Olympian 8

Last updated

Olympian 8, 'For Alcimedon of Aegina', is an ode by the 5th century BC Greek poet Pindar. [1]

Contents

Background

Stater of Olympia, 468-452 BC. Flying eagle clutching hare (obv.) Winged thunderbolt with volutes (rev.) Stater, 468-452 BC, Olympia. 78-82th Olympiad.jpg
Stater of Olympia, 468–452 BC. Flying eagle clutching hare (obv.) Winged thunderbolt with volutes (rev.)

Aegina, originally known as Oenone, was said to have derived its new name from a daughter of the river-god Asopus, who was carried off to the island by Zeus and there bare him a son named Aeacus. [1] The island was colonised first by Achaeans, and afterwards by Dorians from Epidaurus. [1]

The victor, Alcimedon, was a Blepsiad of the stock of Aeacus (75). [1] His grandfather was still living (70), but he had lost his father and his uncle (81 f). [1] His brother had been a victor at Nemea (15), and his trainer was the famous Melesias of Athens (53–66). [1]

The ode was probably composed at short notice, and was sung at Olympia, immediately after the victory, during the procession to the great altar of Zeus in the Altis. [1]

Summary

Coin of Elis. Nymph Olympia (obv.) Eagle in wreath (rev.) Coin of Elis (cropped).jpg
Coin of Elis. Nymph Olympia (obv.) Eagle in wreath (rev.)

Olympia is invoked as the "queen of truth", by reason of the happy issue of the answer given to the competitor by the diviners at the altar of Zeus (1–11). [1] Such happy issues do not come to all alike, (12–14); the victor's brother has been victorious at Nemea, and the victor himself at Olympia (15–18), thus bringing glory to Aegina, an island famed for its devotion to law and order and commerce, under Dorian rule, since the days of Aeacus (19–30). [2]

Myth of the building of the walls of Troy by Apollo, Poseidon, and Aeacus (31–52). [3]

Stater of Aegina, c. 456/45-431 BC. Land tortoise (obv.) Incuse skew pattern (rev.) ISLANDS off ATTICA. Aegina. Circa 456-45-431 BC.jpg
Stater of Aegina, c.456/45–431 BC. Land tortoise (obv.) Incuse skew pattern (rev.)

Praise of the trainer, Melesias of Athens (53–66). [3] The victor's triumph will rejoice the heart of his grandfather (67–73); six victories have already been won by the family (74–76). [3] The message sending news of this victory will reach his father and his uncle in the other world (77–84). [3] May Zeus grant to the family and to the island health and harmony and an untroubled life (84–88). [3]

Aftermath

The victory belongs to 460 BC. [3] In the following year Aegina, the island of the boy-wrestler, Alcimedon, was defeated at sea; and, in 456, disarmed, dismantled, and rendered tributary by Athens, the city of the boy's trainer, Melesias. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aeacus</span> Ancient Greek mythological ruler of the Myrmidons and judge of the dead

Aeacus was a mythological king of the island of Aegina in the Greek Myhthology. 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.

Asopus is the name of four different rivers in Greece and one in Turkey. In Greek mythology, it was also the name of the gods of those rivers. Zeus carried off Aegina, Asopus' daughter, and Sisyphus, who had witnessed the act, told Asopus that he could reveal the identity of the person who had abducted Aegina, but in return Asopus would have to provide a perennial fountain of water at Corinth, Sisyphus' city. Accordingly, Asopus produced a fountain at Corinth, and pursued Zeus, but had to retreat for fear of Zeus' terrible thunderbolt.

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.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Twelve Olympians</span> Major deities of the Greek pantheon

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aegina (mythology)</span> Nymph in Greek mythology

Aegina was a figure of Greek mythology, the nymph of the island that bears her name, Aegina, lying in the Saronic Gulf between Attica and the Peloponnesos. The archaic Temple of Aphaea, the "Invisible Goddess", on the island was later subsumed by the cult of Athena. Aphaia (Ἀφαῖα) may be read as an attribute of Aegina that provides an epithet, or as a doublet of the goddess.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nemea</span> Ancient site in Greece

Nemea is an ancient site in the northeastern part of the Peloponnese, in Greece. Formerly part of the territory of Cleonae in ancient Argolis, it is today situated in the regional unit of Corinthia. The small village of Archaia Nemea is immediately southwest of the archaeological site, while the new town of Nemea lies to the west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nike (mythology)</span> Personification of victory in Greek mythology

In Greek mythology and ancient religion, Nike is the goddess who personifies victory in any field including art, music, war, and athletics. She is often portrayed in Greek art as "Winged Victory" in the motion of flight; however, she can also appear without wings as "Wingless Victory" when she is being portrayed as an attribute of another deity such as Athena.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diagoras of Rhodes</span> 5th-century BC Olympic winner in boxing

Diagoras of Rhodes was an Ancient Greek boxer from the 5th century BC, who was celebrated for his own victories, as well as the victories of his sons and grandsons. He was a member of the Eratidea family at Ialysos in Rhodes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olympian 1</span> Pindars 1st Olympic Ode

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.

In Greek mythology, Phocus, was a prince of Aegina and son of Aeacus and Psamathe.

Aristocleidas of Aegina was an athlete of ancient Greece. He was a noted Greek pancratiast. He was celebrated for his Nemean victories and became a subject of Pindar's ode, where he was compared to Herakles and Aeacus.

Olympian 2, 'For Theron of Acragas', is an ode by the 5th century BC Greek poet Pindar.

Olympian 3, '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 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.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Sandys, ed. 1915, p. 82.
  2. Sandys, ed. 1915, pp. 82–3.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Sandys, ed. 1915, p. 83.

Sources

Attribution:

Further reading