The ''Batrachomyomachia'' ( grc, Βατραχομυομαχία, from , "

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely Carnivore, carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order (biology), order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-f ...

", , "

mouse A mouse ( : mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus' ...

", and , "battle") or ''Battle of the Frogs and Mice'' is a comic epic, or a parody of the ''

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odysse ...

'', commonly attributed to

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

, although other authors have been proposed.

Plot

Psycharpax, the Mouse-Prince, having escaped a hunting

cat The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...

, stops by the shore of a lake to drink, and encounters the Frog King Physignathus. Physignathus offers to show Psycharpax his kingdom, on the other side of the lake, and the Mouse agrees. Psycharpax climbs onto the Frog King's back, and Physignathus begins to swim across the lake. In the middle of the lake, they are confronted by a frightening water snake. Physignathus dives, forgetting about Psycharpax, who cannot swim, and drowns. On the bank, another Mouse witnesses Psycharpax' death, and informs the other Mice, who arm themselves for battle to avenge the Frog King's treachery, and send a herald to the Frogs with a declaration of war. The Frogs blame their King, who altogether denies the incident. In the meantime,

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label=Genitive case, genitive Aeolic Greek, Boeotian Aeolic and Doric Greek#Laconian, Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label=Genitive case, genitive el, Δίας, ''D� ...

, seeing the brewing war, proposes that the gods take sides, and specifically that

Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of ...

help the Mice. Athena refuses, saying that Mice have done her a lot of mischief. Eventually the gods decide to watch rather than get involved. A battle ensues, and the Mice prevail. Zeus summons a force of

crab Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" (abdomen) ( el, βραχύς , translit=brachys = short, / = tail), usually hidden entirely under the thorax. They live in all the ...

s to prevent the complete destruction of the Frogs. Powerless against the armoured crabs, the Mice retreat, and the one-day war ends at sundown.

Authorship

The

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

attributed the ''Batrachomyomachia'' to Homer, but according to

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''P ...

, it is the work of

Pigres of Halicarnassus Pigres ( el, Πίγρης), a native of Halicarnassus, either the brother or the son of the celebrated Artemisia, satrap of Caria. He is spoken of by the '' Suda'' as the author of the ''Margites'' and the ''Batrachomyomachia''. The latter poem is a ...

, either the brother or son of Artemisia I, the Queen of

Caria Caria (; from Greek: Καρία, ''Karia''; tr, Karya) was a region of western Anatolia extending along the coast from mid-Ionia (Mycale) south to Lycia and east to Phrygia. The Ionians, Ionian and Dorians, Dorian Greeks colonized the west of i ...

, and an ally of Xerxes. Some modern scholars attribute the poem to an anonymous author who would have lived at the time of

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, wikt:Ἀλέξανδρος, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Maced ...

, although other authors have been proposed, such as

Lucian Lucian of Samosata, '; la, Lucianus Samosatensis ( 125 – after 180) was a Hellenized Syrian satirist, rhetorician and pamphleteer Pamphleteer is a historical term for someone who creates or distributes pamphlets, unbound (and therefore ...

. The word ''batrachomyomachia'' has come to mean "a trivial altercation". Both the Greek word and its German translation, ''Froschmäusekrieg'', have been used to describe disputes such as the one between the

ideologue An ideology is a set of beliefs or philosophies attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those held for reasons that are not purely epistemic, in which "practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones." Formerly applied pri ...

s and

pragmatists Pragmatism is a philosophical tradition that considers words and thought as tools and instruments for prediction, problem solving, and action, and rejects the idea that the function of thought is to describe, represent, or mirror reality. ...

in the

Reagan administration Ronald Reagan's tenure as the 40th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1981, and ended on January 20, 1989. Reagan, a Republican from California, took office following a landslide victory over D ...

Garry Wills Garry Wills (born May 22, 1934) is an American author, journalist, political philosopher, and historian, specializing in American history, politics, and religion, especially the history of the Catholic Church. He won a Pulitzer Prize for Genera ...

, "All the President's Mice" (review of

Larry Speakes Larry Melvin Speakes (September 13, 1939 – January 10, 2014) was an American journalist and spokesperson who acted as White House Press Secretary under President Ronald Reagan from 1981 to 1987. He assumed the role after Press Secretary James ...

, ''Speaking Out: The Reagan Presidency from Inside the White House''), ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', 15 May 1988.

References

English translations

*Chapman, George (trans.) ''Homer's Batrachomyomachia, Hymns and Epigrams''. Adamant Media Corporation, 2001. *Hine, Daryl (trans.) ''The Battle of the Frogs and the Mice, Works of Hesiod and the Homeric Hymns''. University of Chicago Press, 2008. *Stallings, A. E. (trans.) ''The Battle Between the Frogs and the Mice: a tiny homeric epic''. Philadelphia: Paul Dry Books, 2019. *Hosty, M. (trans.) ''Batrachomyomachia (Battle of the Frogs and Mice): Introduction, Text, Translation, and Commentary''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2020.

External links

The Batrachomyomachia
at the Ex-Classics Website; Translated by Jane Barlow with Decorations by decorations by Francis D. Bedford
Archive.org - ''Homer's Batrachomyomachia : hymns and epigrams'', translated by George Chapman.

* {{Authority control Ancient Greek mock-heroic poems War in mythology Homer Poetry based on the Iliad Fictional frogs Mice and rats in literature