The Battle of Frogs and Mice

A digital edition by George Grimbilas and Phillip Mitsis,
illustrations by David Beck and readings by David Starr.
Text under construction - send comments and observations to
phillip.mitsis@nyu.edu

Crumb-Snatcher’s Curse

“οὐ λήσεις δολίως Φυσίγναθε ταῦτα ποιήσας,

ναυηγὸν ῥίψας ἀπὸ σώματος ὡς ἀπὸ πέτρης.

οὐκ ἄν μου κατὰ γαῖαν ἀμείνων ἦσθα, κάκιστε,

παγκρατίῳ τε πάλῃ τε καὶ εἰς δρόμον· ἀλλὰ πλανήσας

εἰς ὕδωρ μ’ ἔρριψας. ἔχει θεὸς ἔκδικον ὄμμα."*

ὥς εἰπὼν ἀπέπνευσεν ἐφ’ ὕδατι· τὸν δὲ κατεῖδεν

Λειχοπίναξ ὄχθῃσιν ἐφεζόμενος μαλακῇσιν·

δεινὸν δ’ ἐξολόλυξε, δραμὼν δ’ ἤγγειλε μύεσσιν.

93. δολίως

adv., ‘craftily, deceitfully, treacherously.’ The mouse assumes that he was abandoned consciously and with malicious intent. Although the reader has no way of knowing this, Crumb- Snatcher’s account serves to color our understanding of the action. Cf. note 84. Puff-Jaw lies rather than defending himself in line 147, although a defense based on cowardice is hardly something he is likely to use in the assembly.

94. ναυηγὸν

(ναυηγ- = ναυᾱγ-) ναυᾱγός -ον, [ναῦς, ἄγνυμι ‘to break, smash’], ‘shipwrecked or of a shipwreck; subst., ‘shipwrecked man.’ Crumb-Snatcher has been flung by Puff-Jaw from his back into the water in the same way that someone who has been shipwrecked on the rocks is ‘thrown’ from the rocks into the water. An alliterative line perhaps evoking the mouse spitting water as he drowns. Crumb-Snatcher asserts his superiority on land, a moot point as he is drowning. Athletic competition on land versus water foreshadows the respective strengths of mice and frogs in battle. It is a trope also found in histories - seafaring Athenians v. land-based Spartans, land-based Romans v. seafaring Carthaginians. Moreover, again, the mouse to the bitter end vaunts his prowess in high human cultural achievements. He does not, however, mention the long jump (τὸ ἄλμα), since presumably frogs excel at jumping.

96. παγκρατίῳ

παγκράτιον -ου, τό [πᾶς, κράτος], ‘pancration, gymnastic contest involving wrestling (πάλη) and boxing (πυγμή).’

πάλῃ

πάλη -ης, ἡ, ‘wrestling.’

δρόμον

δρόμος -ου, ὁ, ‘running, race.’

πλανήσας

masc. sg. nom. aor. act. part., πλανάω, ‘to make err, make wander; fig. to cheat, deceive, mislead.’

97.θεὸς

without the article can have a generic sense of the divine.

ἔκδικον

ἔκδικος -ον [ἐκ, δίκη], ‘demanding justice, avenging, vengeful.’

ὄμμα

ὄμμα -τος, τό, ‘eye.’ The notion of an all-seeing and all-knowing god is traditional in many cultures and becomes associated especially with sky-gods such as Zeus (Petazzoni 1955). It is unclear, however, whom Crumb-Snatcher is invoking to uphold justice. Only a frog mentions the Olympians directly (59) and after Zeus gives the sign for battle, a frog makes the first kill. It never becomes clear in the poem whether Zeus is aware of the origins of the quarrel and he never seems to concern himself with questions of justice. Even though Puff-Jaw violates the demands of ξενία, the special provenance of Zeus Xenios, it is not only unclear whether Zeus knows this, but indeed, he only intervenes to help the frogs, being moved perhaps by pity, but not justice. To the extent that mice are associated with the Giants in the poem, we might expect Olympian hostility or at least indifference. Yet, at the same time, they are often associated with cultural elements that would seem to bring them closer to the civilizing forces of Olympus. We need not expect clear cut directives from the poet, of course, but in addition to questions about the nature and value of war (Scodel 2008), the poem also seems to raise doubts about the nature of divine morality. See ἔκδικος χρόνος AP12.35 (Diocl.), cf. LXX Wi.12.12. Also: Christos Paschon 976: ἔκδικον ὄμμα παντεπόπτου Δεσπότου.

99. ἀπέπνευσεν

3 sg. aor. ind. act., ἀποπνέω [ἀπό, πνέω], ‘to blow, exhale; to expire.’

100. Λειχοπίναξ

Λειχοπίναξ -ακος, ὁ, ‘Lick-Platter,’ [λείχω, πίναξ], λείχω, ‘to lick, lap;’ πίναξ -ακος, ὁ, ‘tray, platter, table.’ Cf. note 10.

ὄχθῃσιν

ep. dat. pl. ὄχθη -ης, ἡ, ‘bank, shore.’

ἐφεζόμενος

masc. sg. nom. pres. mid. part., ἐφέζομαι, ‘to sit, place oneself,’ τινι, on sthg.

101. ἐξολόλυξε

3 sg. aor. ind. act., ἐξολόλυζω [ἐξ, ολόλυζω], ‘to let out a piercing cry;’ onomatopoeic reduplicated formation; the compound is possibly a coinage of the poet.

δραμὼν

masc. sg. nom. aor. act. part., τρέχω, ‘to run, hurry.’

ἤγγειλε

3 sg. aor. ind. act., ἀγγέλλω, ‘to bear a message, bring news.’

“You will not escape notice, Puff-Jaw, having done these things deceitfully,

flinging me shipwrecked from your body as from a cliff.

On land, you coward, you would not have bettered me [95]

at the pankration or at wrestling or even at running; but you misled

and flung me into the water. The divine has an avenging eye.”

Saying these things he expired on the water; [99]

but from above Lick-Platter sitting on the gentle banks observed him; [100]

he let out a piercing cry dreadfully, then ran and brought mice the news.

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Lines 93-101