The question of the text’s date is picked up at various points in the commentary itself, which highlights those linguistic features that scholars have adduced as dating evidence. On the basis of the poem’s style and diction, Christensen and Robinson conclude that it is by an author who ‘worked in a center of Greek learning and culture, but lived in an increasingly “Roman” world’, and imply that the 1st century CE is its most likely date (pp. 5 Similarly, as part of the useful discussion of key features of the ancient parodic tradition, illustrative passages are provided from Hipponax and Hegemon. One feature of the introduction that will be especially helpful for students is the full text and translation of the two variants of the Aesopic ‘frog and mouse’ fable. 1-37) is divided into sections on: date and authorship the manuscript tradition ‘our poem’ the tradition of fable epic parody parodic epic Homeric language and meter formulaic language some conclusions about date and authorship a summary of epic divergences from Attic Greek and a brief note on the translation. They provide an introduction, bibliography, Greek text, English translation (in a separate section, rather than facing the Greek), commentary and glossary. They therefore aim their volume at readers unfamiliar with the poem and the traditions that influenced it, and suggest that their commentary is especially suitable for ‘intermediate and early-advanced reading of Greek’. x-xiii): their original plan was simply to produce a translation, but the questions they found themselves asking about the poem led them to create a commentary ‘for students setting out with just a bit of Greek to read something a little different’. xi), and the publication of a commentary in English will certainly help to excite wider interest in this fascinating and enjoyable survival of Homeric parody.Ĭhristensen and Robinson explain the genesis of their project (pp. 4 Christensen and Robinson write that their commentary ‘seeks to fill this void partially’ (p. 2 The result of this situation is that, although there are modern commentaries in German and Italian, 3 Anglophone undergraduates are most likely to be familiar with the poem only from M.L. 1 Such views of the poem as both insignificant and intractable meant that it was not until the 1980s that it began to be considered more seriously ‘as a complex and sophisticated text… rather than as a “subliterary” comic curio’. Allen described it as a ‘pusillum poemation’ and expressed some wonder at the considerable efforts expended by Ludwich on the text of a ‘miserum poema’ so afflicted with variant readings. Powerless against the armored CRABS, the MICE RETREATS, and the ONE-DAY WAR ENDS AT SUNDOWN.Introducing the Batrachomyomachia in his Oxford text of Homer, T.W. ZEUS summons a FORCE OF CRABS TO PREVENT COMPLETE DESTRUCTION OF THE FROGS. Eventually the GODS DECIDE TO WATCH RATHER THAN GET INVOLVED. In the meantime, ZEUS, seeing the brewing war, PROPOSES that the gods take sides, and specifically that ATHENA help the MICE.Īthena was the goddess of Wisdom, Courage, Inspiration, Civilization, Law and Justice, Just Warfare, Mathematics, Strength, Strategy, The Arts, Crafts, and Skill.Īthena refuses, saying that MICE have done her a lot of mischief. The FROGS BLAME THEIR KING, who ALTOGETHER DENIES the INCIDENT. The LAND of the MICE ARM THEMSELVES FOR BATTLE to AVENGE the FROG king's TREACHERY, and SEND A HERALD to the LAND of the FROGS with a DECLARATION OF WAR. As a way to save his life, the FROG DIVES, FORGETTING about the MOUSE, who DROWNS.Īnother MOUSE WITNESSES the scene FROM THE BANK of the Lake, and RUNS TO TELL EVERYONE ABOUT IT. While on the water, THEY ARE CONFRONTED BY A FRIGHTENING WATER SNAKE. PLOT: A MOUSE drinking water from a Lake MEETS the FROG king, who invites him to his house.Īs the FROG king SWIMS ACROSS the Lake, the MOUSE, who does not know how to swim, SITS ON HIS BACK. It is an independent post doctoral research centre for theoretical research and intellectual inquire. The Germans has used the parody to describe disputes such as the one between The School of Math and The School of Social Science at the Institute for Advanced Study located in Princeton, NJ, USA. The BATTLE OF FROGS AND MICE is an epic or parody of The Illiad, attributed to the blind poet Homer, by the Romans.
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