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spacestationtrustfund's review against another edition
3.0
This review is of the translation by William Bedell Stanford.
Sometimes a word in an ancient or extinct language doesn't align with modern sensibilities of how things ought to be, and it's always interesting to me to see how people grapple with that word. Take, for example, the Ancient Greek word παῖς: this is a non-gendered noun, c'est-à-dire, it could be either masculine or feminine (or neither) depending on the context. The word refers to a young person, a child, a prepubescent youth, and could be used to denote a receptive partner in a pederastic relationship, or a virginal young girl, or just a general youth. Often, the context genders the word, but not always—not in the case of its use in Aristophanes's Frogs.
Instead of being left ambiguously gendered (or un-gendered), this word is almost always—at least in the many times I've encountered it—rendered as either "boy" or (less frequently) "girl." (In rare instances where it is translated as "youth," the context almost always genders the word.) For example, think of the Sappho fragment (102 in Lobel-Page) in which she says:
This word is also used in a joke in Frogs. Dionysos is struggling to explain what he's lusting after, and Heracles helpfully offers some suggestions: γυνή (a woman)? No, that's not it. What about ᾰ̓νήρ (a man)? Not that either. Well, then παιδός (a youth)? Absolutely not! Dionysos is lusting after soup.
Now, in the context of this joke, I've usually seen the word translated as "boy," which does indeed align with contemporary views on sexuality: Heracles suggests sex with a woman (wrong), sex with a man (also wrong), and sex with presumably a young boy in his early teens (definitely wrong). But the way to specify to which gender one refers when using the word παῖς is via a gendered article, which is notably absent in this case, as with the Sappho fragment. The translator is then left with a choice: translate the word according to what it's believed Aristophanes meant (i.e., "boy") or translate the word accurately (i.e., "youth")? Most opt for the former route.
Sometimes a word in an ancient or extinct language doesn't align with modern sensibilities of how things ought to be, and it's always interesting to me to see how people grapple with that word. Take, for example, the Ancient Greek word παῖς: this is a non-gendered noun, c'est-à-dire, it could be either masculine or feminine (or neither) depending on the context. The word refers to a young person, a child, a prepubescent youth, and could be used to denote a receptive partner in a pederastic relationship, or a virginal young girl, or just a general youth. Often, the context genders the word, but not always—not in the case of its use in Aristophanes's Frogs.
Instead of being left ambiguously gendered (or un-gendered), this word is almost always—at least in the many times I've encountered it—rendered as either "boy" or (less frequently) "girl." (In rare instances where it is translated as "youth," the context almost always genders the word.) For example, think of the Sappho fragment (102 in Lobel-Page) in which she says:
Γλύκεια μᾶτερ, οὔ τοι δύναμαι κρέκην τὸν ἴστον,Often, context genders the word, but not in this instance; most translations of Sappho translate the word as "boy," with only a few opting for "girl." Neither is more correct. (Contemporary cognates include the decidedly masculine Latin puer, so I could see the association there; however, the only reason the Greek is assumed to be masculine is due to patriarchal misogyny.)
πόθῳ δάμεισα παῖδοσ βραδίναν δἰ Ἀφρόδιταν
This word is also used in a joke in Frogs. Dionysos is struggling to explain what he's lusting after, and Heracles helpfully offers some suggestions: γυνή (a woman)? No, that's not it. What about ᾰ̓νήρ (a man)? Not that either. Well, then παιδός (a youth)? Absolutely not! Dionysos is lusting after soup.
Now, in the context of this joke, I've usually seen the word translated as "boy," which does indeed align with contemporary views on sexuality: Heracles suggests sex with a woman (wrong), sex with a man (also wrong), and sex with presumably a young boy in his early teens (definitely wrong). But the way to specify to which gender one refers when using the word παῖς is via a gendered article, which is notably absent in this case, as with the Sappho fragment. The translator is then left with a choice: translate the word according to what it's believed Aristophanes meant (i.e., "boy") or translate the word accurately (i.e., "youth")? Most opt for the former route.
spacestationtrustfund's review against another edition
4.0
Look, I'll be honest: Benjamin Bickley Rogers's translation is my favourite by a long shot. It might not be the most accurate to the original, but it's by far the funniest. Xanthias especially is particularly relatable. "Come now, that comical joke?" and the whole "sudden lust for soup" scene... chef's kiss.
gdonahue's review
3.0
This is much more of a 3.75! I found parts of this play charming and hilarious. Particularly the actual trip to Hades and the shifting roles of Dionysus and Xanthus. The battle for best tragic poet between Euripedes and Aeschylus was a bit lengthy, but perhaps would have played better on stage. Overall, very enjoyable and humorous.
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