The wall in Aristophanes's Birds and the Walls of Troy: An Overlooked Parallel

Abstract

The wall in Aristophanes's Birds and the Walls of Troy:An Overlooked Parallel* Elena Chepel In his article 'Comedy and the Trojan War', Matthew Wright cites a passage from the parabasis in Aristophanes' Birds where the chorus, in a meta-theatrical address, invite the judges to see themselves in the role of Paris making his judgement about the three goddesses.1 τοῖς κριταῖς εἰπεῖν τι βουλόμεσθα τῆς νίκης πέρι,ὅσ' ἀγάθ', ἢν κρίνωσιν ἡμᾶς, πᾶσιν αὐτοῖς δώσομεν,ὥστε κρείττω δῶρα πολλῷ τῶν Ἀλεξάνδρου λαβεῖν I want now to speak to the judges about the prize; if they award their favour to us, we will give every one of them gifts far better than those Alexander received (Av. 1102–04).2 The comic parabasis (and Wright notes this as well)3 reflects the main plot of the play. In the cited passage, the comparison of the judges to Alexander emphasises the character of the chorus in the play – they are birds, new gods for humans. In this article, I shall argue that these lines in the parabasis, together with other allusions that follow them, put Birds in the perspective of the Trojan myth and, specifically, of Euripides' 'Trojan trilogy'. These mythological and dramatic contexts make the revolt against the gods, which constitutes the main plotline in Birds, more justified. The important symbol of the conflict between men and gods in Birds is the wall of the bird-city. It comes into focus right after the parabasis. Peisetairos [End Page 228] proclaims that his sacrifice to the new bird-gods was propitious (Av. 1118), and a messenger arrives bringing him the news that the wall has been built (ἐξῳκοδόμηταί σοι τὸ τεῖχος, Av. 1124). The further dialogue between Peisetairos and the messenger, which lasts for about fifty lines, is concerned with the striking characteristics of the wall and the details of its construction by the birds. This wall is of no small importance and the moment of its announcement is crucial for the play. It affirms the status of the new city blessed by the new gods and its ruler: Peisetairos is addressed as ἄρχων for the first time (Av. 1123). Furthermore, the plot of Birds is based on the idea of building a city in the air to block the route between heaven and earth, disrupt sacrifices by not letting the smoke come through, and hence to overthrow the Olympian gods (Av. 188–93). With the wall, the blockade can start. Eventually, it will bring the final victory over the gods to the inhabitants of the city as well as the final prize, Basileia, to the main hero. The wall in this scene hence becomes the symbol of the city's grandiosity, Peisetairos' success in his endeavour, and the ruin of the gods; because of the wall, Zeus perishes (ἀπόλωλεν ὁ Ζεύς, Av. 1514). The description of the wall in Birds has been interpreted as a comic reference to the Babylonian walls described by Herodotus 1.178–79. This parallel has travelled tralatitiously from commentary to commentary on the play since at least the 18th century and has made it into contemporary studies.4 Bergler was probably the first scholar to compare this passage with Herodotus' Histories. He cited the specific description of the width (that it is possible for two chariots to pass by each other), and a lexical parallel in the measurements of the wall (ἑκατοντορόγυιον, royal cubit, Av. 1131).5 These parallels, however, are rather typical for portraying the size of a military wall and cannot decisively point to a borrowing from Herodotus.6 [End Page 229] There is, however, one evident allusion in this passage which has been overlooked by the students of the play. With the word δούριος (sc. ἵππος) in the Messenger's description of the wall, the passage reminds the audience of the Trojan myth: Κάλλιστον ἔργον καὶ μεγαλοπρεπέστατον·ὥστ' ἂν ἐπάνω μὲν Προξενίδης ὁ Κομπασεὺςκαὶ Θεογένης ἐναντίω δύ' ἅρματε,ἵππων ὑπόντων μέγεθος ὅσον ὁ δούριος,ὑπὸ τοῦ πλάτους ἂν παρελασαίτην. It's a most beautiful, a most magnificent work so that Proxenides, the Braggartian, and Theogenes could pass by each other in two chariots upon its width, even if they were drawn by steeds as big as the Trojan horse. (Av. 1125–29) This rare word, meaning the Trojan wooden horse, is first attested in Euripides' Trojan women (13–14),7 followed by Plato (Tht. 184d) and later authors, almost exclusively in the context of the Trojan myth. The story of the wooden horse built by Epeius played a noticeable part in...