111111dionysos5 Roles in Aristophanes' Frogs by Martha Habash

Dionysos' Roles in Aristophanes' "Frogs"
Author(s): Martha Habash

Source: Mnemosyne, Fourth Series, Vol. 55, Fasc. 1 (2002), pp. 1-17
Published by: Brill
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DIONYSOS5 ROLES IN ARISTOPHANES' FROGS
BY
MARTHA HABASH
Abstract
In Frogs Aristophanes both tests new parameters of Old Comedy and als
strengthens existing ones. From the start, Dionysos is preoccupied with l
erary technique, style, and content. While Dionysos is a common and su
able figure in Old Comedy, the poet is not satisfied just to explore
comic possibilities of god qua comic hero/actor. Instead, Aristophanes h
Dionysos exchange acting and festival roles while remaining visibly as t
god Dionysos, and thereby essentially celebrate his own festival. As such
the god by playing the various roles of the participants of his festival
vides unity to the seemingly disparate structure of the play. Furtherm
by bringing the patron of drama onto the stage in this comedy so c
cerned with literary techniques and merit, Aristophanes adds some auth
ity to his own ideas, spoken or enacted by the god in his various ro
concerning literature.
In Frogs Aristophanes both tests new parameters of Old Comed

and also strengthens existing ones.1) Among the anomalies of
play is the agon, placed after the parabasis, which occupies the ent
second half of the play in this diptych comedy and which display
Dionysos judging a literary contest between Euripides and Aischy
From the start, the comic hero, Dionysos, is preoccupied with
erary technique, style, and content, as is evident from his critic
of typical Old Comedy lines and his desire to bring Euripides b
1) The following works are cited by authors name only: A.M. Bowie, Aristopha
Myth, Ritual and Comedy (Cambridge 1993); D.A. Campbell, The Frogs in the F
JHS 104 (1984), 163-5; K. Dover (ed.), Frogs (Oxford 1993); I. Lada-Richar
Initiating Dionysos (Oxford 1999); A. Pickard-Cambridge, The Dramatic Festiva
Athens2 (Oxford 1968); D.M. MacDowell, The Frogs* Chorus, CR 22 (1972), 3-5;
Moorton, Rites of Passage in Aristophanes3 Frogs, CJ 84 (1988/89), 308-24; CP. Se
Dionysos and the Unity of the Frogs, HSPh 65 (1961), 207-42; AH. Sommerstein (e
Frogs (Warminster, 1996); W.B. Stanford (ed.), Aristophanes: The Frogs2 (London 1
C. Whitman, Aristophanes and the Comic Hero (Cambridge, Mass. 1964); G. W
Why are the Frogs in the Frogs?, Hermes 97 (1969), 306-17. I have used Dover's
throughout unless otherwise indicated.
? Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2002 Mnemosyne, Vol. LV, Fase. 1
2 MARTHA HABASH
from the Underworld. While Dion

figure in Old Comedy because of
nature, traits which Aristophanes also
just to explore the comic possibilities
Instead, Aristophanes has Dionysos,
to change forms and to assume disgu
tival roles while remaining visibly
sumably wears throughout the play his
and thereby essentially celebrate his
voluntarily assumes the roles of t
Herakles,3) those of Choral members
the festival roles of spectator, ???t??
by playing the various roles of the p
Lenaia, provides unity to the seemin
play. While his roles change, they all
in one festival, and hence, an underl
ning throughout the play via Dion
Dionysos. Furthermore, by bringing
stage in this comedy so concerned
merit, Aristophanes adds some auth
or enacted by the god in his various
I. Actor: the Comic Hero
Dionysos, at first, is the typical

laughter from any source. He supplie
'Dionysos, son of Wine-jar5 (22), a
tume (200). Dionysos' identity woul
as amusing, to the audience, becau
yellow tunic and carries a club, whil
The yellow tunic is associated with s
Athens: participants in Dionysiac fes
self; women; effeminate men; and m
2) See also Lada-Richards, 160.

3) This voluntary assumption of role-playin
to be "the most metadramatic type" (R. Horn
[Toronto 1986], 74).
4) See Lada-Richards, 17-44, for a discuss
gling of the "Dionysiac" and the "Heraclea
5) Stanford, w. 46-7.
DIONYSOS' ROLES IN ARISTOPHANES' FROGS 3
kothornos, in addition to being the boot of tragedy, was

women and travellers, and was associated with Dionysos i
Since Herakles finds humor in the incongruity of the yellow
with the lion-skin, and the boot with the club (45-6), it
that it is the effeminacy of the tunic and the boot that Arist
wishes to emphasize. Nevertheless, the yellow tunic's associat
participants in Dionysiac festivals and the kothornos' associati
tragedy are reminders that the patron god of drama is, in f
ing in one of his own rites.7)
As an actor Dionysos is comical in that he mistakenly b
or comically feigns belief that he assumes the traits of the p
whose disguise he wears,8) a comic technique also seen in TJiesm
zousai where the Kinsman plays the roles of Helen and Andr
to Euripides' Menelaus and Perseus (855 ff), and in Acharnian
4; 410-89) where Dikaiopolis assumes the garb of Teleph
theatrical illusion that one playing a role is transformed
portrayed character through theatrical props and garb is cre
the actors. Aristophanes brilliantly puts a spin on this techn
having his own actor fooled as is the audience, or at lea
belief, and therefore create comedy through the parodying
technique.9) The god initially dresses as Herakles to ensure t
journey to the underworld10) will be as comfortable as
thereby demonstrating his soft, hedonistic character beneath
guise. His self-delusion leads him to knock on Herakles' d
centaur-like fashion (38) and to believe that his imitation of H
6) For examples in vase-painting, see Pickard-Cambridge, figs. 68, 70

his discussion on 206-8, and Lada-Richards, figs. 1.8 & 1.9.
7) Whitman, 231, sees Frogs as a tragedy in comedy form with the k
being indicative of this.
8) Lada-Richards, 161, suggests that Dionysus' playing Herakles "n
invites the spectator to perceive and appreciate him in the position and
tion of an actor, but more importantly still, raises and explores the key
question of how appearance' and 'behaviour' imitation interrelate and wo
the boundaries of a theatrical impersonation".
9) See Lada-Richards, 166-9, for further discussion of parody in this
10) Moorton, 308-23, views Dionysos' journey to and from the Unde
incorporating a sequence and countersequence of rites of passage which
rate this play's theme of death and rebirth. See Segal, 207-42; D. Konsta
politique et ntuel dans les Grenouilles d'Aristophane, M?tis 1 (1986), 291-308
308-23; Bowie, 228-53; Lada-Richards, 45 ff., for further discussion of t
passage theme.
4 MARTHA HABASH
ferocity scares the real Herakles

that he, now ??????? (281), is anxio
creatures in Hades (280-4), Diony
strated when tested: he not only
grows pale and soils himself. And w
Dionysos, then playing the role of
slave not to call on him by name
of being cursed by Empusa shoul
the true character of the god is sh
his assumed role. When Dionysos is
Xanthias reminds him that he sh
since he is in the costume of Her
acting role only long enough to
himself as 'Herakles the Mighty' (4
threatens him and causes him to
is reminded once more of the comic
playing the fearless Herakles. Ari
ing his comic hero, a timid god w
facing, play the role of the braves
or feign belief that he assumes thr
tics of the character portrayed.
Because the god apparendy belie
character portrayed, he also thinks
worthy of or equal to that charact
only believes that he will assume t
he portrays through his acting role
acter to that part to be able to s
Aristophanes adds a twist to this n
the role of Herakles more convinci
Dionysos exchanges costumes with
of a little over two hundred lines
conceal his cowardice and to rec
Herakles. Yet when the slave is tre
Dionysos scoffs at the notion of
11) Cf. M. Padilla, The Heraclean Dionysus: Th

Frogs, Arethusa 25 (1992), 359-84, for a di
as providing a "comically base paradigm" th
delights fit for Herakles. Even though the slave clearly p

role of Herakles better than Dionysos, Dionysos cannot ac
notion that a mere slave is capable of assuming the traits of
Ironically and humorously, when Dionysos attempts to ste
from his acting role and reveal his true identity as a god
one believes him12) and he is unable to prove his immorta
better than his slave Xanthias (631-4). Dionysos' divinity
must be determined offstage by another god, Pluto. It se
the god has played the roles of Herakles and Xanthias so w
no actor playing the role of a mortal believes that Dionysos is
an actor. This underlines a major theme in this work: co
drama is a powerful tool in the hands of a masterful poet
By taking up the role of actor, Dionysos demonstrates two
ods of creating humor in a comic hero: self-deception, whic
the god to assume that he becomes the person he imitates, a
the actor must be worthy of that role; and the unmaskin
self-deceived, demonstrated when the real character of t
god peeps out from under the role of tough Herakle
Aristophanes parodies his own genre and demonstrates to hi
ence two effective dramatic techniques turned on their head
ate humor,
II. Actor in the Choruses, and Spectator
Dionysos becomes both a member of the Chorus and a literary

judge or critic when he competes with the Chorus of Frogs in
song.13) Dionysos, now in a boat that is presumably on wheels, is
12) This is a typical motif of stories involving Dionysos as a central character.

Cf. E. Ba., h.Bacch., and Nonn. D.
13) Scholiast 211 maintains that this chorus remained unseen throughout this
scene. See R.H. Allison, Amphibian Ambiguities: Aristophanes and his Frogs, G&R 30
(1983), 8-20, for the invisibility of the Chorus of Frogs, and MacDowell, 4, for
opposing arguments. As for the purpose of this chorus, see Whitman, 247-9, and
Campbell, 165, for the idea that it balances the Initiates' song; Wills, 316, who
sees it as an aesthetic contest, thereby treating the literary subject of the play.
N. Demand, The Identity of the Frogs, CPh 65 (1970), 83-7, views the Frogs' contest with
Dionysos as representing Aristophanes' contest with Phrynicus. Campbell, 164-5,
offers a good discussion of recent critics' interpretations of this scene as being
connected to the contest between Aischylos and Euripides or of the songs as being an
unfavorable comment on contemporary writers. See also J. Defradas, L? Chant des Grenoud?es,
REA 71 (1969), 23-37, for other possible theories as to this Chorus' presence.
6 MARTHA HABASH
drawn across a lake to the Underworld. This scene will recall for
the audience Dionysos' cult statue's ride into town in a boat with
wheels on, perhaps, this very day of the Lenaian festival.14) Here
we are reminded that Dionysos the actor is also the patron of this
festival. And while the cult statue of Dionysos rides to the festival
in his honor and receives a front-row seat to watch his dramas, the
comic Dionysos pays a two obols entrance fee to row himself while
croaking as a frog to assume the important role of patron of tragedy.15)
The Frogs honor in song Nysean Dionysos in the Marshes (Limnai)
with a reprisal of their song sung on the third day of the Anthesteria,
the day on which revellers entered the precinct of Dionysos in the
Marshes to dedicate their chytroi crowned with ivy (215-7). This
song is probably chosen here because it not only honors Dionysos
but also is associated with the chthonic rituals performed on the
third day of the Anthesteria.16) The god temporarily becomes a
koryphaios and a frog as he attempts to outcroak the chorus while
remaining true to his role as Herakles by not acknowledging the
Frogs' honoring of him, Dionysos, in song.17)
Charon describes the Frog Chorus' songs as ???? ?????sta (205-6)
and ?at????? ?????? ?a??ast? (207) and tells Dionysos to listen
to them in order to row correctly.18) The Frogs sing beautifully,19)
14) H.W. Parke, FestivaL? of the Athenians (Ithaca 1977), 109, argues that a masked
actor playing the role of Dionysos would ride in the ship-chariot procession through
Athens during the Anthesteria. L. Deubner, Attische Feste (Berlin 1932), 93-132,
places the procession with Dionysos in the ship as occurring on the second day
of the Anthesteria, the Choes, just prior to the events about which the Frogs sing.
15) The unusual fare of two obols is probably chosen by Aristophanes because
it is the same price as the cost of a theatre ticket, indicating that Dionysos intends
to play, at least part of the time, the role of spectator in Hades. Cf. also Whitman,
235, and Demand (n. 13), 85.
16) M.P. Nilsson, Early Orphism and Kindred Religious Movements, HThR 28 (1935),
222-3, posits that the identification of Dionysos with Hades probably arose from
Dionysos' connection with souls in certain spring-time festivals, such as the Anthesteria
and Agrionia. In Orphic mythology, Dionysos was the central figure and descended
to the Underworld upon his death.
17) It is particularly fitting that Dionysos becomes a frog: he, like a frog in win-
ter, is venturing underground. And while the tragic Dionysos in Euripides' Bacchae
becomes a bull, and the god of the Homeric Hymn becomes a lion, the comic
Dionysos becomes a loud-croaking Frog.
18) Sommerstein, v. 205-6, interprets Charon's words to mean that Dionysos
will be able to keep the rhythm of his stroke by following the rhythm of the song.
See L.P.E. Parker, The Songs of Aristophanes (Oxford 1997), 464-5, for the metre
of this section and Dionysos' answering of the Frogs' song in different metres,
employing language that is "lofty.. . with archaisms, elevated s

and circumlocutions".20) The god, however, is not impresse
describes their songs as nothing but koax (227). Instead of appr
ating the beautiful parts of their song or creating a better
Dionysos merely repeats the Frogs' unlyrical "brekekekex koax
and aims to and does, in fact, defeat them through stamina alo
The god either cannot recognize beauty or cannot compete
the Frogs in composition and ends up, instead, by lowering the
of the song.22) And if Reckford is correct in believing that the
songs represent Old Comedy which mixes the beautiful lyric poig
with the grotesque, the koax?) then Dionysos here, throug
repeated cacophonous croaking (which perhaps sounds like g
and farting,24) enacts the type of humor which he criticizes a
beginning of this play (stale, scatological jokes), but which pre
ably makes the audience laugh. Dionysos may be the patro
drama but he is not a poet nor is he capable of appreciating
which, she adds, can lead one to "reasonably guess that the reversals of rh
are comically reflected in some way in Dionysus' rowing movements" (465
19) The beauty of the Frogs' song has been much commented on. Will
describes their song as "highly poetic pretensions" with their "lofty invoca
the gods, their references to their own sacred sphere... their Doricisms
exalted vocabulary . . ., their use of hymn-terminology . . ., their pompously
hypallactic phrases . . . ." See L. Radermacher (ed.), Aristophanes' Fr?sch
1921), 168 ff., for a discussion of the Frog's style and how it is intended
rize poetic ranting; M. Silk, Aristophanes as a Lyric Poet, YC1S 26 (1980), esp.
for a brief discussion of the lyric style of lines 209-23; and Campbell,
for a general discussion of the Frog-Chorus' style.
20) Campbell, 165.
21) So also MacDowell, 4-5: "We ought at least to consider the possibili
the competition has, after all, nothing more to it than this: to see who is t
to get tired of shouting ??e?e?e??? ??a? ????". Cf. Wills, 306-15, for a su
and discussion of various interpretations of the nature of this contest, among
are rhythm (Zielinski & Stanford), volume (Rogers), violence (Mitchell
Holden, Hermann, Fritzsche), and beauty (Wills). Wills, 306-11, argues c
ingly against the contest being a matter of rhythm, volume, and violence.
(n. 13), 23-7, interprets it as a musical contest and a musical parody of
dithyramb and therefore of Euripides too. This is a possibility but with
music, it is difficult to conclude this (see Campbell, 164).
22) Campbell, 165: "It is Dionysus who lowers the tone, notably at 221
236-8".
23) K. Reckford, Aristophanes' Old and New Comedy, I (Chapel Hill 1987), 412.
24) Wills, 312-25, also thinks that the beauty of the Frogs' song is an acquired
taste and that Dionysos' farts outdo their croaks. But MacDowell, 4, righdy points
out that there are no clear references to farts after line 238.
8 MARTHA HABASH
language;23) he is, however, the mo

Comedy chorus, and the one rende
more appropriate to its genre.
Later the god also joins the second
First, though, he assumes the ro
intently for some time before b
dance and enticed to join the gro
breast (409 fF.). The god's spectatin
this Chorus since it at first addresse
the principal male divinity worship
with Dionysos by Aristophanes' t
join it in play and dance (319, 37
people laugh and how to make guilt
While dance (cf. E. Ba. 86-8, 48
ter (cf. E. Ba. 380) are commonly
not.28) Yet, play is suitable to ce
25) Wills, 313, maintains that Dionysos i

the beauty of his song in any conventiona
god whose taste has been restored, at
Aischylos". I disagree that Dionysos' tas
play. His choice of Aischylos is ultimately
26) Most scholars agree that this choru
among others recently see Bowie, 228 ff.
ff. For strong arguments supporting the E
of Orphism on the Mysteries by the lat
connection with the Mysteries, see Bow
Initiates in Aristophanes' Frogs, in: Enzo Deg
1993), 173-201, hereafter referred to as "D
in Aristophanes' Frogs, PRIA 42 (1935), 199-
this Chorus does not represent the initiates
the Lenaean festival is the model for the p
L. Deubner, Review of M. Tierney, Gnomo
Tierney's interpretation. For the parodie
Gebet und Gebetsparodie in den Kom?dien des
27) Cf. ?. Clinton, Myth and Cult: The Ic
(Stockholm 1992), 64-71, for a good discussi
Dionysos, his role in the Mysteries, and h
28) Dover ("Chorus" n. 26), 177: "The im
the cry ?a??* ? "?a??e is heard serves a
say?that the adoption of initiatory motifs
edy". Sommerstein, v. 319, views the pre
not used elsewhere to describe the Eleus
audience should be aware that the parodo
and not ritual.
947, 975, 983) and is a fundamental element of comedy as ar

and laughter.29) Here, the god begins as a spectator to his ow
just as the audience is a spectator to his rites,30) but is later
into participating with the members of the Chorus, muc
audience is traditionally invited to leave the stage reveling w
Chorus in the conclusions of Old Comedies. What attracts
here into reveling with the Chorus is not only the celeb
Dionysos but also the sexual allurement of a choral memb
result, the poet undercuts the god's intention for joining the
it is not only to celebrate suitably Iakkhos/himself, but also
selfishly some sexual fulfillment. Our comic hero as a me
both Choruses serves to maintain the proper tone and spirit
genre in which he is an actor.
III. Judge
From the very beginning Dionysos is the ???t?? of comedy (1-

20). The opening of the play finds Dionysos prohibiting Xanthias
from using the "usual" comic lines that get a laugh. Xanthias knows
the customary comic sayings associated with his character and wishes
to utter them, but before he can, the god has not only forbidden
him to do so but also has beaten him to the punch (3, 5, 8).31)
Dionysos' prowess as a literary judge, however, remains dubious.
His sole criterion for judging comic lines is the unpleasant physical
reactions produced by them: puking (11), and growing one year
older (18). Even though he claims not to like scatological jokes, he
soon indulges in them through other roles to get a laugh: he, as
29) The Chorus' action here as being more suitable to comedy than to the cel-
ebration of the Mysteries seems to be reinforced in lines 332 f. with its invitation
to Iakkhos to beat his foot on the ground in t?? ????ast?? f???pa?????a t????.
30) Reckford (n. 23), 414. Dionysos' role as a spectator in Hades was hinted at
earlier when Charon's fare to cross the lake is two obols (140) and not the cus-
tomary one oboi.
31) I disagree with B. Heiden, Tragedy and Comedy in the Frogs of Aristophanes,
Ramus 20 (1991), 97, who interprets these early lines between Dionysos and
Xanthias as indicating that "Dionysos repeatedly rejects the Old Comedy of
Aristophanes and shows that this genre is his blind spot: he doesn't appreciate it,
he doesn't understand it, and he doesn't think about it unless prompted to do so
by someone else". On the contrary, Dionysos adds a new twist to the jokes by
finishing Xanthias' comic lines and by initiating these lines or enacting later in
the comedy the same comic situation as described in them.
10 MARTHA HABASH
Herakles, farts while rowing in Char

self twice from fear (308, 479).32)
Dionysos' sophistication as a ???t?
by how he himself provokes laugh
funny comic hero both as a member
he defeats the lyrical Frogs by mere
least lyrical part of their song, and
matic illusion which equates actor
symptom of his literal-mindedness. In
preting literally, a trait that will app
his role as actor and becomes judge o
Euripides and Aischylos, creates m
example, Dionysos in his reactions
?p? ??p?? . . . ?????? p?????e? t? ?e??e
oar (197 ff.) and thrusts out his ar
preting commands literally is funn
trait in a literary judge poses several
is asked to believe that the comic
anything so sophisticated and lofty a
Dionysos displays little talent for ju
the play. He tells Herakles that he
because he wants a clever poet (de??
genuine one who can utter a memo
?e??a??? ?????,34) 96-97). His own idea
Herakles says, ???a?a (104):35) "a?
32) J. Henderson, The Maculate Muse (New
of the obscenity in this play is in the pre-p
ological, and "all of it is the obscenity of th
and Xanthias share", and that "in no other
ity remain on such a low and unessential l
Dionysos, ironically, "spokesman for taste a
jokes".
33) See Dover, 12-5, for an excellent discussion of this term, de????, as Dover,
14, notes, implies intelligence but also "the capacity for quick and deep under-
standing; in many instances it covers creative inteUigence, skill, or expertise and
so overlaps s?f??".
34) See Dover, v. 96-8, for a discussion of ???????, and ?e??a???. Dover, 14,
views ???a ?e??a??? as the product of de???t??.
35) Sommerstein, v. 104, notes that this adjective, used elsewhere in Aristophanes
(Eq. 417 and PL 279), means roughly "mischievously deceptive", and interprets
Herakles' response as implying that "Euripides is a fraud who conceals his weak-
nesses as an artist behind a fa?ade of arrestingly audacious language".
p?da" (100). The sad yet comic truth is that the god's ide
good tragic phrase is not only a misquote from Euripides,
incorporating comic rhythm and containing a word, d???t???
is alien to tragedy.36) He is impressed by what are apparendy
daring phrases (pa?a?e???d??e??????, 99) and metaphors
expense of content (e.g. above, 'Heaven, the bedroom of Z
Therefore, it seems that the same criterion that the god e
for judging comic poetry, i.e., his physical reaction to wo
applies also to tragedy. His description of what he wants and
a de???? and ??????? poet, implies a physical reaction prod
him: both de???? and ??????? would inspire admiration and
fore pleasure in the audience for both terms indicate qualitie
ciated with great poets. Yet while the god seeks admirable qu
in a poet, his own idea of fine poetry undercuts his assessme
IV. Judge, and Patron of Tragedy and of the Lenaian Festival
Dionysos' role as patron of drama wins him in Hades th

cial position of being the judge of the ???? s?f?a? (882), a
between Aischylos and Euripides to determine which is wiser
respect to skill (780).38) Both Aischylos and Euripides disco
god's incompetence early on in the competition, however, and
him for it (e.g., he is called a?a??stat??, [933] and told, p
o?vov ??? ????s??a? [1150]), much the same as Old Comed
at members of its audience and its judges. When Euripide
cizes Aischylos' use of the silent character, Dionysos first ch
that he likes this ploy (907-17). Euripides replies, "Yes, b
you are foolish" (???????, 917-8), to which observation D
36) See Dover, v. 100, and Sommerstein, v. 100: d???t??? is "alien to

poetry".
37) Dover, 10-1, thinks that the audience, hearing the dialogue between Herakles
and Dionysos here, is not expected to side with Herakles in his assessment of poets
nor is it to side with Dionysos, because, "the first fifty lines of the play have made
it quite clear that this is the Dionysos familiar to audiences of comedy as an object
of humour..., and his halting, verbose paraphrase of E. Hp. 612 in obtrusively
comic rhythm ... does not enhance his reputation as a connoisseur. The most
significant aspect of the dialogue in 52-107 is that Dionysos values a poet for the
technical skill which generates pleasure and excitement in the audience."
38) See Lada-Richards, 280 ff., for a discussion of how Dionysos acts here as
a typical spectator among thousands of theatai.
12 MARTHA HABASH
him-self must agree (918). After Eurip

with the use of the silent character, D
declares that he has been cheated (92
by the most recent argument and cann
because he himself is fooled by dram
acter ploy), and cannot understand or
Initially Euripides criticizes Aischylos
erary techniques while praising his
each poet mentions the admirable qual
duties are (1007-97), and in this area
are in agreement: ??. ? t???? ???e?a ???
de???t?t?? ?a? ????es?a?, dt? ?e?t????
ta?? p??es?? (1008-10). It is striking
upon Euripides' response, since he h
order to retrieve a de???? poet; nevert
to Euripides' response by selecting in th
both de???t?? and ????es?a. At this p
the god refrains from making sound j
ments. Instead, Dionysos serves as re
to speak at a time and telling each o
trast, the Chorus at times assumes
steers the contestants by suggesting
19). At the same time, the god comm
raries mentioned by the poets or expre
points and adds further examples to
does not direct the discussion nor do
opinion. Instead, he shows a humoro
ing from literal interpretations. For e
that he wrote a play full of the spirit
(1022 ff.), Dionysos decides that Ais
making the Thebans better warriors.
The next part of the contest consis
tions of texts (1120-410). Again, Dio
the last speaker's argument until he h
tal and is again swayed until he finally
not understand (e.g., 1153-69). When A
iambic metre and says that each Un
flask',39) (1198-248) Dionysos, misunderstanding Aischylos'

makes absurd comments, asks silly questions, and keeps b
Euripides to buy the oil-flask from Aischylos. Dionysos clearl
not yet render sound judgment on this part of the conte
remains a literal-minded buffoon. Finally, Aischylos demands
taken to the weighing scales (1365). Here, the weighty cont
Aischylos' poetry (death, chariots, corpses, etc.) defeats t
Euripides.40) This is the only part of the contest that Dion
able to understand and where he can act properly as judg
god can interpret the balance of the scales because it requ
absurdly literal way of approaching and judging literature.41) I
that the subject matter of poetry has found physical expr
through these scales and has itself become the object of a poe
understands the humor in literal interpretations.
Until now, the god has maintained his role as a very funny
hero: he continues to lower the tone of a serious literary disc
through his literal interpretations, his failure to analyze and to
stand dramatic methods, and his belief in dramatic illusion
Dionysos must choose a winner of the contest, he makes a dec
based on his role as patron of drama,42) and as such, on w
is able to understand: the social role of drama. After ques
both poets what the city should do about Alkibiades and
pleased with both responses, Dionysos asks each for one mo
gestion about how to save Athens.43) Euripides responds
comic solution while Aischylos asks Dionysos whether the city
use of its good men (???st???, 1455). The god responds with
39) See Sommerstein, v. 1198-247, for recent bibliography concernin

lines and for a discussion of their humor or serious content. Dover, 7, n
rectly that the agon here "so far from culminating in the victory of one co
is rounded off by a joke (1989-98) diverting us from the issues which th
tants have treated so passionately".
40) Dover, 7.
41) See G. Walsh, The Varieties of Enchantment (Chapel Hill 1984), 85 ff. for the
parodying of Gorgias' ideas and theories in this portion of the contest.
42) His role as judge is, as Segal, 214, says, "... indicative of his now recog-
nized position as the god of the communal dramatic festivals".
43) Here I follow Dover's scheme of line placement: 1435-41; 1451-66 for the
first production and 1435-41; 1451-60; 1442-50 followed by 1467 for the second
production. I am considering the lines included in the first production only.
14 MARTHA HABASH
similar to what the Chorus has utte

hates the good most of all and uses unw
The Chorus earlier in the parabas
audience as s?f?tat?? f?se? (700), ad
equal; depriving no citizen of his right
izens who are well-born, virtuous, just
nasia and choruses and the arts. The C
to the foolish (????t??, 734) to mak
(???s?e t??? ???st??s?? a????, 735).45)
egy advocated by the Chorus and Ais
Dionysos as indicated through his ch
not judge poetry on its literary merit
utilitarian concern for preserving his
Dionysos is reluctant to decide on a
that one is a wise poet and likes th
s?f??, tfd'?d??a?, 1413), two criteria
Chorus' two categories of judges addr
6):47)
s?????? d' ?p???s?a? t??? ???ta?s? ??????a??

t??? s?f??? ?e? t?? s?f?? ?e????????? ????e?? ???,
t??? ?e??s? d' ?d??? d?a t?? ????? ????e?? ???.
I wish to suggest a little something to the judges: to the wise judges,

judge me mindful of the wise things and to the ones laughing sweedy,
judge me on account of the humor.
Because the god of drama considers these two categories, wisdom

and pleasure, to be of equal weight, perhaps they reflect well the
two categories by which drama was or should be judged.48) Until
44) According to the prose Hypothesis to this play, Dicaearchus is reported to

have said that this play was restaged because of admiration for its parabasis.
45) For a concise discussion of the political situation in Athens at the time of
this production see T. Hubbard, The Mask of Comedy (Ithaca 1991), 207-10.
46) In addition, Aischylos also advocates considering the enemy's land their
own, their own land the enemy's, the fleet as wealth and wealth as poverty (1463-5),
which was essentially Perikles' advice in 431 B.C.E. See Dover, v. 1463-5;
Sommerstein, v. 1463-5 for brief interpretations of these lines.
47) V. Coulon (ed.), Aristophane (Paris 1923-30).
48) I disagree with M. Griffith, Contest and Contradiction in Early Greek Poetry, in:
M. Griffith, DJ. Mastronarde (eds), Cabinet of the Muses (Atlanta 1990), 188-90, who
views the term s?f?a as a "catch-all Greek term for what is being tested in a
poetic competition" (188) which covers three broad categories: a) knowledge and
the god selects Aischylos for his s?f?a, he uses the first categor
judging poetry, that of providing pleasure, to judge both com
and tragedy. And while both criteria were apparendy valid
accepted at the time of this production, in his final judgment Dion
demonstrates his primary concern for the city by selecting a po
based on that poet's s?f?a and not just his own personal enj
ment of the poet's poetry.49) After all, when pressed by Plu
choose between Aischylos and Euripides, Dionysos explains to
??? ?at????? ?p? p??t?? . .. W ? p???? s??e?sa t??? ?????? a?? (1
And here, once again, Aristophanes turns a literary device u
its head. While a tragic poet is selected as the one who can
save the city,50) it is Aristophanes' advice51) as given by the Ch
in the parabasis and reinforced by Aischylos and Dionysos at
end of the play that offers a plausible course of action for secu
Athens' salvation: Athens needs to have good, honest men a
leaders.52) Here, Aristophanes demonstrates that he is a poet fu
de???t?? ?a? ????es?a, whose aim is didactic: to make men b
in their communities. While Dionysos and Aischylos set off i
factual accuracy, b) moral and educational integrity, and c) technical skill an

thetic/emotional impact. Dionysos' first criterion for judging poetry, his ph
reactions, would fall under category c while his choice of poets would fall u
category b. Dionysos' remarks in this comedy and the Chorus' in Ar. Ec
cate that the Greeks did make at least subtle differences between poetry fo
sake of enjoyment (category b) and poetry that was didactic (category c).
49) F. Zeitlin, Playing the Other: Theater, Theatricality, and the Feminine in Greek D
in: JJ. Winkler, F. Zeitlin (eds), Nothing to Do with Dionysos? (Princeton 199
views the retrieval of Aischylos as "a formal, generic one. It is predicated o
controlling convention of Old Comedy that fulfills its festive function of
renewal by consistently choosing the idealized past over the distressing, ch
present. . ." Lada-Richards, 217, interprets Dionysos' choice as a 'carnave
reversal.
50) O. Taplin, Fifth Century Tragedy and Comedy: A Synkrisis, JHS 106 (1986), 16
notes that in no surviving Athenian tragedy is any Greek named who w
have been living at the time of the performance.
51) Heiden (?. 31), 105-7, keenly observes that Dionysos has asked the
questions during this part of the contest but has asked the wrong poets. Dio
he adds, did not need to venture to Hades in order to retrieve a poet who
advise the city so that it might be saved, for the poet who could give this a
Aristophanes, was not dead.
52) Pluto and the Chorus reinforce this idea as Dionysos and Aischylos pr
to return to the upper world. Pluto orders Aischylos to tell Kleophon, amon
ers, to come to Hades quickly; the Chorus, as it departs, say: ??e?f?? d? ?
?????? ? ??????e??? t??t?? pat????? ?? ?????a?? (1532-3).
16 MARTHA HABASH
hope that Aischylos' advice can hel

Aristophanes' desire for making p
could have saved Athens, provided th
Athens' festivals, and made the unint
possible.53)
Conclusion
In this play in which literary techniques, skill, and style are so

often discussed and displayed the poet introduces the patron of
drama to play himself and also a variety of roles to reveal impor-
tant facets of each role and through that role comment more gen-
erally on literary and social aspects of tragedy and comedy. The
god's main functions in the Lenaian festival, being patron of com-
edy and of the festival, are demonstrated in his roles of actor, where
he plays a god (Herakles), a slave (Xanthias), a member of two cho-
ruses, a spectator, a judge, and patron of both drama and the
Lenaian festival. Through these roles, he represents everyone pre-
sent at his festival and participates with them in the festivities hon-
oring him. His swapping of roles in the celebration of himself also
provides unity to the comedy. In addition, through each change of
roles, the god offers different perspectives on literary techniques and
content. As a comic actor, Dionysos brilliandy demonstrates comic
techniques that produce laughter and that toy with the audience's
perception of dramatic illusion. As a member of the Choruses, the
god renders suitable to Old Comedy choral songs that are perhaps
too exalted or too solemn for this genre. As a judge of both com-
edy and tragedy, Dionysos offers two criteria for evaluating litera-
ture, criteria that both reflect and hence offer approval for that
used by the contemporary judges and audience. While Aristophanes
in this play presents a progression from low humor, demonstrated
by the scatological jokes at the opening, to high humor marked by
53) See Lada-Richards, 220: "In Dionysus' modified perspective, therefore, poetry
is deemed worthy of undertaking the preservation of a polis' community in its
politico-religious identity... the Aristophanic Dionysus' concern with the polis'
sustained leading of its choruses' is the best expression of his community-oriented
interest in the preservation of a social mechanism which safeguards the transmis-
sion of communal values and the body politic's collective memory".
the parodies of tragedies in the second half of the play, Diony

while remaining fickle and foolish throughout, also demonstrates
change in his criteria for judging comedy and tragedy: at first t
god seeks pleasure in drama and judges it based only on his ph
ical responses. In his final role of a pragmatic patron, he judges o
the basis of s?f?a and chooses to return Aischylos to the Athenia
because Aischylos is, in the god's opinion, the poet who can g
the best advice on Athens' salvation, a salvation which perha
means, in turn, uninterrupted honor for Dionysos. In a final dem
stration of wit in a comedy in which the poet explores new p
meters for his genre, Aristophanes points to the poets of Old Come
however, as the ones being able to save Athens, and by doing
he also reinforces the Old Comedy tradition, recendy ignored
his contemporaries, that the poet's communal function is didactic
Omaha, NE 68178, Creighton University

Department of Classical & Near Eastern Studies
54) I should like to thank C. Anderson, R. Edmonds, III, J. Mikalson,

R. Rosen for their invaluable assistance in the improvement and completi
this paper.

111111dionysos5 Roles in Aristophanes' Frogs by Martha Habash

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111111dionysos5 Roles in Aristophanes' Frogs by Martha Habash

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Dionysos' Roles in Aristophanes' "Frogs"

Author(s): Martha Habash

In Frogs Aristophanes both tests new parameters of Old Comed

? Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2002 Mnemosyne, Vol. LV, Fase. 1

from the Underworld. While Dion

I. Actor: the Comic Hero

Dionysos, at first, is the typical

2) See also Lada-Richards, 160.

kothornos, in addition to being the boot of tragedy, was

6) For examples in vase-painting, see Pickard-Cambridge, figs. 68, 70

ferocity scares the real Herakles

11) Cf. M. Padilla, The Heraclean Dionysus: Th

delights fit for Herakles. Even though the slave clearly p

II. Actor in the Choruses, and Spectator

Dionysos becomes both a member of the Chorus and a literary

12) This is a typical motif of stories involving Dionysos as a central character.

employing language that is "lofty.. . with archaisms, elevated s

language;23) he is, however, the mo

25) Wills, 313, maintains that Dionysos i

947, 975, 983) and is a fundamental element of comedy as ar

From the very beginning Dionysos is the ???t?? of comedy (1-

Herakles, farts while rowing in Char

IV. Judge, and Patron of Tragedy and of the Lenaian Festival

Dionysos' role as patron of drama wins him in Hades th

36) See Dover, v. 100, and Sommerstein, v. 100: d???t??? is "alien to

him-self must agree (918). After Eurip

flask',39) (1198-248) Dionysos, misunderstanding Aischylos'

39) See Sommerstein, v. 1198-247, for recent bibliography concernin

similar to what the Chorus has utte

s?????? d' ?p???s?a? t??? ???ta?s? ??????a??

I wish to suggest a little something to the judges: to the wise judges,

Because the god of drama considers these two categories, wisdom

44) According to the prose Hypothesis to this play, Dicaearchus is reported to

factual accuracy, b) moral and educational integrity, and c) technical skill an

hope that Aischylos' advice can hel

In this play in which literary techniques, skill, and style are so

the parodies of tragedies in the second half of the play, Diony

Omaha, NE 68178, Creighton University

54) I should like to thank C. Anderson, R. Edmonds, III, J. Mikalson,

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