Aristophanes Frogs 309-15* R.F.

Regtuit
Διόνυσος: οἴμοι, πόθεν μοι τὰ κακὰ ταυτὶ προσέπεσεν; 
(310) τίν᾽ αἰτιάσομαι θεῶν μ᾽ ἀπολλύναι;
Ξανθίας: αἰθέρα Διὸς δωμάτιον ἢ χρόνου πόδα;
αὐλεῖ τις  ἔνδοθεν）
Διόνυσος: οὗτος.
Ξανθίας: τί ἔστιν;
Διόνυσος: οὐ κατήκουσας;
Ξανθίας: τίνος;
Διόνυσος: αὐλῶν πνοῆς.
Ξανθίας: ἔγωγε, καὶ δᾴδων γέ με 
αὔρα τις εἰσέπνευσε μυστικωτάτη.
Διόνυσος: (315) ἀλλ᾽ ἠρεμὶ πτήξαντες ἀκροασώμεθα.

These lines mark the transition from the scene in which Dionysus and Xanthias have
arrived in the underworld to the appearance of the chorus in line 316. On their arrival
Dionysus and Xanthias have been confronted with the monster Empusa who frightens them
to death. On Empusa's disappearance, Dionysus asks which of the gods he should blame for
his destruction. They then hear a strange sound, also mentioned in the parepigraphe in some
manuscripts (auleí tis évdohev, printed in the margin of our text). After some speculation
about its origin, they decide to crouch down and await the events.

Line attribution in this scene has been the subject of a long discussion. There are three
problems involved. (1) Who is the speaker of line 311? (2) Who starts the sequence of short
questions and remarks in line 312? The answer to this question influences the choices in the
following line as well. (3) Who suggests that they hide in line 315? The answer to this
question also influences the choices in the previous lines.

The first two questions have been sufficiendy answered by previous editors and
commentators. Line 3x1 (a repetition of line 100) is spoken by Xanthias. Kassel (1994, 42
n. 22) rightly draws attention to Xanthias' being "ein Meister des ironischen Zitats". As
Xanthias here answers Dionysus' question,
I believe the line should be printed as a statement (so correctly Kock, van Leeuwen,
Fraenkel, and Dover), not as a question (Wilson). Kassel also points to Xanthias' clear role
as a servant in lines 301 and 318, which makes it hard to believe that he is addressing
Dionysus in line 312 with outoc.0 Line 312a is therefore spoken by Dionysus (so correctly
Ritschl,2' van Leeuwen, Fraenkel, Del Corno, Wilson). This automatically determines the
attribution of the remainder of 312 and the first part of 313 (αὐλῶν πνοῆς).

The third question however has not been settled. In line 315 the speaker breaks oft" the
discussion as the unknown sound comes closer. He suggests that they crouch down to see
what will happen. Sommerstein (ad loc.) rightly compares this scene with other well-known
'eavesdropping scenes', and he argues in favour of continuation by the same speaker.3' He
gives four parallels where the speaker who suggests they conceal themselves also speaks
the previous line. The transition is made by means of allá, which has its usual function of
breaking off the first topic and replacing it with a second (the suggestion to go in, etc.).
Only two of these are fully comparable to Frogs 315: Th. 36 (all´ekodwv tncswmev) and
E. EL 107-11. In Ach. 239 we have no subjunctive, in A. Ch. 20 no allá. It is, however, by
no means necessary to limit ourselves to eavesdropping scenes. In the whole of
Aristophanic comedy we find 25 first plural subjunctives introduced by allá. Most of these
occur in passages where the same character continues speaking, 4’ but in Wilson's text
there are four exceptions. I doubt however if his text is correct in these four pas sages.5' In
view of these parallels I am therefore convinced that line 315 is spoken by the character
who speaks line 314, and following Kassel's argument about the servant role of Xanthias,
this character can only be Dionysus.
This leaves us with a major problem. Line 314 is a continuation of line 313. Following the
discussion above, this would make Xanthias speak line 3i3b-4 (and therefore 315).

This is the text printed by Fraenkel, but I have argued that Dionysus should be speaking
line 315. The solution to this problem is simple. Dionysus calls for Xanthias' attention in
312a (outoc). Xanthias asks τί ἔστιν; (312b), to which Dionysus reacts with a new question
in 312c (οὐ κατήκουσας;). Xanthias feigns ignorance in 3i2d (tivoc;). When Dionysus has
clarified what he has heard (aαὐλῶν πνοῆς), Xanthias answers with a simple ἔγωγε ('yes, I
have').b) Dionysus then continues: he has not only heard a strange sound, but also notices
the smoke of the mystics' torches καὶ δᾴδων γέ με….). This use of καὶ... γέ is comparable to
that in Pax 934, V 811, or Av. 500, where, after a short remark by character B, character A
more or less continues his argument.7' When he has finished his remark on the torches,
Dionysus breaks off this part of the dialogue—apparently the chorus is becoming visible—
and suggests that they hide.

I therefore believe lines 309-15 should be printed thus: