Olympian 3, 'For Theron of Acragas', is an ode by the 5th century BC Greek poet Pindar. [1]
The third Olympian celebrates the same victory as the second (that of 476), but, while the former Ode was probably sung in the palace of Theron, the present was performed in the temple of the Dioscuri at Acragas, on the occasion of the festival of the Theoxenia, when the gods were deemed to be entertained by Castor and Polydeuces. [1]
Acragas and Theron are commended to the favour of the Twin Brethren and their sister Helen (1–4). [1] The Muse has prompted the poet to invent a new type of Dorian song, to be sung to the accompaniment of the lyre and the flute (4–9). [1] He was also summoned to sing by Pisa, whence odes of victory are sent to all whom the umpire crowns with the olive, which Heracles brought back from the Hyperboreans to the treeless Olympia (9–34). [1]
Heracles is now attending the Theoxenia with the Twin Brethren, whom he caused to preside over the Olympic Games (34–38). [1] Theron's glory is a favour granted in return for his pious worship of the Twin Gods (38–41). [1] Even as water and gold are supreme in their kind, so Theron's exploits reach the Pillars of Heracles. [1]
Aeacus was a mythological king of the island of Aegina in the Saronic Gulf. He was a son of Zeus and the nymph Aegina, and the father of the heroes Peleus and Telamon. According to legend, he was famous for his justice, and after he died he became one of the three judges in Hades alongside Minos and Rhadamanthos. In another story, he assisted Poseidon and Apollo in building the walls of Troy.
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.
Simonides of Ceos was a Greek lyric poet, born in Ioulis on Ceos. The scholars of Hellenistic Alexandria included him in the canonical list of the nine lyric poets esteemed by them as worthy of critical study. Included on this list were Bacchylides, his nephew, and Pindar, reputedly a bitter rival, both of whom benefited from his innovative approach to lyric poetry. Simonides, however, was more involved than either in the major events and with the personalities of their times.
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.
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.
Menoetius or Menoetes, meaning doomed might, is a name that refers to three distinct beings from Greek mythology:
In Greek mythology, Porphyrion was one of the Gigantes (Giants), who according to Hesiod, were the offspring of Gaia, born from the blood that fell when Uranus (Sky) was castrated by their son Cronus. In some other versions of the myth, the Gigantes were born of Gaia and Tartarus.
In Classical Greek mythology, Taygete was a nymph, one of the Pleiades according to the Bibliotheca (3.10.1) and a companion of Artemis, in her archaic role as potnia theron, "Mistress of the animals", with its likely roots in prehistory. Mount Taygetos in Laconia, dedicated to the goddess, was her haunt.
In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the twelve Olympians are the major deities of the Greek pantheon, commonly considered to be Zeus, Poseidon, Hera, Demeter, Aphrodite, Athena, Artemis, Apollo, Ares, Hephaestus, Hermes, and either Hestia or Dionysus. They were called Olympians because, according to tradition, they resided on Mount Olympus.
Theron, son of Aenesidemus, was a Greek tyrant of the town of Acragas in Sicily in Magna Graecia from 488 BC. According to Polyaenus, he came to power by using public funds allocated for the hire of private contractors meant to assist with a temple building project, to instead hire a personal group of bodyguards. With this force at his disposal, he was able to seize control of the town's government. He soon became an ally of Gelo, who at that time controlled Gela, and from 485 BC, Syracuse. Gelo later became Theron's son-in-law.
Agonius or Enagonius (Εναγώνιος) was an epithet of several gods in Greek mythology. Aeschylus and Sophocles use it of Apollo and Zeus, and apparently in the sense of helpers in struggles and contests, or possibly as the protectors of soldiers. But Agonius is more especially used as an epithet of Hermes, who presides over all kinds of solemn contests (ἀγῶνες), such as the Agonalia. Classical scholar William Warde Fowler thought it likely the deity or the epithets were merely inventions of the pontifices.
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. It was the most quoted in antiquity and was hailed as the "best of all the odes" by Lucian. 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.
Olympian 2, 'For Theron of Acragas', is an ode by the 5th century BC Greek poet Pindar.
Olympian 4, 'For Psaumis of Camarina', is an ode by the 5th century BC Greek poet Pindar.
Olympian 5, 'For Psaumis of Camarina', is an ode by the 5th century BC Greek poet Pindar.
Olympian 6, 'For Hagesias of Syracuse', is an ode by the 5th century BC Greek poet Pindar.
Olympian 7, 'For Diagoras of Rhodes', is an ode by the 5th century BC Greek poet Pindar.
Olympian 8, 'For Alcimedon of Aegina', is an ode by the 5th century BC Greek poet Pindar.
Olympian 9, 'For Epharmostus of Opus', is an ode by the 5th century BC Greek poet Pindar.
Olympian 13, 'For Xenophon of Corinth', is an ode by the 5th century BC Greek poet Pindar.
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