212

Eupolis

θεατήν Late 5th-century vocabulary, in comedy always of the actual
audience in the Theater (e. g. frr. 308; 392.1 with n., with further examples of
use of the word in parabases; Cratin. fr. 342.1; Ar. Ach. 442; Nu. 521, 890; V.
1013; Pax 732); elsewhere of various sorts of audiences at e.g. E. Supp. 652;
Ba. 829; Th. 3.38.4, 7 άκοής ήδονή ήσσώμενοι και σοφιστών θεαταϊς έοικότες
καθημένοις (“overcome by the pleasure of listening and resembling sophists’
seated spectators”); [And.] 4.20). Despite its etymology « θεάομαι; cf. fr. 302
θεώ with n.), the noun and its theatrical cognates do not automatically priv-
ilege the idea of viewing onstage action, as opposed to hearing the words
the actors/characters pronounce (e.g. fr. 392.1-2 άκούετ’, ώ θεαταί, τάμα καί
ξυνίετε / ρήματ’, “Pay attention, spectators, ‘and hark unto my words’”; Ar.
Eq. 36 βούλει τό πράγμα τοΐς θεαταΐσιν φράσω;, “Do you want me to explain
the situation to the spectators?”, 508 λέξοντας έπη προς τό θέατρον, “in order
to make a speech to the audience”; V. 54 κατείπω τοΐς θεαταϊς τον λόγον, “let
me describe the situation to the spectators”).
2 άπό μέν βλεφάρων evokes a well-established high-style image (set
up by 1 άφυπνίζεσθαι) in which sleep sits, is poured, falls or the like upon
eyelids, or vanishes from them: e.g. II. 10.25-6 ούδέ γάρ αύ τώ / ϋπνος επί
βλεφάροισιν έφίζανε (“for sleep again was not seated on his eyelids”), 187 ως
των νήδυμος ϋπνος άπό βλεφάροιιν όλώλει (“thus did sweet sleep perish from
their eyelids”); 14.164-5 τώ δ’ ϋπνον ... / χεύη επί βλεφάροισιν (“and sleep
should be poured on his eyelids”); Od. 1.363-4 οί ϋπνον / ... επί βλεφάροισι
βάλε (“she threw sleep on her eyelids”); 5.271 ϋπνος επί βλεφάροισιν επιπτεν
(“sleep fell on his eyelids”); 12.366 μοι βλεφάρων έξέσσυτο ... ϋπνος (“sleep
fled from my eyelids”); Hes. fr. 294.3-4 ούδέ οί ϋπνος / πϊπτεν επί βλεφάροις
(“nor did sleep fall upon his eyelids”); Alcm. PMG 3.Ί [ϋπνον ά]πό γλεφάρων
σκεδ[α]σεϊ γλυκόν (“will scatter sweet sleep from my eyelids”); cf. elsewhere
in the classical period A. Th. 3 βλέφαρα μή κοιμών ϋπνω (“not lulling his
eyelids in sleep”); Ag. 15 τό μή βεβαίως βλέφαρα συμβαλεϊν ϋπνω (“not
to join one’s eyelids securely in sleep”); S. Tr. 989-91 μή σκεδάσαι / τώδ’
άπό κράτος / βλεφάρων θ’ ϋπνον (“not to scatter sleep from his head and
eyelids”); Bacch. Pa. 4.76-7 ούδέ συλάται μελίφρων / ϋπνος άπό βλεφάρων
(“nor is honey-sweet sleep snatched from his eyelids”); Ar. V. 11-12 κάμοί
γάρ άρτίως έπεστρατεύσατο / Μήδός τις έπί τά βλέφαρα ... ϋπνος (“for some
Median sleep attacked my eyelids as well just now”); and later Theoc. 21.20-1
έκ βλεφάρων δέ / ϋπνον άπωσάμενοι (“and after thrusting sleep from their
eyelids”). The bathetic λήρον then deflates the language.
For the adjective αΰθημερινός, cf. [Thphr.] Weather Signs 10 (on evidence
of rainy weather to come) έναργέστατον μέν ούν τό εωθινόν όταν προ ήλιου
άνατολής φαίνηται έπιφοινίσσον σημεϊον· ή γάρ αύθημερινόν επισημαίνει