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 ''Ody ...

'', 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, 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 Boeotian Aeolic and Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label= genitive el, Δίας, ''Días'' () is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek relig ...

, 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 v ...

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 th ...

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 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 hi ...

, it is the work of Pigres of Halicarnassus, 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 Ionian and Dorian Greeks colonized the west of it and joine ...

, 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, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...

, 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 who is best known for his characteristic tongue-in-cheek style, with which he frequently ridiculed supersti ...

. 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 ideologues and pragmatists 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 ...

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 Jame ...

, ''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