Φίλοι (fr. 287)

441

half of the line was imposed on Eupolis from above in the note via a copyist’s
mistake that drove out whatever cognate remark originally stood in the text.
Interpretation Probably a response to something said by another character,
as normally in Aristophanes with oaths by Poseidon (see below). One would
expect the proverb to refer to over-eager guests (~ “no door can keep them
out”), like the kolakes of fr. 172, rather than to overly generous hosts (who
control the door rather than the other way around). Meineke’s observation
that the line “somehow illustrates the title of the play” is thus fair enough,
although who spoke the words and in what specific connection is impossible
to say (despite Wilamowitz, who thought that the reference must be to visits
by Demos’ lovers; Kaibel, who believed that the house in question was Lykon’s
(cf. fr. 295); and Storey (echoing Muller-Strubing), who claims that the refer-
ence should be “to an actual door in the play”, despite the proverbial character
of the phrase, making this too merely a guess). In any case, this ought to be
criticism rather than praise: someone wants in and is behaving like a pest.
In Aristophanes, νή τον Ποσειδώ or its negative equivalent μά τον
Ποσειδώ is the standard oath when the space to be filled extends from the
head of the line to the penthemimeral caesura (e.g. Ach. 560; Eq. 1201; Nu. 83;
Lys. 403, 1165; Th. 86; Ec. 339 (all in responses to another character)). The oath
is also attested once in satyr play (E. Cyc. 262*), once in Plato (Smp. 214d), once
in oratory (Aeschin. 1.73), a handful of times in Menander (esp. Sam. 363*)
and once in Lucian (DMeretr. 14.2), but is never found in tragedy, all of which
combines to make it clear that it was regarded as simple, colloquial language;
cf. Dover 1985. 328-32, 341 = 1987. 48-53, 63-4 “it is reasonable to postulate
that Attic conversation also was punctuated by oaths, that this ingredient in
comic language was drawn from life” (quote from p. 341 = 64). See fr. 270.2 n.
θύρα is from an old Indo-European root; cognate not just with e.g.
English “door” and German “Tur”, but with Latin faris as well.

fr. 287 K.-A. (266 K.)
ού δεινά ταϋτα ψ δέ Αργέ ία.ς φέρειν
σχιστάς ένεργεϊν f
1 ταϋτα δέ [Ammon.]0F : ταύτοι δέ [Ammon.]'" : ταύτ’ είσίν Sym. : ταϋτα δ’ έστίν
Meineke : ταϋτα δή ’στιν Herwerden : ταΰτ’ ένθάδ’ Blaydes : fort, ταϋτα, δέσποτ’,
φέρειν codd. : φορεϊν Herwerden Άργείας del. Edmonds (“gloss on σχιστάς”)
2 σχιστάς ένεργεϊν [Ammon.] : σχιστάς ένεγχεϊν Ptol. : ή ένεργεϊν σχιστάς Sym. :
σχιστάς Ένέργη Wilamowitz