Comments on: Whither Capnius?

Question: Whither Capnius?

hermitosis — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 21:28:20 -0800

Can you explain this line from Aristophanes' "The Wasps"?

In the play, Bdelycleon states: "But am I not the most unfortunate of men? Henceforward I shall only be called the son of Capnius." (Ctrl+F to find the line)

I can't find any reference to Capnius that doesn't stem from this play. Is this a joke? Does it have to do with etymology that I just don't understand?

Who is Capnius, or what does it mean?

By: gubo

gubo — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 21:46:12 -0800

Apparently it was a nickname of the comic poet Ecphantides. [1] [2] It means "smoky". They are talking about smoke just beforehand.

By: gubo

gubo — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 21:58:17 -0800

Sorry, forgot to add that the Greek name is written Καπνίας.

By: trip and a half

trip and a half — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 22:00:38 -0800

gubo has it. κάπνιον ('capnion', or, latinized, 'capnius') means "little smoke". This nickname was later used by Johann Reuchlin, the German humanist.

By: hermitosis

hermitosis — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 06:48:23 -0800

Thanks, that was fast and super helpful. Gubo, it also says in one of your links that it is also been used in reference to a kind of jasper.

It seems that Aristophanes ridiculed Ecphantides over artistic differences, so the comment has a clear double meaning.

I'd be interested in reading any works by Ecphantides, but it doesn't look they have been well preserved.