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 3

Τρωξάρτης δ’ ἔβαλεν Φυσίγναθον ἐς πόδα ἄκρον·*

σκάζων ἐκ πολέμου ἀνεχάζετο, τείρετο δ’ αἰνῶς·

Πρασσαῖος δ’ ὡς εἶδεν ἔθ’ ἡμίπνουν προπεσόντα,

ἦλθε διὰ προμάχων καὶ ἀκόντισεν ὀξύσχοινον·

οὐδ’ ἔρρηξε σάκος, σχέτο δ’ αὐτοῦ δουρὸς ἀκωκή·

οὐδ’ ἔβαλε Τροφάλειον ἀμύμονα καὶ Τετράχυτρον*

δῖος Ὀριγανίων, μιμούμενος αὐτὸν Ἄρηα,

ὅς μόνος ἐν βατράχοισιν ἀρίστευεν καθ’ ὅμιλον.
ὥρμησαν δ’ ἄρ’ ἐπ’ αὐτόν· ὁ δ’ ὡς ἴδεν οὐχ ὑπέμεινεν
ἥρωας κρατερούς, ἀλλ’ ἔδυνε βένθεσι λίμνης.*

Ἦν δέ τις ἐν μυσὶν Μεριδάρπαξ, ἔξοχος ἄλλων,

Κναίσωνος φίλος υἱὸς ἀμύμονος ἀρτεπιβούλου·

οἴκαδ’ ἴεν, πολέμου δὲ μετασχεῖν παῖδ’ ἐκέλευεν·*

οὗτος ἀναρπάξαι βατράχων γενεὴν ἐπαπείλει·

ἀγχοῦ δ’ ἑστήκει μενεαίνων ἶφι μάχεσθαι

καὶ ῥήξας καρύοιο μέσην ῥάχιν εἰς δύο μοίρας

φράγδην ἀμφοτέροισι κενώμασι χεῖρας ἔθηκεν·
οἱ δὲ τάχος δείσαντες ἔβαν πάντες κατὰ λίμνην·
καί νύ κεν ἐξετέλεσσεν, ἐπεὶ μέγα οἱ σθένος ἦεν
εἰ μὴ ἄρ’ ὀξὺ νόησε πατὴρ ἀνδρῶν τε θεῶν τε.

250. Τρωξάρτης

Τhe unfortunate (δύστηνος, cf. line 105) father of Crumb-Snatcher wounds Puff-Jaw, who, he believes, murdered his son. Cf. note 119.

248. σκάζων

masc. sg. nom. pres. act. part., σκάζω, ‘to limp;’ fig. ‘to totter, be unsteady.’

ἀνεχάζετο

3 sg. impf. ind. mid., ἀναχάζω [ἀνά, χάζομαι]; mid. ‘to fall back, retreat, give ground.’ Note the assonance with σκάζων (-κάζ-, -χάζ-) together covering the arc of a complete fall.

τείρετο

ep. 3 sg. impf. ind. mid., τείρω; mid. ‘to be worn out, distressed, exhausted.’ Cf. note 178.

αἰνῶς

adv., ‘terribly,’ cf. note 102.

252. Πρασσαῖος

Πρασσαῖος -ου, ὁ, ‘Green-Weed,’ presumably related to πράσον, cf. note 232.

ἡμίπνουν

ἡμίπνοος -οον, contr. ἡμίπνους -ουν [ἡμι-, πνέω], ‘half-breathing, half-alive.’

προπεσόντα

masc. sg. acc. aor. act. part., προπίπτω [πρό, πίπτω], ‘to fall forward, advance imprudently.’ (Puff-Jaw)

253. προμάχων

πρόμαχος -ον [πρό, μάχη], ‘fighting before or in front, in the front line,’ plural can be translated as singular.

ἀκόντισεν

3 sg. aor. ind. act., ἀκοντίζω, abs. ‘to throw, hurl a spear,’ τινος at s.o. Leek-Green hurled his sharp reed at Nibble-Bread.

ὀξύσχοινον

A weapon of frogs, cf. note 164; cf. lines 214, 245.

254. ἔρρηξε

3 sg. aor. ind. act., ῥήγνυμι, ‘to break, smash, shatter.’

σάκος

σάκος -εος, τό, ‘shield.’ Cf. line 129. Here it is Nibble-Bread’s shield. In the Iliad, a σάκος is not differentiated from an ἀσπίς by shape or size, but a warrior carrying a σάκος is never killed, as is the case here. An ἀσπίς suggests vulnerability (225) or an inconclusive result of battle. By arming both frogs (163) and mice (129) with an ἀσπίς, there is perhaps a suggestion that the battle will be inconclusive (cf. Iliad 3 and the duel of Menelaos and Paris). (Bershadsky, 2010)

σχέτο

[ἔχω] ep. for ἔσχετο, 3 sg. aor. ind. mid./pass., ‘to be held, kept back.’

δουρὸς

Cf. note 246.

ἀκωκή

ἀκωκή -ῆς, ἡ, ‘point, tip.’

255. Τροφάλειον

Τροφάλειος, -ου, ὁ, ‘Cheese-Round,’ [τροφαλίς, -ίδος, ἡ], ‘piece or round of fresh cheese.’

ἀμύμονα

used of persons or things, cf. note 226.

Τετράχυτρον

Tετράχυτρος -ου, ὁ, ‘Four-Pot,’ [τετρα-, χύτρα]. Pots are associated with mice, cf. notes 41, 137, 209.

256. δῖος

δῖος -α -ον, of Zeus, ‘divine, noble, illustrious.’

Ὀριγανίων

Ὀριγανίων -ωνος, ὁ, male name, presumably from ὀρίγανος -ου, ἡ, ‘oregano;’ fig. ὀρίγανον βλέπειν, ‘to stare sharply, send piercing glances,’ hence, by a stretch, our “Pierce-Glance.”

μιμούμενος

μιμούμενος . . . Ἄρηα: On Ares, cf. note 123.

257. ἀρίστευεν

poet. 3 sg. impf. ind. act., ἀριστεύω, ‘to be the best, excel.’ Cf. note 6.

ὅμιλον

ὅμιλος -ου, ὁ, ‘crowd, throng, multitude; extens. tumult, confusion, onslaught.’

258. ὥρμησαν

cf. note 155; contrary to Puff-Jaw’s plans, when Cheese-Round and Four-Pot rush Pierce- Glance, rather than him grasping their helmets and throwing them into the pond (156-57) he himself dives into it. As a poet once said, the “best laid schemes of mice and men oft go awry,” and we would add frogs. Moreover, “just as discretion is the better part of valor, so is cowardice the better part of discretion.” (Adams).

ὑπέμεινεν

3 sg. aor. ind. act., ὑπομένω [ὑπο, μένω], trans. with acc., ‘to wait for, wait, face.’

259. ἔδυνε

3 sg. aor. ind. act., δύω and δύνω, ‘to enter, dive.’ Cf. note 86. In the fourth foot the first syllable is lengthened.

βένθεσι

ep. dat. (usu pl.) βένθος -εος, τό, ‘depth, abyss.’

260. Μεριδάρπαξ

Μεριδάρπαξ -αγος, ὁ, ‘Share-Snatcher,’ [μερίς, ἅρπαξ], μερίς -ίδος, ἡ, ‘part, portion, share, esp. portion or serving of food.’ Ἦν δέ τις often introduces a new scene.

ἔξοχος ἄλλων

Both snatchers (-ἅρπαξ) are ἔξοχος ἄλλων, cf. note 21.

261. Κναίσωνος

Κναίσων -ος, ὁ, ‘Grater,’ [κνάω, ‘to grate: cheese,’] cf. Iliad 11.639. Share-Snatcher is the only combatant whose genealogical origin is presented on the battlefield, a place where in general there seems to be little tolerance for digression or tangential information. During the battle the poem focuses on wounding and killing, with the names of animals perhaps taking on some of the function of Homeric similes in spurring reader’s imaginations away from the battlefield into a timeless world of “graters”, “hams”, “cabbages”, etc.

ἀμύμονος

Cf. note 226.

ἀρτεπιβούλου

[ἄρτος, ἐπίβουλος], ἄρτος -ου, ὁ, ‘bread;’ ἐπίβουλος -ον, ‘treacherous, insidious, scheming’; bread-wiley.’ Cf. note 28.

262. ἴεν

ep. 3 sg. impf. ind. act., εἶμι, ‘to go, come.’ This seems to be contrary to the Homeric practice of a father trying to convince his son not to go the war. The son nevertheless goes to the war and dies a premature death.

263. ἀναρπάξαι

aor. inf. act., ἀναρπάζω, ‘to snatch up and carry off.’ Note the word play on “Μεριδάρπαξ.” Following a verb of threatening, the aorist infinitive has the construction of verbs of will or desire.

γενεὴν

γενεά -ᾶς, ἡ, ‘race, generation, lineage.’

ἐπαπείλει

3 sg. pres. ind. act., ἐπαπειλέω, contr. [ἐπι, ἀπειλέω], ‘to make threats, threaten.’ In lively or dramatic narration the present may be used to represent a past action as going on at the moment of speaking or writing. Historical presents also mark turning points in narratives, as here.

264. ἑστήκει

3 sg. ppf. ind. act., ἵστημι, intrans., ‘to stand, place oneself, set oneself.’ Cf. note 166.

μενεαίνων

masc. sg. nom. pres. act. part., μενεαίνω [μένος], ‘to desire fervently, be eager, yearn,’ with pres. Inf.

ἶφι

ἴς, ἡ, ep. instrum., ‘force, vigor, violence.’ -φι(ν) is often added to noun stems in Homer to express the relations of the lost instrumental, locative, and ablative; βίη-φι, by might, δακρυό-φιν with tears.

265. ῥήξας

masc. sg. nom. aor. act. part., ῥήγνυμι, ‘to break; to tear, rend or split.’ Cf. note 125.

καρύοιο μέσην ῥάχιν

ῥάχις -ιος, ἡ, ‘back; spine; peak of a mountain; ribbing of a leaf.’ A chestnut perhaps (cf. note 31) makes more sense here given that its pericarp, or husk, is easily opened and breaks nicely into two along its seam (ῥάχιν). Some editors suggest walnuts in order to emphasize Share-Snatcher’s strength.

μοίρας

μοῖρα -ας, ἡ, ‘part of a whole; allotted portion of life.’

266. φράγδην

[φράσσω] adv., ‘as a defense.’ Cf. note 166.

267. τάχος

τάχος -εος, contr. -ους, τό, ‘quickly, soon, immediately;’ neuter as adv. in place of ταχέως.

δείσαντες

masc. pl. nom. aor. act. part., *δίω (no pres.), δείδω, ep. pf., ‘to fear, be afraid, take alarm.’

κατὰ λίμνην

‘down into the pond.’ Cf. Dodds, Bacchae ad loc. 370-2.

268. ἐξετέλεσσεν

ep. 3 sg. aor. ind. act., ἐκτελέω, [ἐκ, τέλος], ‘to bring to an end, complete, accomplish.’ May take an understood object, here, “threat,” cf. note 263. An if-not situation, as often in Homer.

269. εἰ μὴ

εἰ μὴ . . . νόησε . . . κεν ἐξετέλεσσεν: past unfulfilled condition, with both protasis and apodosis in -69. the aorist. Such counterfactuals are common in epic.

ὀξὺ

ὀξυς, -εῖα -υ, ‘of perceiving with the eye, with keen glance,’ neut. adj. as adv., ‘quickly.’ The only line in the poem with an exact counterpart in Homer, Il.8.132; also in Hesiod, Th. 838.

Nibble-Bread then struck Puff-Jaw on the tip of the foot; [250]

tottering he fell back from the encounter, and was in terrible distress; [248]

Green-Weed when he saw him having fallen forward still half-alive, [252]

advanced through the front line and hurled his sharp reed;

neither did it shatter his shield, but the spear tip was held there;

nor did he strike noble Cheese-Round and Four-Pot [255]

Pierce-Glance the illustrious, imitating Ares himself,

who alone among frogs was excelling in the onslaught.

They rushed at him; as soon as he saw them he did not face

the strong heroes, but dove to the depths of the pond.

There was one among mice, Share-Snatcher, beyond all the rest, [260]

dear son of noble Grater the bread-wily;

he was going home, but he was bidding his son to take part in the war;

this one was threatening to snatch away the race of frogs;

he has placed himself nearby eager to fight violently

and splitting a chestnut-husk into two parts along the seam [265]

he put his forepaws into both empty husks as a defense;

immediately alarmed they all went down into the pond;

he would indeed have accomplished his threat, since he was great like a god,

had not the father of men and gods quickly perceived this.

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Lines 250-269