SOL Search

['A donkey's shadow'] and 'About a donkey's shadow'; Sophocles in Cedalion[writes]: "whatever might happen, it is all a donkey's shadow."[1] Aristophanes in Daedalus [writes]: "because for you the war is now about what? About a donkey's shadow."[2] And Aristotle in Didaskaliai [writes] of a certain drama that it bears the title Donkey's Shadow.[3] But others [sc. say that] this was first uttered by Demosthenes, who, while speaking in defense of someone accused of capital offenses, noticed that those listening were becoming distracted. Calling out to them to pay a little attention, he began to detail how a man bound for Megara had taken out a donkey for hire, but from the coming of the day's heat, had wished to take relief under the shadow of the donkey, for there was no tree nor anything else nearby. But he was prevented by the donkey-driver, who asserted that the donkey alone had been hired out to him, not the shadow; and so for them there arose much preoccupation and contentiousness about this. Having said these things, as he [sc. Demosthenes] saw the Athenians having become very much intrigued, excited, and anxious to hear more things, he rebuked them, [sc. pointing out that] although they are feeling a need to hear and are beseeching about a donkey's shadow, yet concerning a man risking his life, they do not deign to listen. Clearly Demosthenes made use of him who said this.[4] Hence in the Philippics he also says that the Athenians are in a struggle about the shadow at Delphi, alluding to the proverb.[5]

*)/onou skia\ kai\ *peri\ o)/nou skia=s: *sofoklh=s *khdali/wni: o(/ ti a)/n ti gi/nhtai, ta\ pa/nt' o)/nou skia/. *)aristofa/nhs *daida/lw|: peri\ tou= ga\r u(mi=n o( po/lemos nu=n e)sti; peri\ o)/nou skia=s. *)aristote/lhs d' e)n *didaskali/ais kai\ dra/mato/s tinos fe/rei e)pigrafh\n *)/onou skia/n. oi( de\ prw=ton fqe/gcasqai tou=to *dhmosqe/nhn, a)pologou/menon u(pe/r tinos e)pi\ mega/lais ai)ti/ais krinome/nou, w(s e(w/ra qorubou=ntas tou\s a)krowme/nous. parakale/sas ga\r au)tou\s mikra\ prose/xein h)/rcato dihgei=sqai, w(s *megara/de a)piw\n misqw/saito o)/non, kau/matos de\ e)n th=| o(dw=| genome/nou, u(po\ th\n skia\n tou= o)/nou boulhqei/h a)napau/sasqai, ou) parei=nai ga\r ou)/te de/ndron ou)/t' a)/llo toiou=ton ou)de/n: to\n de\ o)nhla/thn kwlu/ein fa/skonta, o)/non au)tw=| memisqwke/nai mo/non, ou) mh\n kai\ skia/n: w(/ste diatribh\n au)toi=s kai\ filoneiki/an pollh\n peri\ tou/tou gene/sqai. tau=ta d' ei)pw/n, w(s ei)=de tou\s *)aqhnai/ous prose/xontas sfo/dra kai\ h(dome/nous kai\ poqou=ntas ta\ e(ch=s a)kou=sai, e)pe/plhcen au)toi=s, ei) peri\ o)/nou me\n skia=s a)kroa=sqai de/ontai kai\ parakalou=sin, u(pe\r de\ a)ndro\s peri\ tou= zh=n kinduneu/ontos ou)k e)qe/lousin a)kou/ein. dh=lon de\ o(/ti legome/nw| tou/tw| e)xrh/sato *dhmosqe/nhs. dio/per kai\ e)n toi=s *filippikoi=s parw|dw=n th\n paroimi/an fhsi\ diafe/resqai tou\s *)aqhnai/ous peri\ th=s e)n *delfoi=s skia=s.

The twin headword phrases are generated by the two quotations given; and the entire entry occurs almost verbatim in Photius' Lexicon (omicron364 Theodoridis).
The proverbial o)/nou skia/ was a common C5 BCE metaphor for something completely worthless (Pearson, pp. 11-2); cf. omicron 401, upsilon 327 (on which see further below, n. 4). This explanation for the expression is also given by the scholia to Plato, Phaedrus 260C (web address 1), where Socrates compares a rhetorician's endorsing evil under the name of good to praising the shadow of a donkey under the name of a horse; cf. the scholion to Lucian, Hermotimus 71 (Rabe, pp. 245-6), which is the same. See generally Tosi [cited under alpha 378] no.1939.
[1] Sophocles fr. 331 Radt. (Cedalion was evidently a lost satyr play; cf. Lloyd-Jones, pp. 182-3, whose selection, however, omits this fragment.) [In her critical apparatus Adler reports that ms A (= Parisinus 2626, before correction) transmits gi/netai, the present indicative middle/passive, third person singular form of the verb gi/gnomai (see LSJ s.v.), instead of the subjunctive: whatever happens.]
[2] Aristophanes fr. 199 K.-A. (192 Kock). The expression appears again at Aristophanes, Wasps 191 (web address 2), when Bdelycleon ("Loathes-Kleon") asks Philocleon ("Loves-Kleon") what he is fighting about, and the latter replies that it is "about the shadow of a donkey". On Kleon (Develin person no. 1659), see OCD(4) s.v. Cleon and kappa 1731. [Adler reports that ms G reads h(mi=n: for us.]
[3] Aristotle fr. 625 Rose. Aristotle's Didaskaliai (Production Records or Rehearsals) contains the first systematic record of Athenian theatrical productions (Csapo and Slater, p. 22; OCD(4) s.v. didaskalia). Evidently correlated with Aristotle's recorded entry, Zenobius 6.28.20-1 identifies the Old Comedy poet Archippos (alpha 4115 and OCD(4) s.v. Archippus) as the author of a play entitled *)/Onou skia/.
[4] With divergent details in the account, see also upsilon 327. The story is told again at Photius, Bibliotheca 495a17-30. [Adler reports that mss AS and M (before correction) all read tou=ton and Photius' Lexicon omits tou=to (they are first to credit Demosthenes); also that ms G substitutes a)po\ for peri\: from this; also that that ms S deleted ta\ (to hear more only) reads au)tou\s, the accusative case, which can also follow the verb e)piplh/ssw (I chastise, rebuke; see LSJ s.v.), and replaces de/ontai kai\ parakalou=sin with le/gontai (they are asking about).]
[5] Demosthenes 5.25 (web address 3). Harpocration and Photius' Lexicon pi787 Theodoridis (s.v. peri\ th=s e)n *Delfoi=s skia=s) cite Didymus as having suggested that Demosthenes used the expression to describe the political intrigues of Philip II of Macedon (reigned 359-336 BCE; cf. phi 354 and OCD(4) s.v. Philip(1)) within the Delphic Amphictiony (cf. iota 182, iota 183, pi 3161, and OCD(4) s.v. amphictiony). Against this, recent commentary generally argues that the orator was gesturing at the futility of Athens' participation in the Amphictiony (Gibson, pp. 172-4). [The text of ms S reads toi=s *)Aqhnai/ois: to the Athenians (so Adler).]

Suda On Line Search