The Frogs

“XANTHIAS. Well what was the point of making me carry this baggage

If I can’t make the jokes you hear in Phrynichos’ plays

Or the kind that Lykis and also Ameipsias writes?

Their comedies always have these baggage-slave scenes.

DIONYSOS. But just don’t do it. I know that when I’m watching

And see that kind of ‘sophisticated’ humour,

I’ve aged by more than a year when I leave the theatre.”

From the first lines, Frogs announces itself as self-conscious and parodic metanarrative. Dionysos, a god, is leading a donkey on which his slave, Xanthias, does and does not rest (since he is also carrying a bag). Xanthias wants to make the kind of joke that other contemporary playwrights make. Phrynichos, Lykis, and Ameipsias were all active during Aristophanes’ time, and Phrynichos was competing against Aristophanes in the 405 Lenaia at which Frogs won first prize. Dionysos’ reply plays on time, as festivals were held annually.

“XANTHIAS. Oh misery me! If only I’d served in that sea-fight—

I’d tell you to go and get stuffed, I really would!”

The sea-fight Xanthias refers to here is the battle at Arginousai that took place in 406 B.C.E. against Sparta. Enslaved men who fought in the battle were granted their freedom. Hence Xanthias laments that if he had fought and become a citizen, he would be in a position to talk back to Dionysos, though that is what he is doing anyway. The battle is alluded to multiple times in the play, as it was both a victory and a disaster for Athens. Though they won the battle, a storm in the aftermath prevented them from recovering and returning to Athens the bodies of their dead.