Σπατίλη
excreta
Translated by David Whitehead17 Feb 2014Vetting: high2 revisions
Translation
[Meaning] mens' dung. Also [meaning] the small bits of skin thrown out by the leather-workers. For spati/lh [means] skin, from the [verb] spa=sqai ["to be torn"]. Kleon [is a] coprophage, because he was a tanner of hides; since they used to process the hides with dung.
Greek original · Adler’s text
Σπατίλη· ἡ τῶν ἀνδρῶν κόπρος. καὶ τὰ μικρὰ δέρματα, τὰ ἐκβαλλόμενα ὑπὸ τῶν σκυτέων. σπατίλη γὰρ τὸ δέρμα, παρὰ τὸ σπᾶσθαι. σκατοφάγος δὲ ὁ Κλέων, ἐπεὶ βυρσοδέψης ἦν· ἐπεὶ μετὰ κόπρου τὰς βύρσας εἰργάζοντο.
Betacode
*spati/lh: h( tw=n a)ndrw=n ko/pros. kai\ ta\ mikra\ de/rmata, ta\ e)kballo/mena u(po\ tw=n skute/wn. spati/lh ga\r to\ de/rma, para\ to\ spa=sqai. skatofa/gos de\ o( *kle/wn, e)pei\ bursode/yhs h)=n: e)pei\ meta\ ko/prou ta\s bu/rsas ei)rga/zonto.
Notes
- Aristophanes, Peace 48 (where the headword, a feminine noun, occurs in the accusative case), with fuller scholia. Other sources specify that
spati/lh refers to loose stool or diarrhea (e.g. Hesychius sigma1436). With a play on the two significations listed here, Aristophanes refers to Kleon (beta 593, kappa 1731) eating thespati/lh; hence the reference to coprophagy.
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Revision history2 revisions · last 18 Feb 2014
- expanded note — David Whitehead
- augmented notes, added keywords, raised status — William Hutton
- Translated — David Whitehead