Scholion to Plato’s Apology 19c

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M = reading of the whole MS tradition
m = reading of part of the MS tradition
P = reading on a papyrus
 

Ἀριστοφάνης ὁ κωμωιδοποιὸς φαλακρὸς ἦν, ὡς αὐτός φησιν Εἰρήνηι Ar. Pax 771. ἐκωμωιδεῖτο δ’ ἐπὶ τῶι σκώπτειν μὲν Εὐριπίδην, μιμεῖσθαι δ’ αὐτόν. Κρατῖνος·

                            τίς δὲ σύ; κομψός τις ἔροιτο θεατής.
ὑπολεπτολόγος, γνωμιδιώκτης, εὐριπιδαριστοφανίζων. Fr. 342 K.-A.

καὶ αὐτὸς δ’ ἐξομολογεῖται Σκηνὰς καταλαμβανούσαις·

χρῶμαι γὰρ αὐτοῦ, φησί, τοῦ στόματος τῶι στρογγύλωι,
τοὺς νοῦς δ’ ἀγοραίους ἧττον ἢ ’κεῖνος ποιῶ. Fr. 488 K.-A.

Aristophanes the comic poet was bald, as he himself says in the Peace. He was mocked for making fun of Euripides whilst simultaneously imitating him. Cratinus says:

‘Who are you?’ a clever theatregoer might ask. An oversubtle speaker, a maxim-hunter, a Euripidaristophanist.

And he himself acknowledges this in Women Seizing Tents:

For, he says, I make use of his pithy expressions, But I produce thoughts less common than his.

Relevant guides	Aristophanes