Olympian 1

Last updated
Pindar composed his victory ode for performance, in the Aeolian mode (line 102) and to the accompaniment of the phorminx: "Come, take the Dorian lyre down from its peg" (lines 17-18). On this white-ground lekythos by the Achilles Painter, c. 450 BC, a female figure is seated on a rock labelled Helicon, the mountain sacred to the Muses, thus identifying her as one of the nine. She plays the phorminx while the small bird by her feet may represent accompanying song Mousai Helikon Staatliche Antikensammlungen Schoen80 n1.jpg
Pindar composed his victory ode for performance, in the Aeolian mode (line 102) and to the accompaniment of the phorminx: "Come, take the Dorian lyre down from its peg" (lines 17-18). On this white-ground lekythos by the Achilles Painter, c. 450 BC, a female figure is seated on a rock labelled Helicon, the mountain sacred to the Muses, thus identifying her as one of the nine. She plays the phorminx while the small bird by her feet may represent accompanying song

The Greek lyric poet Pindar composed odes to celebrate victories at all four Panhellenic Games. Of his fourteen Olympian Odes, glorifying victors at the Ancient Olympic Games, the First was positioned at the beginning of the collection by Aristophanes of Byzantium since it included praise for the games as well as of Pelops, who first competed at Elis (the polis or city-state in which the festival was later staged). [4] It was the most quoted in antiquity [5] and was hailed as the "best of all the odes" by Lucian. [6] Pindar composed the epinikion in honour of his then patron Hieron I, tyrant of Syracuse, whose horse Pherenikos and its jockey were victorious in the single horse race in 476 BC. [1]

Contents

Poetry

The ode begins with a priamel, where the rival distinctions of water and gold are introduced as a foil to the true prize, the celebration of victory in song. [7] Ring-composed, [8] Pindar returns in the final lines to the mutual dependency of victory and poetry, where "song needs deeds to celebrate, and success needs songs to make the areta last". [9] Through his association with victors, the poet hopes to be "famed in sophia among Greeks everywhere" (lines 115-6). [1] Yet a fragment of Eupolis suggests Pindar's hopes were frustrated, his compositions soon "condemned to silence by the boorishness of the masses". [10] [11]

Pelops

At the heart of the ode is Pindar's "refashioning" of the myth of Pelops, king of Pisa, son of Tantalus, father of Thyestes and Atreus, and hero after whom the Peloponnese or "Isle of Pelops" is named. [9] Pindar rejects the common version of the myth, wherein Tantalus violates the reciprocity of the feast and serves up his dismembered son Pelops to the gods (lines 48-52); Pelops' shoulder is of gleaming ivory (line 35) since Demeter, in mourning for Kore, unsuspectingly ate that part. [12] [13] Instead Pindar has Pelops disappear because he is carried off by Poseidon. [12] [14] After his "erotic complaisance", Pelops appeals to Poseidon for help, "if the loving gifts of Cyprian Aphrodite result in any gratitude" (lines 75-76); [15] the god grants him a golden chariot and horses with untiring wings (line 87); with these Pelops defeats Oenomaus in a race and wins the hand of his daughter Hippodameia, avoiding the fate of death previously meted out upon a series of vanquished suitors. [13]

Zeus flanked by Oenomaus and Pelops from the centre of the east pediment of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia, carved from Parian marble between 470 and 457 BC; the sculptural programme is described at length by Pausanias (V.10) ; the defeat of Oenomaus by Pelops provided a "legendary parallel" for the ousting from control of the festival of the Pisatans by the Eleans Part central del fronto oriental del temple de Zeus a Olimpia. D'esquerra a dreta, Enomau, Zeus i Pelops.JPG
Zeus flanked by Oenomaus and Pelops from the centre of the east pediment of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia, carved from Parian marble between 470 and 457 BC; the sculptural programme is described at length by Pausanias (V.10) ; the defeat of Oenomaus by Pelops provided a "legendary parallel" for the ousting from control of the festival of the Pisatans by the Eleans

In Homo Necans , Walter Burkert reads in these myths a reflection of the sacrificial rites at Olympia. [12] [13] The cultic centres of the sanctuary were the altar of Zeus, the stadium, and the tomb of Pelops, where "now he has a share in splendid blood-sacrifices, resting beside the ford of the Alpheus" (lines 90-93). [13] According to Philostratus, after sacrifice and the laying of the consecrated parts upon the altar, the runners would stand one stadion distant from it; once the priest had given the signal with a torch, they would race, with the winner then setting light to the offerings. [13] [17] Pindar, subordinating the foot race to that of the four-horse chariot, "could reflect the actual aetiology of the Olympics in the early 5th century [BC]". [12] [18]

Patronage

According to Maurice Bowra, the main purpose of the poem is "Pindar's first attempt to deal seriously with the problems of kingship", and especially "the relations of kings with the gods". [5] Hieron, "Pindar's greatest patron" and honorand in four odes and a now-fragmentary encomium, [9] is likened to a Homeric king, as he "sways the sceptre of the law in sheep-rich Sicily" (lines 12-13). [5] Pindar incorporates the ideology of xenia or hospitality into his ode, setting it in the context of a choral performance around Hieron's table, to the strains of the phorminx (lines 15-18). [19] Yet the poet keeps his distance; the central mythological episode is concerned with chariot racing, a more prestigious competition than the single horse race; [12] and Pindar warns Hieron that there are limits to human ambition (line 114). [5]

English translations

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poseidon</span> Ancient Greek god of the sea, earthquakes, and horses

Poseidon is one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and mythology, presiding over the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses. He was the protector of seafarers and the guardian of many Hellenic cities and colonies. In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, Poseidon was venerated as a chief deity at Pylos and Thebes, with the cult title "earth shaker"; in the myths of isolated Arcadia, he is related to Demeter and Persephone and was venerated as a horse, and as a god of the waters. Poseidon maintained both associations among most Greeks: he was regarded as the tamer or father of horses, who, with a strike of his trident, created springs. His Roman equivalent is Neptune.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tantalus</span> Greek mythological figure and son of Zeus

Tantalus, also called Atys, was a Greek mythological figure, most famous for his punishment in Tartarus: for trying to trick the gods into eating his son, he was made to stand in a pool of water beneath a fruit tree with low branches, with the fruit ever eluding his grasp, and the water always receding before he could take a drink.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bacchylides</span> Greek lyric poet (c. 518 – c. 451 BC)

Bacchylides was a Greek lyric poet. Later Greeks included him in the canonical list of Nine Lyric Poets, which included his uncle Simonides. The elegance and polished style of his lyrics have been noted in Bacchylidean scholarship since at least Longinus. Some scholars have characterized these qualities as superficial charm. He has often been compared unfavourably with his contemporary, Pindar, as "a kind of Boccherini to Pindar's Haydn". However, the differences in their styles do not allow for easy comparison, and translator Robert Fagles has written that "to blame Bacchylides for not being Pindar is as childish a judgement as to condemn ... Marvell for missing the grandeur of Milton". His career coincided with the ascendency of dramatic styles of poetry, as embodied in the works of Aeschylus or Sophocles, and he is in fact considered one of the last poets of major significance within the more ancient tradition of purely lyric poetry. The most notable features of his lyrics are their clarity in expression and simplicity of thought, making them an ideal introduction to the study of Greek lyric poetry in general and to Pindar's verse in particular.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amphitrite</span> Queen of the sea and wife of Poseidon in Greek mythology

In ancient Greek mythology, Amphitrite was the goddess of the sea, the queen of the sea, and her consort is Poseidon. She was a daughter of Nereus and Doris. Under the influence of the Olympian pantheon, she became the consort of Poseidon and was later used as a symbolic representation of the sea. Her Roman counterpart is Salacia, a comparatively minor figure, and the goddess of saltwater.

HieronI was the son of Deinomenes, the brother of Gelon and tyrant of Syracuse in Sicily, from 478 to 467 BC. In succeeding Gelon, he conspired against a third brother, Polyzelos.

Halirrhothius was the Athenian son of Poseidon and Euryte or Bathycleia in Greek mythology. He was also called the son of Perieres and husband of Alcyone who bore him two sons, Serus and Alazygus. Another son of Halirrhothius, Samos of Mantinea was the victor of the four-horse chariot during the first Olympic games established by Heracles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amphiaraus</span> Figure from Greek mythology

In Greek mythology, Amphiaraus or Amphiaraos was the son of Oicles, a seer, and one of the leaders of the Seven against Thebes. Amphiaraus at first refused to go with Adrastus on this expedition against Thebes as he foresaw the death of everyone who joined the expedition. His wife, Eriphyle, eventually compelled him to go.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pindar</span> 5th century BC Greek lyric poet from Thebes

Pindar was an Ancient Greek lyric poet from Thebes. Of the canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, his work is the best preserved. Quintilian wrote, "Of the nine lyric poets, Pindar is by far the greatest, in virtue of his inspired magnificence, the beauty of his thoughts and figures, the rich exuberance of his language and matter, and his rolling flood of eloquence, characteristics which, as Horace rightly held, make him inimitable." His poems can also, however, seem difficult and even peculiar. The Athenian comic playwright Eupolis once remarked that they "are already reduced to silence by the disinclination of the multitude for elegant learning". Some scholars in the modern age also found his poetry perplexing, at least until the 1896 discovery of some poems by his rival Bacchylides; comparisons of their work showed that many of Pindar's idiosyncrasies are typical of archaic genres rather than of only the poet himself. His poetry, while admired by critics, still challenges the casual reader and his work is largely unread among the general public.

In Greek mythology, Iamus was the son of Apollo and Evadne, a daughter of Poseidon, raised by Aepytus.

In Greek mythology, Rhodos/Rhodus or Rhode, was the goddess and personification of the island of Rhodes and a wife of the sun god Helios.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pelops</span> Mythical character

In Greek mythology, Pelops was king of Pisa in the Peloponnesus region. He was the son of Tantalus and the father of Atreus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hippodamia (daughter of Oenomaus)</span>

Hippodamia was a Greek mythological figure. She was the queen of Pisa and the wife of Pelops, appearing with Pelops at a potential cult site in Ancient Olympia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oenomaus</span>

In Greek mythology, King Oenomaus of Pisa, was the father of Hippodamia and the son of Ares. His name Oinomaos denotes a wine man.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pirene (nymph)</span> Nymph

In Greek mythology, Pirene or Peirene, a nymph, was either the daughter of the river god Asopus, Laconian king Oebalus, or the river god Achelous, depending on different sources. By Poseidon she became the mother of Lecheas and Cenchrias.

Euryalus refers to the Euryalus fortress, the main citadel of Ancient Syracuse, and to several different characters from Greek mythology and classical literature:

Panhellenic Games is the collective term for four separate sports festivals held in ancient Greece. The four Games were the Olympic Games which were held at Olympia in honor of Zeus. The Pythian Games took place in Delphi and honored Apollo. Nemean Games took place at Nemea and also honored Zeus. The Isthmian Games took place in Isthmia and were held in honor of Poseidon. Each of these Games took place over a four-year period, starting with the Olympics. Along with the fame and notoriety of winning the ancient Games, the athletes earned different crowns of leaves from the different Games. From the Olympics, the victor won an olive wreath, from the Pythian Games a laurel wreath, from the Nemean Games a crown of wild celery leaves, and from the Isthmian Games a crown of pine.

In Greek and Roman mythology, Glaucus, usually surnamed as Potnieus, was a son of Sisyphus whose main myth involved his violent death as the result of his horsemanship. He was the king of the Boeotian city of Potniae or sometimes of Corinth. Glaucus was the subject of a lost tragedy by Aeschylus, Glaucus Potnieus(Glaucus at Potniae), fragments of which are contained in an Oxyrhynchus Papyrus.

Pherenikos was an Ancient Greek chestnut racehorse victorious at the Olympic and Pythian Games in the 470s BC. Pherenikos, whose name means "victory-bearer", was "the most famous racehorse in antiquity". Owned by Hieron I, tyrant of Syracuse, Pherenikos is celebrated in the victory odes of both Pindar and Bacchylides.

In Greek mythology, Erginus was an Argonaut who piloted the Argo after the helmsman Tiphys died.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern pediment of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia</span>

The Eastern pediment of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia depicts the tale of Pelops just before the chariot race wherein he kills the king Oenomaus in order to win the hand of his daughter Hippodamia. The depiction of this chariot race on the east pediment of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia, along with that of the Twelve Labours of Heracles on the metopes of the frieze, relate to the location of the temple in Olympia; the chariot race and Heracles were both believed to have started the tradition of the Olympic Games.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Olympian I". Perseus Project . Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  2. ↑ Bundrick, Sheramy D. (2005). Music And Image In Classical Athens. Cambridge University Press. p. 26. ISBN   978-0-521-84806-0.
  3. ↑ Oakley, John H. "The Achilles Painter - White Ground: Middle Phase". Perseus Project . Retrieved 14 July 2012.
  4. ↑ Drachmann, A. B. (1903). Scholia Vetera in Pindari Carmina (in Ancient Greek). Vol. I. Teubner. p. 7.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Bowra, Maurice (1964). Pindar. Oxford University Press. pp. 126f.
  6. ↑ Lucian. "Gallus 7" (in Ancient Greek). Perseus Project . Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  7. ↑ Verdenius, Willem Jacob (1988). Commentaries on Pindar: Olympian Odes 1, 10, 11, Nemean 11, Isthmian 2. Brill. pp. 4ff. ISBN   90-04-08535-1.
  8. ↑ Sicking, C. M. J. (1983). "Pindar's First Olympian: an interpretation". Mnemosyne . 36 (1). Brill: 61ff. doi:10.1163/156852583x00043. JSTOR   4431206.
  9. 1 2 3 Race, William H. (1986). Pindar . Twayne Publishers. pp.  36, 62–4. ISBN   0-8057-6624-3.
  10. ↑ Athenaeus. "Deipnosophistae I.4" (in Ancient Greek). Perseus Project . Retrieved 12 July 2012.
  11. ↑ Yunis, Harvey, ed. (2007). Written Texts and the Rise of Literate Culture in Ancient Greece. Cambridge University Press. p. 28. ISBN   978-0-521-03915-4.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 Nagy, Gregory (1990). Pindar's Homer: The Lyric Possession of an Epic Past. Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 116f. ISBN   0-8018-3932-7.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 Burkert, Walter (1983) [1972]. Homo Necans: the Anthropology of Ancient Greek Sacrificial Ritual and Myth . University of California Press. pp. 93–103. ISBN   0-520-05875-5.
  14. ↑ Köhnken, Adolf (1974). "Pindar as Innovator: Poseidon Hippios and the Relevance of the Pelops Story in Olympian 1". The Classical Quarterly. 24 (2). Cambridge University Press/The Classical Association: 199–206. doi:10.1017/s0009838800032730. JSTOR   638481. S2CID   170440064.
  15. ↑ Cairns, Francis (1977). "'ΈΡΩΣ in Pindar's First Olympian Ode". Hermes. 105 (2). Franz Steiner Verlag: 129–132. JSTOR   4476002.
  16. ↑ Ashmole, Bernard (1967). Olympia: The Sculptures of the Temple of Zeus . Phaidon Press. pp. 6ff., 12ff., 31f.
  17. ↑ Philostratus. "de Gymnastica 5" (in Ancient Greek). Perseus Project . Retrieved 10 July 2012.
  18. ↑ Nagy, Gregory (1986). "Pindar's Olympian 1 and the Aetiology of the Olympic Games". Transactions of the American Philological Association . 116. Johns Hopkins University Press: 71–88. doi:10.2307/283911. JSTOR   283911.
  19. ↑ Kurke, Leslie (1991). The Traffic in Praise: Pindar and the Poetics of Social Economy . Cornell University Press. pp.  136f. ISBN   0-8014-2350-3.
  20. ↑ Bacchylides. "Ode 5". Perseus Project . Retrieved 12 July 2012.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.