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SIXTH OLYMPIC ODE .
27
O Psaumis ! victor in th ’ Olympic strife , . Who mak 'st Neptunian steeds thy joy and pride ,
Thy
May placid age attend thy closing life, children standing round to grace a
side ! 53
Of Fortune ' s ample stores possest ,
And with fair reputation blest , No higher thy wishes rise
Since all that mortals gain thine
50 father ' s
Normadly try
Ambitious lot divine
THE SIXTH OLYMPIC ODE
reach the skies
AGESIAS SYRACUSE HIS VICTORY THE CHARIOT DRAWN BY MULES
ARGUMENT
The scholiast informs that this ode according some was inscribed Stymphelius son Sostratus and that his
victory was achieved olympiad The poem
the eighty sixth eighty seventh
the frontispiece
opening his ode expatiating
mention the praises and re
contest He then proceeds gret expressed by Adrastus
opens with building
noble simile drawn from
which he compares the the glory the olympic
Amphiaraus occasioned
the death the latter instituting comparison between
Agesias and the Theban seer The birth Iamus one
the ancestors the victor who are thence called Iamidæ then related great length together with the story
Evadne daughter Æpytus Agesias derived his lineage
the mother side from Arcadia
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PINDAR .
nexion between the inhabitants of that country and the Thebans , the poet includes them in his praises — He then addresses Æreas, the master of the chorus , whom he com pliments on his musical skill , and exhorts to wipe away by his exertions the proverbial disgrace attached to his coun
trymen by the appellation of Bæotian swine . — Renews his praise of Agesias , and concludes with a prayer to Neptune ,
still to keep the victor under his propitious guidance, and to render the poet's hymns agreeable to those in whose honor they are written and sung . ·
Oft as the architect 's creative hand
Bids the fair porch on golden columns rise ,
And
magnificence expand
strike the gazing eye with mute surprise
Thus splendid from afar should gleam noble deed incipient beam
The guard Jove prophetic shrine
the dome
he thy wreath Olympia
bear Sprung from that old and noble line
Who founded Syracusa fair
grateful city hymns the hero name
While her unenvying sons unite glad acclaim
this exalted station placed The son Sostratus found
inglorious chaplet graced
But with his well earn honors crown
Gwillim quaint epigram placed after the title page
his book Heraldry thus alludes the opening this
ode
The noble Pindar doth compare somewhere
With
Writing with building and instructs us there That every great and goodly edifice
Doth ask have
comely frontispiece
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sixth OLYMPIC ODE .
The warrior on the battle plain , The sailor on the trackless main , Through paths of peril and dismay
Wins to renown his arduous way ,
And when his toils achieve some glorious deed ,
The memory of the good shall be his meed . 17
Agesias , may such
ready praise be thine , As to Ciclides , seer of Theban line ,
Adrastus gave , when in an earthly tomb
25 their
Himself and noble doom . 22
steeds were hurried to
But when the seven funeral pyres Raised to the dead their sacred fires,
In sorrow thus his Theban host The sun of Talaus address 'd :
· The pride of all my army lost
regret this aching breast .
is the augur's prescient light,
the warrior ' s arm of fight. ' The triumphs which these hymns afford
Wait on my Syracusan lord . 32
No lover of contention , I Respect my oath 's compulsive
Fills with
Quench 'd Nerveless
tie
And while this honest suffrage crowns my lays,
The
sweet- toned muses' quire will ratify praise
Phintis spurn each dull delay And haste the vigorous mules join
Amphiaraus
son ingenious emendation
Oicleus
the common flat reading
The commonly received interpretation
41
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PINDAR .
Pursue thy clear and open way
To reach his ancestors' remotest line. 41
No other guide our steps will need Safe through these lofty paths to lead .
Since upon their victorious brow Olympia ' s verdant chaplets glow
Then to their flight expanding wide Let us unbar the gates of song ~ Where Pitane in towering pride
45
. 50
55
60
doubtless the
true one viz the poet own soul considered
ing charioteer the body With this passage compare
’erlooks Eurotas' sacred tide, To Neptune of Saturnian race
.
:
O
This day the bard must pass along. 47
Cowley
Go the rich chariot instantly prepare
his muse
The queen
The wheels
my muse will take the
thy bold coach pass quick and free open road thee
And
Whatever god did say
thy plain and smooth
uninterrupted way cxviiiThe metaphor here strikingly similar that
Psalm
Open me the gates righteousness that may into them and give thanks unto the Lord
d
the direct
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She the black - hair '
But when the circling moons reveal' What virgin throes her bosom long conceal'd ,
To brave Eitatides her high command Bade the attendant damsels bear
The nursling to the hero's care , Whose sceptre ruled Arcadia 's land
In fair Phæsana by Alphéus' shore .
Philtis given the elder scholiast
Evadne bore This tale to rumor 's voice we trace
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SIXTH OLYMPIC ODE .
Apollo taught her there to prove The fond solicitudes of love . 57
When time to Æpytus confess' The stolen caresses ’ fruit divine , The hero in his manly breast
Unutterable rage repress ’ d ,
And humbly sought the Pythian shrine ,
With mind intent the end to know Ofthis intolerable woe.
Her virgin zone with saffron dyed ,
And urn of silver laid aside ,
In the thick grove conceal'd from sight She brought the heavenly babe to light.
Meanwhile the god with golden hair Propitious fate invoked , and kind Eleutho ' s care .
Her pleasing pains without delay
Produced young Iamus to day . While there upon the verdant glade
By his afflicted parent laid ,
Two dragons of cærulean eye Commission 'd by the will divine ,
With bees ' innoxious produce hie
To feed the youth of heavenly line . But when from Pytho's rocky height
The monarch urged his chariot's flight, He sought of all the menial train
Evadne ' s infant to regain ,
Whom erst from his prophetic throne
Phæbus , he said , had call ’d his own. 84
I. e. Apollo : this epithet is applied by Alcæus to Ze phyrus. (Frag. v. ap. Blomf. )xpuookouaZepupu Miyeloa.
77
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Thathe,o’erall of mortal birth,
Thus spoke the god — but they averr' No eye had seen , no ear had heard ;
Though since his natal day The fifth revolving sun had shed
prophetic power might Nor should his race e'er fail on earth
His sire'
PINDAR .
claim To keep alive their deathless name .
s
,
'er the infant's head . 89 Meanwhile within the rushy glade,
And tangled bushes ' thickest shade ,
His tender frame all wet with dew ,
Its lustre o
d
And gemm '
violet 's purple hue ,
d with
dfromhuman he. 93
sight lay
And hence his mother bade the prophet 's name
Conceal '
succeeding age his birth proclaim .
Soon as he gain ' opening
d from time
The golden flower of youthful prime , 110
Shrouded in night his steps he bore . Down to Alphéus ' middle shore , Invoking from the depths belowmight, His great forefather Neptune's
And potent sire , whose silver bow 115 Defends the heaven -built Delos ' height.
That public honor and renown
His brows might with their chaplet crown .
When thus in accents of eternal truth .
His father ' s voice approved the suppliant 's prayer ,
104 The exquisite , periphrasis of the original may be illus trated by a passage in Lord Byron , (Childe Harold , iv , cxvii . )
To each
Kiss'
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the breath
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The sweetness
of the violet's deep - blue dyes ,
d
heaven , seems color ' by its skies. :
SIXTH OLYMPIC ODE . . 33 " To Pisa 's crowded plain , adventurous youth , 120
Follow my call , and strive for glory there . '
To lofty Cronium 's sun -crown ' hill they came ;
Where great Apollo bade
d
his son receive A twofold portion of prophetic fame ;
To hear the voice that knows not to deceive But when the glory of Amphitryo ' s line Alcides prosperous in each bold design Appear ' d to crown his sire 's immortal feast ,
125
From And He
every clime to call the frequent guest,
the laws each heroic game
placed the augur seat near Jove
shrine 119
130 exalted
133
108
New glories hence through Hellas grace Iamidæ illustrious race
And wealth attends crown their state For those who seek with high emprise The steep where virtue guerdon lies
The brightest walks life await his own path each seeks renown
But carping Envy most his course attends Who first win Olympia crown
140 On him sweet Grace distils lustre all her own 128
Agesias thy brave maternal line
Who dwelt beneath Cyllene hallow shade
Duly their suppliant vows and rites divine 145 Mercury the gods swift herald paid
Whose favoring power the contest law maintains And guards Arcadia richly peopled plains
By him and by his thundering sire decreed
Twelve times around the goal his chariot bends
son PIXD
Sostratus expect the victor meed 139 150
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PINDAR .
Another motive prompts my tongue
Which as the stone that whets the blade Upon its sharpening surface laid ,
Impels medown the flowing tide of song .
143
155
From the Stymphalian
My mother drew the vital air
Within equestrian
nymph , Metopa fair ,
Thebes, whose fame Salutes her with a founder's name.
At her pure wave my thirst I slake , and raise
The varied hymn that chants the warriors ' praise . 148
161
155
170
152 Pindar uses the same metaphor Pyth 172
probably Horace borrowed the idea his well known lines
165 The scholiast this passage gives long explanation
the scytale staff which was used battle convey
telligible Nepos
Now , Æneas , urge thy tuneful band , Parthenian Juno first demands the strain . 150
Then clear truth the old disgrace That loads Bæotia sons efface
Thou like the general trusty wand
Art charged the faithful embassy bear
From the sweet Muses with the lovely hair Who bade thy cup the sounding lays retain
Command them their grateful verse The praise Hiero rehearse
Pis 304
Fungar vice cotis acutum Reddere quæ ferrum valet exsors ipsa secandi
orders from the Lacedæmonian general that were be unin
all but the person whom they were sent Corn vit Pausan cap Aulus Gellius still more his account this enigmatical wand Lib xvII
minute
cap
and will not easily admit abbreviation Pindar calls
His description too long be transcribed
Æneas the scytale of the muses as being the faithful mes
senger conveying his poetical strains those whose honor they were addressed
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SIXTH OLYMPIC ODE .
35
That monarch whose unblemish ' sway
d Ortygia 's isle and Syracuse obey .
To Ceres and her daughter fair
Whose milk - white steeds the goddess bear ,
Duly he pays each sacred rite , 175
Adoring Jove's Ætnæan might.
His name the song and sweet -toned lyre resound ,
Oh ! may no future age his happy state confound ! 164
With willing mind may he receive
The hymn which in Agesias' praise I weave . 180
Since Fortune now the hero calls To kindred Syracuse again ,
Far from his own Stymphalian walls
That crown Arcadia 's fleecy plain .
Even thus amid the wintry tides 185
Secure the rapid vessel rides ,
If two firm anchors' grasp her hulk maintain . 173
Still may the god exalt thy state
With either nation 's prosperous fate ;
And sceptred Amphitrite ' s lord , 190
Whose trident rules the stormy sea , Through his own realm a path afford
From adverse winds and troubles free .
Adorning with sweet flowers my song,
To hail thy vessel as it speeds along . 180 195
171 The reader will be reminded by this passage , espe cially in the original, in which Hiero is spoken of as govern
ing with a clear sceptre , of Macbeth 's commendation of the
royal Duncan :
Besides , this Duncan
Hath borne his faculties so meek , hath been
So clear in his great office . Compare Casimir Lyric
Fortius proram gemino revincit Anchora morsu
190
iv . .
187
(
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27 . )
38
PINDAR .
Where Embolus protects wide Asia 's coast , They dwell united with the Argive host. 35
Now to Tlepolemus my song would trace
As
first source Alcides potent race
high lineage springs line
An equal lustre brings
From Jove their sire
While Amyntor
Astydameia
born race divine
But
Unnumber torments their happiest state Who the chequer scene life be past Can tell weal woe shall mark his last
Since the high founder the Rhodian state Impell fierce ungovernable hate
Laid with his olive sceptre deadly blow On earth Alcmena bastard brother low
Licymnius whom his hand Pluto sent
From Midea chamber his steps bent Tis thus the maddening tumults the mind
Have oft seduced the wisest mankind
He sought the god who could unfold The purpose the will divine
Lycia says the younger scholiast opposite
Rhodes and Lycia place called Embolus sharp and
narrow and jutting into the sea named from its resem
les and Astydameia and the Rhodians 653
ηύς
what crimes round erring mortals wait
blance the prow ship
Homer relates the history Tlepolemus son
Hercu Astydameia was the daughter Amyntor son Jupiter
Τληπόλεμος Ηρακλειδης Podov evvea vnas ayev
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SEVENTH OLYMPIC ode . When thus the power with locks of gold
39
Spoke from
• Go, launch
his perfume - breathing shrine :
But carried
waft from On them
the shrine spark fire
earth the pious sacrifice the supplicated power
your
fleet from Lerne 's strand , 60 To gain the sea - encircled land ,
Where the great monarch of the skies Sent from his golden clouds a shower
With flames commission ' d to devour Th ' accepted sacrifice .
What time by aid of Vulcan 's art And brazen axe , Minerva sprang
From Jove's head with impetuous start ,
With long continued warlike clang ;
While heaven 's high dome and mother earth 70
Shuddering beheld the wondrous birth . 70
Then the god whose splendor bright Glads mortals with his radiant light Bade his loved sons the high behest obey
Them first urged rear the splendid shrine And the goddess every rite divine
With prompt submissive reverence pay This their immortal sire with joy would cheer
And please the Maid who wields her sounding spear
shadowy veil erclouds the well intending mind
Yet oft Oblivion
Then wise Prometheus
And Reason path left behind
So they obedient their heavenly sire Bade acropolis altar rise
Rain from his yellow cloud golden shower
This was clear manifestation the divine presence
counsels fail
87
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PINDAR .
Meanwhile the maid with azure eye 90
Her favor’d Rhodians deign' grace
d to Above all else of mortal race ,
With arts of manual industry . Hence framed by the laborious
hand ,
figures stand , Adorning every public street,
95
The animated
And seem to breathe in stone , or move their marble feet . 98
Wisdom true glory can impart Without the aid of magic art.
As ancient fame reports , when Jove 100 And all th ' immortal powers above
Held upon earth divided sway ;
Not yet had Rhodes in glittering pride
On Ocean ' s breast appear '
But hid beneath his briny caverns lay . 105 105
The same portent attended the birth of Apollo , according to Callimachus ( in Del . 260 . )
Χρυσεα τοι τοτε παντα θεμειλια γεινετο Δηλε ,
Χρυση δε τροχοεσσα πανημερος ερρεε λιμνη , κ. τ . λ .
Thus too , at the birth of Hercules , Bromia relates to the astonished Amphitryo , ( Act . v . sc . i. 44 . )
Ædes totæ confulgebant tuæ , quasi essent aurea . So Theocritus ( Idyl . 24 . )
* And see what light o 'er all the chamber falls ! Though yet not morn , how visible the walls !
Some strange event ! ' - Polwhele 's version .
ComparealsoHomer,Od. xix. 37 –40. _
97 Pindar probably alludes to the Telchines , an ancient
people of Rhodes , much addicted to magical fascination , from which probably they derive their name (Ov. Met . vii .
363 . )
Phæbeamque Rhodon , et Ialysios Telchinas , Quorum oculos ipso vitiantes omnia visu Jupiter exosus , fraternis abdidit undis .
d to
ride ,
seventh OLYMPIC
Then while the absent god of light
'
No friendly voice maintain ’d his right
Delay
d to claim his equal
share ,
Of all the blest assembly
Jove , to repair the wrong , in vain 110
Wish '
Retired within the hoary deep
adjudge
Since in his course the sun had found
d to
the
lots again .
fertile land with heroes crown'd ,
A
Prolific nurse of fleecy sheep. 115
Then straight gave the high command
there .
ODE
jet Are gather golden net
Lachesis whose locks
with her extended hand
The oath that binds the powers above 120
And stamp with fate the nod of Jove Which the bright isle emerging from the wave
To Phæbus and his latest offspring gave
Hence the land extends his sway Who darts the piercing beams day
124
The charioteer whose guiding
Wide over the celestial plain
His fire exhaling steeds obey 130
With Rhodos there amorous embrace Conjoin the god begat valiant race
125
130
Seven noble sons with wisdom gifts endow By their great sire above the vulgar crowd
117 This ratifying power which distinguishes Lachesis above her sister Destinies also asserted Plutarch De
Facie Orbe Lunæ sub finem
129 Their names according the scholiast were Cerca
phus Ochimus Actis Macaresas Tenages Triopes Phae thon
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42 PINDAR .
Cameirus from this root with Lindus came ,
And Ialysus , venerable name :
Three chiefs who over the divided land equal portions held supreme command
Apart they reign and bade each city bear
The monarch name who sway
135
there 140 140
145
150
151
155
the sceptre that blest isle secure last
Twas thine Tlepolemus
meet
For each afflictive trial past recompense and respite sweet
Chief of Tirynthian hosts thee
all the pomp of sacrifice Awarded by thy just decree
The victor gains his verdant prize That crown whose double honors glow Diagoras around thy brow
On which four times the Isthmian pine And twice the Nemean olive shine
While Athens her rocky throne Made her illustrious wreath his own
Trophies many well fought field He won glory sacred cause
The Theban tripod brazen shield At Argos and Arcadia vase
Her palms Boeotia genuine contests yield
As
present deity
The fumes slaughter sheep arise
151 Athens here put synecdochically for the whole Attica Pindar the younger scholiast observes leaves doubtful what Attic contest Diagoras came off victorious
uwhether the Panathenaic the Heraclean the Eleusinian hellenic or whether he obtained the prize all
The same epithet applied Homer Ithaca
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Six times Ægina As oft Pellene
prize gain
sevexTH OLYMPIC ODE .
And graved
Thy column Megara records his name
Great sire immortal Jove On Atabyrius mount enshrined
still may thy propitious mind Th encomiastic hymn approve
Whose valorous arm
159
Which celebrates
The victor Olympia plain
robe obtain characters fame
lawful strain the cæstus knows
wield 164 171
thy constant care
Protected
citizens and strangers eyes
Still more exalted shall rise Whose virtuous deeds thy favor share
Since violence and fraud unknown 175 Treads the straight paths equity alone
His fathers counsels mindful And keep their bright example
Then not inactivity disgrace
pursue still view
The well earn fame
Who sprang from great Callianax and crown
But soon shifts the ever varying gale
The storms adverse fortune may assail 185
Th Eratidæ with splendor
their own
With and festal hymns the streets resound
Then Rhodians crown
your mirth with sober temperance 175
Rhodes which waserected temple
thine illustrious race
180
165 mountain
Jupiter containing brazen bulls that according the
scholiast had the property lowing whenever any unseemly action was about be committed there
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46
Hence ruled by chiefs of Doric race , Who from great Æacus their empire trace.
On him , to raise the towers of Ilium 's wall, Wide- ruling Neptune and Latona 's son
PINDAR .
(And oh ! may future ages join : Unwearied to assist their great design ! ) 38
45
work for aid to
Those towers which , when her destined course was run ,
Tremendous war 's depopulating sway 51 Should on the ground in smoky ruin lay . 47
Deign '
d in the
mighty
call .
the '
complete stately pile appear ,
When now
Their hostile forms three azure dragons reard ;
But from the threaten ’ d wall with gasping breath 55 Two fell exhausted in the pangs of death .
One with terrific shout advancing still , Apollo thus pronounced the boded
Uprear great hero thy hand Prostrate shall Pergamus be laid
For true will future ages prove
The omen sent from thundering Jove
Butnot without thy children aid
done
What the fathers
begun Shall the fourth succeeding age
Thus having clear the fatal sign Sure presage the will divine
Xanthus and the Amazonian band
Whose guiding reign generous steeds obey
And where flows Ister through the Scythian land His flaming chariot urged rapid way
Telamon and Neoptolemus
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EIGHTH OLYMPIC
But he who wields the trident's might, His course to sea -beat Isthmus bent , And with his golden coursers ' flight Hither great Æacus he sent
To view from Corinth 's lofty brow
His solemn festival below .
But no delight to men secure Shall in this earthly state endure .
If of the beardless train I raise
The that praise , hymn sings Melesias'
Let not the tongue of Envy rail,
Nor with sharp stone my fame assai).
His valiant deeds in Nemea 's plain Alike inspire the poet 's strain
And next the great pancratium 's meed , Which to the strife of heroes is decreed . 77
His triumph is our surest guide ,
Whose feet the arduous paths have tried ;
But light their mind and counsel vain Whose skill could ne'er the palm obtain . Who tells his own victorious deeds
To others points the path of fame, And shows what glorious lot succeeds
His conquest in each sacred game . So thine the thirtieth garland won
Adds to thy teacher 's fame, Alcimedon . With fortune and his manly arm to aid ,
He sent four vanquish '
striplings in d back
87
shame ,
Darken ’
And gave to slandering infamy their name. . 101
d their bomeward path with
101 Statius appears to have had this highly poetical pas .
69
ode .
sorrow '
s shade
,
48 PINDAR .
' Twas this his grandsire ' s age inspired With vigorous youth 's returning breath ;
For by the victor ' s glory fired
His mind forgot the hour of death . 96 105
Be mine the task , Blepsiadæ , to raise
A record worthy of your deathless praise .
Ye whom the verdant wreath six times decreed ,
Again encircles with the victor 's meed . And even the dead will joy to share
This tribute of the poet 's care :
Since the bright actions of the just Survive unburied in the kindred dust. 105
110
115
20
Iphion tongue proclaim
There
Callimachus charm
thine ear
The tale which Hermes daughter Fame
Gave him while yet earth hear That Jove once more had deign
grace
With Pisa crown their favor race His blessings may he still impart
And ward disease bitter dart
Forbear amid the happy state Discordant Nemesis throw
But give secure their life And crown their country
flow 124 prosperous fate 116
the return the worsted
says Theb 759 pro funere pulchro
his mind when speaking
sage
and dejected Pelasgi from the field
Eunt taciti passim
Dedecorem amplexi vitam reditusque pudendos Nox favet grata profugos amplectitur umbra
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THE NINTH OLYMPIC ODE .
TO EPHARMOSTUS , THE OPUNTIAN , ON HIS VICTORY IN THE PALESTRA , GAINED IN THE SEVENTY - THIRD OLYMPIAD ,
ARGUMENT .
BEGINNING with the praises of the victor , Pindar digresses to those of his native city Opus — Then , being led by the mention of the propitious power of the Graces , to speak of
Hercules ' contest with Neptune , Apollo , and Pluto , which
was carried on by their assistance , he checks himself , con
sidering it an act of impiety to relate tales that may be disparaging to any of the gods — Then follows a digression
relating to Deucalion 's flood , and the reparation of the hu man race after the waters had subsided -- The poet address ing Epharmostus and the citizens of Opus, as being de
scended from Deucalion and Pyrrha, through their daugh ter Protogeneia , who had by Jupiter a son called Opus,
from whom the city was named -. His hospitality is cele brated , and his reception , among his other guests , of Me. nætius , whose son Patroclus is mentioned with high com mendation as having assisted Achilles in his attack on
Telephus , who had put to flight the Grecian band - He then aspires to the car of the Muses , who would enable him to frame a song that might do justice to the several triumphs of Lampromachus and Epharmostus , which he enumerates ; attributing the victor' s excellence and various graces to the favor of the gods, and concluding with a com
pliment to his bero, who after his victory in the Oilean games , offered sacrifices and funeral rites at the tomb of
Ajax .
ARCHILOCHUS ' Olympic strain With triple harmony combined ,
1 It appears to have been customary to sing at the Olympic PIND .
50
PINDAR .
Might have sufficed the friendly train , And gratified the victor 's mind .
What time, as Epharmostus leads,
By Saturn 's hill the pomp proceeds. But haste the sounding shafts to throw
From the far-darting Muses'bow ; The first to heaven 's eternal king ,
Who guides the lightning 's lurid wing ; The next to Elis ' sacred tower ,
Uprear' rocky heights , d the above
Which Lydian Pelops gain ’ ,
d fair dower
Of chaste Hippodameia ' s love .
16
Toward Pytho next thine efforts bend , A sweet and winged shaft to send .
Nor shalt thou raise a feeble strain ,
Earth sprung , that falls to earth again . When in fair Opus ' praise you shake the string,
And her brave hero of the wrestler ' s ring ; Whose sons, preserved by equal laws , obey Bright Themis and her glorious daughter ' s sway .
There now the virtues florish wide , And with transplanted radiance glow ,
Blooming as by Alpheus' tide ,
Or where Castalia 's waters flow .
25
Hence from her verdant grove the frequent crown His Locrian city 's fame exalts with fair renown . 32
games a hymn of Archilochus , consisting of three strophes, and composed in honor ofHercules ; which began thus :
Καλλινικε χαιρ' αναξ 'Hpakiels .
To this Pindar here alludes.
7 Addressed to the chorus .
22 Eunomia , the genius of good government .
NINTH OLYMPIC
But I who joy my much -loved state With festal hymns to celebrate ,
Swift as the courser sweeps the plain , Or winged vessel ploughs the main ,
To all the listening world around
Will send the conquest's joyful sound . Since , aided by a hand divine ,
Within the Graces' choicest bower ,
I make their blooming treasures mine ,
And cull the sweets of every flower. For they the charms of life bestow ,
While all the brave and wise to them owe. 43
How else could great Alcides' hand With shaken club provoke to fight
their virtues 40
The god who wields the trident's might, AtPylos when he took his stand ,
To drive the hero
from the land ?
How dare to challenge as a foe The monarch of the silver bow ?
Nor could stern Pluto ' s grasp retain
Unmoved the sceptre of his reign ,
Which drives the forms devoid of breath 50
Within the hollow vale of death .
50 The office , which is here attributed to the sceptre of Pluto , is by the poets usually described as characterising the
caduceus of Mercury . See Homer Il . xxiv . 243 . Virg . Æn . iv. 242. Horat. od. i. 24. 15,& c. Thelastofwhich passages is thus translated by Francis :
Yet ne'er returns the vital heat,
The shadowy form to animate . Soon as the ghost-compelling god
Formshis black troops with horrid rod , He will not, lenient to the breath
Of prayer , unbar the gates of death .
ode .
PINDAR .
It sounds of madness thus to rise
In impious vaunts against the skies .
Be contests banish '
That celebrates th ' immortal train ;
No more , unhallow '
The mighty gods with slanderous tale .
from the strain And rather by the poet ' s tongue
Protogeneia 's
city sung .
d
lips ,
d assail
Where , as ordain ’d by heaven 's eternal king , 60
Whose power directs the lightning 's varied wing , Descending from Parnassus? lofty height,
Pyrrha and her Deucalion sought the plain ,
light, Whose stony birth they bade the name retain . 70 65
Then wake for them the tuneful string Though wine improved by mellowing age
The palate ' s suffrage more engage ,
Yet choose a newer lay the victor 's praise to sing. 74
Rear '
,
d the first dome and call'
d
thatrace to
63 Aaos , a people , from Naas , a stone .
So Ovid , speaking :
of Deucalion '
Deluge
s (Met. i. 411 . )
says
Superorum munere ,
saxa Missa viri manibus faciem traxere virilem Et de fæmineo reparata est fæmina jactu .
;
Inde genus durum sumus , experiensque laborum Et documenta damus , qua simus origine nati.
;
a daugh ter or daughters of Jupiter , gives another proof of his anxiety to assign to the cities in honor of whose townsmen his odes
Pindar, by deducing the origin of the Locrians from
are composed , as ancient and illustrious a source as history
or mythology will permit . It would be a futile attempt to
supply the defective links in the genealogical chain between
Deucalion and Locrus , from whom the people derive their appellation ; but this perplexity involves the origin of many
ancient nations , who have recourse to mythological fiction for that which the integrity of truth will not supply .
NINTH OLYMPIC Ode .
In tales of ancient lore ' said
earth the whelming waters spread
Urged their congregated force
But Jove
Bade the usurping foe restrain
high will his headlong course
And sink absorb the refluent main From them your sires the warlike race
Of old Iapetus
Whose glorious deeds the brightest grace
descend
Saturn their forefather lend And hence line native kings
regular succession
Ere yet Olympic ruler hand
Had ravish from Epean
The daughter fair Opus
And the dark Mænalian Mingled with her love delights
springs
land
Locrus then his bride restored
Lest age Death harbinger should doom
The childless monarch the tomb
Soon the heavenly scion came The raptured hero gazed with joy
On the supposititious boy
And call uncle name manly deeds and outward grace
Above the sons ofmortal race Permitting his sceptred hand
Dominion the subject land
From Argos some from Thebes and Pisa plain
And fair Arcadia throng the frequent train
But most his love and admiration won 100
Menætius Actor and Ægina son
lord heights
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54
PINDAR .
Whose offspring , when brave Atreus' host Invaded Teuthras ' Mysian land ,
Alone could with Achilles boast
The adverse army to withstand :
When Telephus the Grecian train
Drove ward their ships again Hence might the wise and prudent find
The strength great Patroclus mind 115
105
110
115
Hence mightthe tender love appear By Thetis warlike offspring shown
Quit not said my conquering spear Nor join the war array alone
could the Muses car
eloquent speech
Since bold emprize and power belong
Soar
afar
the high favor child song Inspired with hospitable aim
come the virtues proclaim
Which round thy honor temples twine 120 Lampromachus the Isthmian pine
When both one triumphant day The victor chaplet bore away
Two other joys Corinth
Argos strife men renown While yet boy Athens crown
His brow
aftertimes await And victory twice Nemea
125
grove The wreath for Epharmostus wove
132 the isthmus where the games were celebrated Æschylus describing the Cimmerian Bosphorus says
754
anc loquov that Kiuuepikov
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NINTH OLYMPIC ode .
When in the Marathonian field ,
55 130
135
140
145
Departing from the beardless train Hemade the veteran warriors yield ,
The cup of silver to obtain .
0 ! with what matchless swiftness there
He ran the circus' destined round , While shouting myriads rend the air
With admiration 's joyful sound .
His lonely form and deeds of might Bursting upon the raptured sight.
in the Parrhasian plain Before contending hosts he strove ,
When all the congregated train Hallowed thy feast, Lycæan Jove .
And when Pallene's robe he bears, Warm refuge from the chilling airs .
Full oft has Iolaus' shrine Upon Eleusis ' sea - girt strand
Witness ' d the splendid acts which To crown the efforts of his hand . In his own path each labors well ,
As Nature grants him to excel .
Wondrous
,
While many with laborious aim Toil up the rugged steep of fame,
shine
150
155
If the kind god forbear to bless Their vain endeavor with success , Let silence hide th ' unfinish ' d tale
Within oblivion 's dusky veil .
Far different are the ways which tend To glory as their common end. 158
Not all mankind are prone to feel 160
In the same care an equal zeal.
But arduous paths must they explore Who to the heights of wisdom soar .
145
56
PINDAR .
While I this lay triumphant bring ,
With voice sonorous letme sing 165 The hero 's praise whose spirit bold
Join ’d to a frame of hardy mould , Urged upon Oilean plain
The palm glory
Then round the Æantean shrine
obtain
festal pomp the wreath entwine
170 168
their return from the indigenous
171 was the custom for the victors Olympia institute sacred rites honor
hero Ajax son Oileus and crown his shrine with chap let The Æantean games were particularly celebrated Opus
THE TENTH OLYMPIC
ODE
AGESIDAMUS SON ARCHESTRATUS
THE EPIZEPHYRIAN WESTERN LOCRIAN HIS VICTORY WITH THE CÆSTUS
GAINED THE SEVENTY THIRD OLYMPIAD ARGUMENT
This ode opens with
whom wished remind him his long forgotten pro mise celebrate the son Archestratus and the city
the Locrians well his alipta Ilas who encouraged
him the example Hercules and Patroclus perse vere the contest notwithstanding its unfavorable com
address the Muse and
Truth
mencement Then follows digression concerning
stitution
the Olympic games
his conquests over the Molionidæ and Augeas Elis the victors these games are likewise re corded The poet then sings the praises Jupiter and
meration king
the in Hercules with enu
— of :
in by to he
It
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to
In to
Tenth OLYMPIC ODE .
57
concludes with complimenting Agesidamus on bis prowess
and personal beauty , comparing him in this respect to Ganymedes .
INSCRIBED upon the poet 's mind
Archestratus ' illustrious son ,
Who late th ' olympic wreath has won ,
Thou knowest , celestial muse , to find : For dull oblivion swept away
All record of the promised lay .
And thou , O Truth ! fair child of Jove ,
With thine unerring hand efface
The tale that speaks foul disgrace Who slights claim and wrongs the stranger
For when Time rapid course had felt the glowing tinge shame
think how large the debt became
But ample interest now The sharp reproach
And all the guilty past atone
Now whelm beneath the flowing tide Where the pebble seen glide
And confound the slanderous tongue How shall the friendly strain sung
For Truth her Locrians favor land Refresh Zephyr breath defends
The metaphor the original similar that
have rolled away reproach Egypt understand
the words Pindar interrogatively with the Oxford editors although against the opinion Heyne
One the scholiasts
spaxela Todis the poet was alluding the rocky situa
shall close envious foes
instead ATPekela
here reads
tion the town but the common reading appears far pre ferable
love
flown
Joshua
of .
' I
To I
;, as
is
a
åv .
if
by in
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91
9: 17
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58
PINDAR .
Calliope her guardian hand
’er them with brazen Mars extends .
O
Even Hercules ' superior might Fainted in the Cycnean fight.
And as Patroclus, safe from harm ,
Bowed grateful to Achilles ' So should Agesidamus pay
His thanks Who gave him
chaplet obtain For by the favoring god inspired
To glorious deeds the breast fired Where emulation points the way
But few eminence can rise
And without labor seize the prize
The wrestler
Ilas the fray Olympia plain
The light and joy fleeting Daughters heaven eternal king Urged your high command sing
40
Neptune proud sons slew who scorn his might divine
Within Cleonæ thickest wood Alcides dark ambush lay
Ye Themites the glorious strife Which Hercules Pelops ancient shrine
unwilling Augeas
That the promised guerdon might demand
Ordain when from
hand
This passage rather obscure and the construction not very clear From the words they stand have endea
vored elicit the most obvious and natural meaning By the Themites daughters Jupiter the poet probably means
nothing more than the righteous eye the heavenly king surveying with especial interest his own Olympic contests
The younger scholiast says EMITES nyour vouobertat του Διοs κατα νομους συνηθειαι
life
, αι
36
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25
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TENTH OLYMPIC
When blameless Cteatus pursued
With Eurytus his deadly way .
Thus was avenged his brave Tirynthian host,
By Molion 's haughty race in pass of Elis lost. 42 Ere long the fraudulent Epean king
Saw potent fire and the devouring
Destruction to his rich dominions bring, Deep in the lowest gulf of misery laid .
hard a mightier foe 's assault to quell . Augeas, seized at last .
' Tis
Thus the devoted
By vengeful fate , bereft of counsel , fell ,
the occasion
61 An early instance
the spoils taken battle
the service the gods
given
Xenophon
Atolovi μερος
EKQOTOS planting
mentioned 729
large grove around the temple Thus Ovid addressing Bacchus says
Jupiter Fast
the
justly reprehended by Pope
Kal TNU dekatnu
QuaTTELV TOLS DEULS• the end the chapter
Anab
εξειλον και Εφεσια Αρτεμιδι διελαβον στρατηγοι
memorant Gange totoque Oriente subacto Primitias magno seposuisse Jovi
And Callimachus addressing Apollo
Del 278
Αλλα τοι αμφιετεις δεκατηφοροι αιεν απαρχαι Πεμπονται
which passage see the learned dissertation Spanheim who mentions the same custom have prevailed among the Jews who were wont convey their holy metropolis the first fruits and tenths the produce the soil for the main
tenance the temple and service Spencer de Legg Heb 1161 shows great length that many the rites
ODE .
blade
And death atoned
treachery past
His whole array the warlike son Jove Pisa plain assembling with the spoil
This story related great length Patroclus old
Nestor 670 whose unseasonable
garrulity the consecration tenth part
at
v
, . ofsq
of
ofto
for , . )to ,at all
its
to to
, at
On ) by
On
. - 51 ,:
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, is in
Te , (
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a
τη
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(
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50 60
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.
.
PINDAR .
Raised to his mighty father Altis' grove ,
And
fenced from tread profane the hallow ' d soil .
Sbrines to th ' immortal twelve he placed , Who the celestialbanquet graced ,
Ranking with these Alpheus' wave , To Saturn 's hill the name he gave .
( For erst , while old
sceptre
Enomaus ' hand
,
Possess ’
d the
of the land
Upon the nameless mountain ' head
s
Their snows upnumbered ages shed . )
On the first rites with aspect mild
The Destinies assistant smiled ; And hoary Time , whose steady ray
Oft brings undoubted truth to day. 67
He in his onward
What time Alcides' conquering might
victory ' chaplet wear . s sons the
Muse , in that illustrious day
first the glorious prize obtain ' ; d
bore the wrestler's palm away ; the high meed of swiftness gain '
course reveal '
d
Olympia to found '
Bestow '
The earliest offerings of the fight.
field , And on each fifth returning year
Bade
Tell , Who
Who Who
d: 85
d
,
s
Or urged his chariot to the goal,
Curbing by deeds the pride of boastful rivals ' soul . 75
First in the stadium 's level course Eonus , brave Licymnius ' son ,
Who brought from Midea's walls his force, 90
The chaplet' glorious
s honors won :
observed in bringing the first- fruits to Jerusalem were bor rowed from heathen nations .