Secondly, the tr€orxo! in
Birds and the seizing satyrs of the vases share affinities. No one need be reminded of the erect
phalloi that the satyrs of satyr drama sport, but we must examine more closely the appearance of the tr€orxo! in
Birds. First, the very word has implications that point toward a phallus. The word literally means "three-balled" or "with three testicles".
[61] This may, of course, be a figure of speech and not point toward any physical attribute of the actor-bird. Even so, it is striking that a bird with an extraordinary phallic nature, much like that of the satyrs, be chosen to grab Iris.
[62] But the term tr€orxo! may not be a mere verbal double entendre. We now have a vase in the Getty Museum (acquired in 1982) that provides interesting evidence for the costumes of the birds in our play.
[63] On the Getty vase, two birds wear erect
phalloi. If, as J. R. Green suggests, these birds represent the chorus from our play, then the tr€orxo! at 1206 should look similar to these birds, which being ithyphallic resemble satyrs.
[64] In addition, the Getty birds resemble satyrs in the construction of their costumes. The actors wear a pair of shorts with an erect phallus attached just as actors of satyr drama do.
[65] It is also interesting to note that both Green and Taplin point to the similarity of the Getty birds to satyr-plays. Green suggests that
Birds "was to some degree intended as a mock satyr-play for the
Tereus itself,"
[66] and Taplin, though certain that the vase does not depict
Birds but Right and Wrong argument from
Clouds 888ff.,
[67] still adds that "some comedian [could have] invented the
satyralektryon, and produced a whole chorus of them."
[68] While we cannot be certain that the entire bird chorus was erect throughout the play, it is interesting to note the many erotic elements in the play that might suggest it was. At 696-99 in the parabasis, the birds trace their lineage to ÖErv!
[69] and explain that they associate with lovers (704) and help them to persuade unwilling conquests (705 -6).
[70]