352

Eupolis

Παύσωνι φής τό δείνα προσλελαληκέναι; (“With Pauson you say you’ve ...
uh ... chatted?”); Men. Sam. 547 τό δείνα· μικρόν, ώ τάν—ο’ίχεται (“Uh ...; just
a minute, sir—he’s gone!”; Demeas is deserted by Niceratus), and probably at
fr. 260.19 as well. Cf. Moorhouse 1963. 23; Lowe 1973. 101; Chadwick 1996.
209-10; Lopez Eire 1996. 114-16.
Ήράκλεις Oaths by Heracles are used routinely in comedy (seemingly
only by men) to mark shock, surprise or horror in response to something
unexpected (e. g. Ar. Ach. 284, 1018; V. 420; Av. 93; Pl. 374; Pl. Com. fr. 131 with
Pirrotta 2009 ad loc.; Anaxandr. fr. 12.2 with Millis 2015 ad loc.; Eub. fr. 89.5),
in this case (A.)’s awful joke.
2-3 The reproachful terms used to describe the joke follow an ascending
trajectory from ασελγές (three syllables) to Μεγαρικόν (four syllables) to
σφόδρα / ψυχρόν (four syllables with emphasis added via enjambment).
2 τό σκώμμ’ ασελγές Cf. frr. 172.15 σκώμμα ... ασελγές with n. (on
σκώμμα); 345 n. (on the adjective).
Μεγαρικόν For the form of the adjective, see fr. 66 n.
σφόδρα Colloquial; see fr. 384.2 n.
3 ψυχρόν Literally “frigid”, a term of aesthetic disapprobation defined
by Aristotle (in reference to rhetoric) as the result of an excessive reliance on
compound words, odd vocabulary, peculiar epithets and strained metaphors
(Rh. 1405b34-6b14; cf. Theophil. fr. 4.4), suggesting that what is in question here
is a bad pun, as at Timocl. fr. 19.3-6; X. Smp. 6.7; Thphr. Char. 2.4 with Diggle
2004 ad loc. For other charges of “frigidity” of various sorts, cf. Ar. Th. 170 (of
the tragic poet Theognis) with Austin-Olson 2004 ad loc., 848 (of Euripides’
Palamedes); Alex. fr. 184.3 (of Araros) with Arnott 1996 ad loc.; adesp. com. fr.
442 ψυχροκομψεύματα (“frigid-refinities”); X. Cyr. 8.4.22-3 (humor); Pl. Euthd.
284e (argumentative style); Lg. 802d (musical style); and see in general Van
Hook 1917; Gutzwiller 1969. 16-26.
Parenthetic όρας (or όράτε) points “(often reproachfully) at a proof or
illustration of something that the speaker has been saying or expecting”
(Stevens 1976. 36-7; cf. Arnott 1996 on Alex. fr. 9.8).

fr. 262 K.-A. (243 K.)

μήτηρ τις αύτώ Θράττα ταινιόπωλις ήν
ήν Schweighauser : την Ath.
His mother was some Thracian ribbon-seller