediam scripserunt, in qua inducunt Ath. viros ad imit.fem. colere Cotyton,
id est psaltriam deam Atheniensium, quam effeminati colebant
Baptae is a term for emasculated and effeminate persons; Eupolis and
Aristophanes wrote comedies by this title, in which they induced Ath(enian)
men in imit(ation) of wom(en) to worship Cotyto, that is a harp-playing
Athenian goddess whom effeminates worshipped
“Probus” (Valla) 2.92 (p. 24 Wessner, with additional material furnished by
Kassel-Austin)
(Probus) Baptae comoedia, inquit, fuit in qua Eupolis inducit viros Athenienses
ad imitationem feminarum saltantes lassare psaltriam Cotyton. Cotytos apud
Athenienses psaltria, quam effeminati colunt noctu illam adeuntes. Baptae
titulus libri, quo impudici describuntur, ob quam Alcibiades, quern praecipue
perstrinxerat, necuit ipsum in mare praecipitando, dicens “ut tu me in theatris
madefecisti, nunc ego te in mari madefaciam”
(Probus) says that Baptae was a comedy in which Eupolis induced Athenian
men in imitation of women to disgust Cotytos, a harp-girl. In Athens Cotytos
is a harp-girl, whom effeminates worship, approaching her by night. Baptae is
the title of a book in which shameless persons are described, as a consequence
of which Alcibiades, whom he had criticized with particular vigor, killed him
by throwing him into the sea, saying “Just as you got me wet in the theaters,
now I will get you wet in the sea!”
Discussion Srebrny 1930-1931; Wüst 1933
Context Juvenal Satire 2 is a long and wandering attack on Stoic philosophers
as depraved hypocrites; these lines are from an imaginary scene in which
transvestite male celebrants worship the Bona Dea. “Probus” (referring to
Μ. Valerius Probus; 1st century CE) is the name Giorgio Valla assigned to
the anonymous author of a set of scholia he published in his 1486 edition of
Juvenal; see Wessner 1931. xx-xxiii; Anderson 1965, esp. 383, 402-8, 418-20.
Interpretation Juvenal and the associated scholia must all be referring to
the chorus of Eupolis’ play, although how much any of them knew about the
matter is unclear; see the general introduction to the play.
The implication of Juvenal’s Cecropiam ... Cotyto is that Baptai was set in
Athens, although Juvenal may well not have read the text and may merely
be taking this detail for granted on the basis of the apparent involvement of
Alcibiades. The scholia appear to have no information about Eupolis’ play that
could not be extracted from the text of Juvenal itself, although Σπ and “Probus”
are aware of the tradition about Alcibiades taking revenge on Eupolis for the