Animus Classics Journal, Volume 3, Issue 1

futile.Hehasturnedintoasatyrand,onthemēchanē,withher
lightgownthatbillowsoutlikeasail, 55 Irisbecomesaship.And
thisnon-linguisticincongruityofmetamorphoses,ofPeisetairos
intoasatyrandIrisintoaship,becomesthebuttofmanyjokes.
PeisetairosinquireswhichshipoftheAthenianfleetmightshe
be(ὄνομα δε σοι τί; Πάραλος ἤ Σαλαμινία;(what’syourname?Isit
Paralos,orSalaminia?),andthencompareshertoaπλοῖον
“merchant-ship.” 56 Intwootherplacesaswell,(ναυστολεῖς) 57 —
[< ναῦς+στολέω]lit.“carry,orconveybyship” 58 —and στύομαι
τριέμβολον“anerectionlikeathree-shipsbeak,” 59 Aristophanes
sneaks in ship metaphors. Metonymical wordplay on the
stage. 60 Butcentraltothereinforcementofthenon-linguistic
incongruity—the breaking of the theatrical illusion as the
language alludes to Iris’ costuming—are the linguistic
incongruities that underscore the comicality of the scene.
Similarly,Peisetairos’increasinglycoarselanguagereinforceshis
appearanceasasatyr.
understood as a budding feedback loop of linguistic and
non-linguisticincongruitiesthatthenultimatelyburstsintoa
remarkableclimax.However,weneedtoexercisecautionas
onlyameticulousandprotractedanalysisofthelanguageitself
revealsaspectsofcostumingandstagedirections.Inadaptinga
scenelikethis,then,withnotestimoniaorvase-paintingsofthe
stagechoreographyandcostuming,liestheopportunityto
employelementsofstaging(e.g.,music,lighting)tochallenge
thepatriarchalhumor-inducingnormsofAristophanesand,
withintheframeworkofAristophanichumor,re-imaginehis
comediesforourtimes. 61
Αsaprinciplethen,inthisagōnofPeisetairosandIris,the
linguisticincongruitiesmirrorthenon-linguisticincongruities,
andAristophanes employs both for an exaggerated comic
effect whereby the language itself is a variegated guise
characters assume and disown contingent on the comic
impulseoftheplaywright.JustasPeisetairos’languagebetrays
hissophisticpersona,hissatyr-likenatureemergesinthescene
throughtheslowbuild-upofcoarsevocabulary.Irisbecomesa
shipandPeisetairosevenmodifieshisobscenevocabularyto
reinforce the non-linguistic incongruities of Iris’ costuming.
Aristophanichumor,usingthissceneasacasestudy,canbe
55. Sommerstein,Birds,143.
56.Aristophanes,Aves,lines1203–1204.
57.Aristophanes,line1229.
58.LSJ,s.v.“ναυστόλεω.”s
59.Aristophanes,Aves,line1250.
60. SeealsoAristophanes’Acharnianswhere“King’seye”entersinan
absurdcostumeandiscomparedtoaship: ὤναξ Ἡράκλεις/πρὸς τῶν
θεῶν, ἄνθρωπε, ναύφαρκτον, βλέπεις;/ἢπερὶ ἄκραν κάμπτων
νεώσοικον σκοπεῖς;“LordHercules!/“Bythegods,man,doyoulook
ship-fenced?!/Orareyouscopingoutthedockwindingroundthe
headland?!”(92–96).TheeditionusedisOlson,DouglasS.Aristophanes:Acharnians.(Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress),2002.Thanks
toProfessorMorrisforpointingthisouttome.
48MINDYOURLANGUAGE
61.IwouldliketothankProfessorsDustinDixon(GrinnellCollege)
andSarahMorris(UCLA)forreadingmanydraftsofthispaperand
forprovidinginvaluablefeedback.
MINDYOURLANGUAGE49