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Dionysus
Although Xanthias is a man Dionysus has enslaved (and thus, he is socially inferior to Dionysus, a god), he’s wittier and braver than Dionysus, and he undermines, complains about, and outwits Dionysus at every opportunity he gets. In Hades, Xanthias and Pluto’s slave bond over their mutual enjoyment of complaining and spreading rumors about their masters. Though Dionysus is a god, he appears “effeminate” and acts incompetently, and he relies on his Heracles disguise to exude the outward appearance of power and bravery—traits that Xanthias possesses, but which his low social status obscures. Dionysus demands that Xanthias trade costumes with him multiple times throughout the play, often in an attempt to evade punishment, as when Aeacus threatens to torture “Heracles” for theft—hearing this and fearing for his wellbeing, Dionysus demands that Xanthias swap costumes with him and endure punishment in Dionysus’s place. While on the one hand Xanthias and Dionysus’s frequent costume-swapping is played for comedic effect, it also makes a statement about identity and how the outward appearance of greatness can obscure a person’s (and particularly a political leader’s) shortcomings.
Xanthias Quotes in The Frogs
The The Frogs quotes below are all either spoken by Xanthias or refer to Xanthias. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Act 1, Scene 1
Quotes
XANTHIAS Do you mean to say that I’ve been lugging these props around but I’m not allowed to use them to get a laugh? That’s what usually happens. Phrynichus, Lycis, Ameipsias – all the popular playwrights do it. The comic porter scene. There’s one in every comedy.
DIONYSUS Not in this one. Every time I go to a show and have to sit through one of those scintillating routines, I come away more than a year older.
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DIONYSUS I need a poet who can really write. Nowadays it seems like ‘many are gone, and those that live are bad’.
FROGS Brekekekex, koax, koax,
Brekekekex, koax, koax!
Oh we are the musical Frogs!
We live in the marshes and bogs!
Sweet, sweet is the hymn
We sing as we swim,
And our voices are known
For their beautiful tone
When on festival days
We sing out in praise
Of the genial god –
And we don’t think it odd
When the worshipping throng,
To the sound of our song,
Rolls home through the marshes and bogs;
Brekekekex!
Rolls home through the marshes and bogs.
Act 1, Scene 2
Quotes
XANTHIAS Come on, don’t dither. Remember you’re supposed to be Heracles!
DIONYSUS Well, if you’re feeling so brave and heroic, how about taking my place? Here you are, you take the club and lion-skin – a chance to show your courage – and I’ll carry the luggage for you.
XANTHIAS Anything you say. You’re the boss.
[They exchange roles.]
There, how do I look? Xanthias as Heracles! I reckon the part suits me better than it does you, you old coward!
DIONYSUS It’s a very good imitation of a slave dressed up as Heracles. Come on, let me have those bundles.
CHORUS
Well now you’re dressed up just the same as before,
A sight to make anyone tremble,
You must roll your eyes and swagger and roar
Like the god you’re supposed to resemble.
If you flinch or waver or fluff your role
And forget to speak bravely and brag, man,
You’ll be putting those suitcases back on that pole
And going back to your job as a bagman.
Act 2, Scene 1
Quotes
SLAVE He’s a real gentleman, your master, by Zeus.
XANTHIAS Of course. Like all real gentlemen he only understands two things: swigging and frigging.
SLAVE Well, Euripides came along and started showing off to all the other people we’ve got down here, you know, cut-throats, highwaymen, murderers, burglars – a right rough lot they are – and of course he soon had them all twisted round his little finger, with all his arguments and clever talking. So they’ve all started saying he’s the best, and he’s decided to lay claim to the chair instead of Aeschylus.
XANTHIAS Weighing poetry? What, like slices of meat?
SLAVE Oh, yes, it’s all got to be measured properly, with rulers, yardsticks, compasses and wedges, and god knows what else.
XANTHIAS A regular torture chamber.
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Explanation and Analysis:
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Xanthias Quotes in The Frogs
The The Frogs quotes below are all either spoken by Xanthias or refer to Xanthias. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Act 1, Scene 1
Quotes
XANTHIAS Do you mean to say that I’ve been lugging these props around but I’m not allowed to use them to get a laugh? That’s what usually happens. Phrynichus, Lycis, Ameipsias – all the popular playwrights do it. The comic porter scene. There’s one in every comedy.
DIONYSUS Not in this one. Every time I go to a show and have to sit through one of those scintillating routines, I come away more than a year older.
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
DIONYSUS I need a poet who can really write. Nowadays it seems like ‘many are gone, and those that live are bad’.
FROGS Brekekekex, koax, koax,
Brekekekex, koax, koax!
Oh we are the musical Frogs!
We live in the marshes and bogs!
Sweet, sweet is the hymn
We sing as we swim,
And our voices are known
For their beautiful tone
When on festival days
We sing out in praise
Of the genial god –
And we don’t think it odd
When the worshipping throng,
To the sound of our song,
Rolls home through the marshes and bogs;
Brekekekex!
Rolls home through the marshes and bogs.
Act 1, Scene 2
Quotes
XANTHIAS Come on, don’t dither. Remember you’re supposed to be Heracles!
DIONYSUS Well, if you’re feeling so brave and heroic, how about taking my place? Here you are, you take the club and lion-skin – a chance to show your courage – and I’ll carry the luggage for you.
XANTHIAS Anything you say. You’re the boss.
[They exchange roles.]
There, how do I look? Xanthias as Heracles! I reckon the part suits me better than it does you, you old coward!
DIONYSUS It’s a very good imitation of a slave dressed up as Heracles. Come on, let me have those bundles.
CHORUS
Well now you’re dressed up just the same as before,
A sight to make anyone tremble,
You must roll your eyes and swagger and roar
Like the god you’re supposed to resemble.
If you flinch or waver or fluff your role
And forget to speak bravely and brag, man,
You’ll be putting those suitcases back on that pole
And going back to your job as a bagman.
Act 2, Scene 1
Quotes
SLAVE He’s a real gentleman, your master, by Zeus.
XANTHIAS Of course. Like all real gentlemen he only understands two things: swigging and frigging.
SLAVE Well, Euripides came along and started showing off to all the other people we’ve got down here, you know, cut-throats, highwaymen, murderers, burglars – a right rough lot they are – and of course he soon had them all twisted round his little finger, with all his arguments and clever talking. So they’ve all started saying he’s the best, and he’s decided to lay claim to the chair instead of Aeschylus.
XANTHIAS Weighing poetry? What, like slices of meat?
SLAVE Oh, yes, it’s all got to be measured properly, with rulers, yardsticks, compasses and wedges, and god knows what else.
XANTHIAS A regular torture chamber.
Related Characters:
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Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
