506

Eupolis

fr. 318 K.-A. (296 K.)
Πσ.ντσ.κλής σκαιός
Παντακλής Kock : Παντακλέης codd.
clumsy Pantacles
2VE0Barb Aj. Ra 1Q36
διαβάλλει τον Παντακλέα ώς αμαθή έν τω όπλίζεσθαι. μέμνηται δέ τούτου καί
Εύπολις έν Χρυσω γένει·-
He disparages Pantacles for not understanding how to wear military equipment. And
Eupolis as well mentions this man in Chrysoun genes:-

Meter Probably iambic trimeter,
e.g. <x— x>l— —<c—>
or dimeter,
e.g. <x>— —<C—>

Discussion Kock 1880 1.338; Storey 1990. 18; Storey 2003. 275-6
Citation context A gloss on Ar. Ra. 1036-8, where Dionysus reports that
Pantacles, when participating in a procession recently, first put on his helmet
and only afterward tried to attach the crest; presumably drawn from a cata-
logue of kdmdidoumenoi.
Text -κλής is the normal 5th-century nominative ending of names of this sort
(Threatte 1996. 181-91, esp. 186-8), and -κλέης appears to be used in comedy
only when metrically necessary (e.g. Cratin. fr. 323; Phryn. Com. fr. 32.1; Ar.
Ach. 530; contrast e.g. Ar. V. 60; Phryn. Com. fr. 24), hence Kock’s emendation
(which takes for granted that this is iambic verse of some sort).
Despite Storey 2003. 276, there is no reason to think that σκαιός is intru-
sive.
Interpretation Perhaps from an iambic abuse song, like fr. 99.1-22 (n.), and
thus iambic dimeter rather than trimeter.
Pantacles is PAA 764230. The name is not particularly rare (18 other 5th-/
4th-century examples in LGPN Π) and is borne e.g. by a tamias of Athena in
428/7 BCE (PAA 764225) and a dithyrambic poet from the second half of the
5th century (PAA 764235), either of whom might—or might not—be the man
referred to here. Despite Storey, the reference in Aristophanes’ Frogs (405
BCE) to a specific recent act of clumsiness on Pantacles’ part does not create