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

The Battle Part 2

Πτερνογλύφον δὲ ἰδὼν Καλαμίνθιος ἐς φόβον ἦλθεν,

ἥλατο δ’ ἐς λίμνην φεύγων τὴν ἀσπίδα ῥίψας.

Λιτραῖον δ’ ἀρ’ ἔπεφνεν ἀμύμων Βορβοροκοίτης,

χερμαδίῳ πλήξας κατὰ βρέγματος· ἐγκέφαλος δὲ

ἐκ ῥινῶν ἔσταξε, παλάσσετο δ’ αἵματι γαῖα.

Λειχοπίνακα δ’ ἔπεφνεν ἀμύμων Βορβοροκοίτης,*

ἔγχει ἐπαΐξας· τὸν δὲ σκότος ὄσσε κάλυψεν.
Πρασσεῖος δ’ ἐσιδὼν ποδὸς εἵλκυσε νεκρὸν ἐόντα,
ἐν λίμνῃ δ’ ἀπέπνιξε κρατήσας χειρὶ τένοντα.

Ψιχάρπαξ δ’ ἤμυν’ ἑτάρου περὶ τεθνειῶτος*

καὶ βάλε Πρασσεῖον μήπως γαίης ἐπιβάντα,*

πῖπτε δέ οἱ πρόσθεν, ψυχὴ δ’ Ἀϊδόσδε βεβήκει.
Κραμβοβάτης δ’ ἐσιδὼν πηλοῦ δράκα ῥίψεν ἐπ’ αὐτὸν,
καὶ τὸ μέτωπον ἔχρισε καὶ ἐξετύφλου παρὰ μικρόν.
ὠργίσθη δ’ ἄρ’ ἐκεῖνος, ἑλὼν δ’ ἄρα χειρὶ παχείῃ

κείμενον ἐν πέδίῳ λίθον ὄβριμον, ἄχθος ἀρούρης,

τῷ βάλε Κραμβοβάτην ὑπὸ γούνατα· πᾶσα δ’ ἐκλάσθη
κνήμη δεξιτερή, πέσε δ’ ὕπτιος ἐν κονίῃσι.
Κραυγασίδης δ’ ἤμυνε καὶ αὖθις βαῖνεν ἐπ’ αὐτόν
τύψε δέ μιν μέσσην κατὰ γαστέρα· πᾶς δέ οἱ εἴσω

ὀξύσχοινος ἔδυνε, χαμαὶ δ’ ἔκχυντο ἅπαντα

ἔγκατ’ ἐφελκομένῳ ὑπὸ δούρατι χειρὶ παχείῃ.

Σιτοφάγος* δ’ ὡς εἶδεν ἐπ’ ὄχθῃσιν ποταμοῖο

ἥλατο δ’ ἐς τάφρους, ὅππως φύγῃ αἰπὺν ὄλεθρον.*

224. Πτερνογλύφον

Πτερνογλύφος -ου, ὁ, ‘Ham-Carver,’ [πτέρνα, γλύφω]. Cf. notes 37, 137.

Καλαμίνθιος

from καλάμινθος -ου, ἡ, ‘Good-Mint, calamint,’ later ‘catnip.’

φόβον

φόβος -ου, ὁ, ‘flight, panic, confusion.’ Here “flight,” because in Greek fear overcomes someone, one does not “go into fear.” Cf. notes 73, 289.

225. ἥλατο

3 sg. aor. ind. mid., ἅλλομαι, ‘to leap, jump, throw oneself.’

τὴν ἀσπίδα ῥίψας

ἀσπίς -ίδος, ἡ, ‘shield;’ ῥίπτω, ‘to throw, hurl.’ Hence ῥίψασπις, -ιδος [ῥῖψις, ἀσπίς], ‘one who throws away his shield to desert, cowardly.’

226. Λιτραῖον

λιτραῖος -α -ον, ‘Pound-Worth,’ [λίτρα], ‘of the weight or value of one pound.’ Cf. Lat. libra.

ἔπεφνεν

3 sg. second aor. ind. act., θείνω, ‘to strike, beat, wound;’ only in forms with reduplicated πεφ, ‘to batter, strike down, kill.’

ἀμύμων

ἀμύμων -ον, gen. -ονος [μῶμος], ‘without defects, perfect, noble, excellent, faultless;’ one of two frogs with an epithet (256), and the only one with a repeated epithet (230).

Βορβοροκοίτης

Βορβοροκοίτης -ου, ὁ, ‘Mud-Sleeper,’ [Βόρβορος, κοίτη], Βόρβορος -ου, ὁ, ‘mud, slime;’ κοίτη -ης, ἡ, ‘bed, bottom of a river.’

228. χερμαδίῳ

χερμάδιον -ου, τό, ‘large rock, mass.’ In Homer (Iliad 5.305, 16.577, 16.586) warriors throw a χερμάδιον (βάλλω), whereas here the verb πλήσσω suggests bashing. Contrast lines 240-41.

βρέγματος

βρέγμα -ατος, τό, ‘crown of the head, head.’

ἐγκέφαλος

ἐγκέφαλος -ου, ὁ [ἐν, κεφαλή], ‘brain.’

229. ἐκ ῥινῶν

ῥίς ῥινός, ἡ, ‘nose, of pers. or animals, snout of animals,’ pl. αἱ ῥῖνες, ‘nostrils.’

ἔσταξε

3 sg. aor. ind. act., στάζω, ‘to drip, drop, fall in drops,’ with gen. from something.

παλάσσετο

ep. 3 sg. impf. (unaugmented) ind. mid./pass., ‘to be sprinkled, spattered, stained, defiled.’

230. Λειχοπίνακα

Λειχοπίναξ -ακος, ὁ, ‘Lick-Platter,’ [λείχω, πίναξ], λείχω, ‘to lick, lap;’ cf. note 100.

ἔπεφνεν

3 sg. second aor. ind. act., θείνω, ‘to strike, beat, wound;’ only in forms with reduplicated πεφ, ‘to batter, strike down, kill.’

ἀμύμων

Cf. note 226.

Βορβοροκοίτης

Βορβοροκοίτης -ου, ὁ, ‘Mud-Sleeper,’ [Βόρβορος, κοίτη], Βόρβορος -ου, ὁ, ‘mud, slime;’ κοίτη -ης, ἡ, ‘bed, bottom of a river.’

231. ἐπαΐξας

masc. sg. nom. aor. act. part., ἐπαΐσσω, ‘to advance, rampage, to hurl oneself against,’ dat. with sthg., i.e. weapon (ἔγχει).’

σκότος

σκότος -ου, ὁ, ‘darkness, gloom, shadows; extens. darkness of death.’

ὄσσε

ὄσσε, τώ [ὄσσομαι], neut. dual, ‘eyes.’

κάλυψεν

ep. 3 sg. aor. ind. act., καλύπτω, ‘to cover, envelop, enfold,’

232. Πρασσεῖος

Πρασσεῖος -ου, ὁ, ‘Sea-Weed,’ presumably connected to πράσον, cf. note 54.

ποδὸς εἵλκυσε

In Homer this phrase is used for dragging, but here it is a striking instance of the frogs’ strategy, cf. line 157.

233. ἀπέπνιξε

Cf. note 119. 3 sg. aor. ind. act., ἀποπνίγω [ἀπό, πνίγω], ‘to choke, suffocate.’ Cf. note 119, a frog again drowning a mouse.

κρατήσας

Cf. note 63.

τένοντα

masc. sg. acc., τένων -οντος, ὁ, ‘tendon,’ in Hom. usu. pl. or dual, tendons of the neck (Iliad 10.456, 16.587), arm, elbow, ankle.

234. Ψιχάρπαξ

a “Crumb-Snatcher” dies at line 99. For the use of the name here, see textual note.

ἤμυν’

3 sg. impf. ind. act., ἀμύνω, ‘to struggle, fight in defense,’ with prep. περί, ‘for.’

τεθνειῶτος

ep. masc. sg. gen. pf. act. part., θνῄσκω, ‘to die (pf. to be dead).’

235. μήπως

‘lest.’ See textual note.

236. Ἀϊδόσδε

ἅδης and Ἅιδης -ου, ep. gen. -ος, ὁ, ‘Hades;’ -δε, ‘to, toward,’ typically with acc. of motion, but here with gen. Ἅιδόσδε. This is the only mention of the underworld in the poem. Contrary to what is sometimes claimed, animals can have a ψυχή in Homer. At Odyssey 14.426, upon being sacrificed, a pig loses its ψυχή, but its ψυχή does not go down to Hades. In Homer, there is no sense that there are shades of animals in the underworld.

237. Κραμβοβάτης

Κραμβοβάτης -ου, ὁ, ‘Cabbage-Climber,’ [κράμβη, βαίνω].’ Cf. lines 53, 163.

πηλοῦ

Cf. notes 19, 206.

δράκα

δράξ -ακός, ἡ [δράσσομαι], ‘handful, fistful,’ cf. note 156.

238. μέτωπον

μέτωπον -ου, τό [μετά, ὤψ], ‘forehead,’ usu. of pers., also of animals.

ἔχρισε

3 sg. aor. ind. act., χρίω, ‘to touch lightly,’ a surface (esp. of the human body).

ἐξετύφλου

3 sg. impf. ind. act., ἐκτυφλόω, [ἐκ, τυφλόω], ‘to make totally blind.’

παρὰ μικρόν

Cf. παρὰ μικρὸν ἦλθον ἀποθανεῖν, “they missed going to their deaths by the smallest of margins,” Isocr. 19.22.

239. ὠργίσθη

3 sg. aor. ind. pass., ὀργίζω, ‘to get angry, be enraged.’ This is the only display of anger on the battlefield, cf. lines 102 and 109 for other instances of anger by mice.

ἐκεῖνος

Cf. note 87.

παχείῃ

παχύς, -εῖα -ύ, ‘large, robust, vigorous, stout.’ In Homer, ‘with stout hand,’ (χειρὶ παχείῃ) is used of both Odysseus and Penelope (Odyssey 6.128 and 21.6).

240. πέδίῳ

πεδίον -ου, τό, ‘plane, plain, field,’ analog. ‘stretched out level.’

ὄβριμον

ὄβριμος, -ον, ‘heavy,’ of things. Contrast line 282.

ἄχθος

ἄχθος -εος, τό, ‘cargo, weight,’ cf. Iliad 20.247 and Op.692.

ἀρούρης

ἄρουρα -ας, ἡ, ‘plowed or cultivable land, field.’ It is unlikely that the shore is plowed land. Perhaps this is a pun on ἀρουραῖος which is used to characterize field mice, cf. Hdt.2.141.5 and Ar. Ach.762. Vine (p. 384) postulates that underlying this line is an “overlapping associative ‘chain’ λίθον ὄβριμον / ὄβριμον ἄχθος/ ἀρούρης,” with each link rooted in its own Homeric fixed metrical units, especially in Odyssey 9.233-305.

241. ὑπὸ

‘by, through,’ with dat. of cause and agency (poet.).

ἐκλάσθη

3 sg. aor. ind. pass., κλάω, ‘to break, snap.’

242. κνήμη

κνήμη -ης, ἡ, ‘leg, shin.’

ὕπτιος

ὕπτιος -α -ον, ‘supine, stretched out on one’s back.’

243. Κραυγασίδης

Κραυγασίδης -ου, ὁ, ‘Croakson,’ [κραυγάζω, ‘to shout, make a racket,’ of men, also of animal sounds]. Again, it is unclear if -ίδης is functioning as a patronymic. Cf. note 214. Frogs are characterized as noisy, cf. lines 135, 190, 202.

ἐπ’ αὐτόν

i.e., Crumb-Snatcher.

244. γαστέρα

Another mouse is struck in the belly, cf. notes 57, 203.

245. χαμαὶ

adv., ‘to the ground.’

ἔκχυντο

poet. 3 pl. aor. ind. mid., ἐκχέω [ἐκ, χέω], ‘to pour out, spill.’

246. ἔγκατ’

ἔγκατον -ου, τό, ‘intestine, entrails,’ usu. pl.;colloquially, ‘guts.’

ἐφελκομένῳ

masc. sg. dat. pres. pass. part., ἐφέλκω, ‘to draw, drag;’ mid. ‘to draw to oneself.’

ὑπὸ

‘by, through,’ with dat. of cause and agency (poet.).

δούρατι

δόρυ, τό, ‘spear, javelin;’ ep. and Ion. δουρατ-, gen. δούρατος, dat. δούρατι.

χειρὶ παχείῃ

used for both mice and frogs, cf. note 239.

247. Σιτοφάγος

Σιτοφάγος -ου, ὁ, ‘Grain-Muncher,’ [σῖτος, φαγεῖν]. For other Munchers, cf. lines 218, 223.

ὄχθῃσιν

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

ποταμοῖο

Cf. line 20 for rivers in the setting.

249. ἥλατο

3 sg. aor. ind. mid., ἅλλομαι, ‘to leap, jump, throw oneself.’ Cf. note 225.

τάφρους

τάφρος -ου, ἡ [θάπτω], ‘ditch, trench.’

ὅππως φύγῃ

3 sg. aor. subj. act., φεύγω, ‘to flee, escape.’ After a secondary tense, the subjunctive may be used in place of the optative; in the narration of past events, the subjunctive sets forth a person’s previous purpose in the form in which he conceived his purpose, “that he might (may) escape sheer destruction.”

αἰπὺν

αἰπύς -εῖα -ύ, ‘high, steep;’ metaph. ‘sheer, utter.’

ὄλεθρον

ὄλεθρος -ου, ὁ [ὄλλυμι], ‘destruction, ruin, death.’ αἰπὺν ὄλεθρον: ‘sheer destruction.’ In Homer, death is regarded as the plunge over a precipice, which makes the expression slightly incongruous, given that Grain-Muncher leaps into a ditch to avoid his plunge over a precipice, i.e., to save his life.

Cat-Mint took flight upon seeing Ham-Carver,

fleeing he leapt into the pond flinging his shield. [225]

Noble Mud-Bottom then struck down Avoir-du-Pois, [226]

bashing him on the top of the head with a large rock; his brains [228]

dripped from his nostrils, and the earth was spattered with blood.

Then noble Mud-Bottom killed Lick-Platte, [230]

having hurled himself with a weapon; and darkness covered his eyes.

Sea-Weed seeing this pulled him by his hind paw, even though he was dead.

He drowned him in the pond holding his neck firmly with his hand.

Crumb-Snatcher was fighting in defense for his dead companion

and struck Sea-Weed lest he set foot on land, [235]

he fell before him, and his soul went to Hades.

Cabbage-Climber seeing this threw a handful of clay at him,

and grazed his forehead lightly and by a whisker missed totally blinding him.

That one in turn became enraged, and then seizing with his stout paw

a heavy stone lying on the flats, a weight on the field, [240]

with it he struck Cabbage-Climber beneath the knees; the whole

right shin was broken, and he fell on his back in the dust.

Croakson fought in defense and still went at him,

he hit him square in the belly; the whole

sharp reed plunged into him, and all the guts poured to the ground [245]

by the spear withdrawn with his stout hand.

Grain-Muncher when he saw this on the banks of the river [247]

then leapt into the ditches that he might flee sheer destruction. [249]

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Lines 224-249