[Meaning] they were going up grasping with hands and feet.
Strictly speaking they used to say a)narrixa=sqai for climbing to a height gripping with hands and feet. Hellanicus [writes]: "he scrambled up to the treetops just like a monkey."[1] That is, he climbed up high, up trees and walls. It is derived from arrichoi ["wicker baskets"]. It is a type of basket, which they usually draw up by means of cords. Or from arachnai ["spiders' webs"], and is in effect a)raxna=sqai ["to weave a spider's web"]: for spiders spin along their aerial routes. Aristophanes [writes]: "[that] he might scramble up these to heaven"[2] - speaking about the dung-beetle.