Pindar (; grc-gre, Πίνδαρος , ; la, Pindarus; ) was an
Ancient Greek lyric poet from
Thebes. Of the
canonical
The adjective canonical is applied in many contexts to mean "according to the canon" the standard, rule or primary source that is accepted as authoritative for the body of knowledge or literature in that context. In mathematics, "canonical example ...
nine lyric poets
The Nine Lyric or Melic Poets were a canonical group of ancient Greek poets esteemed by the scholars of Hellenistic Alexandria as worthy of critical study. In the Palatine Anthology it is said that they established lyric song.
They were:
*Alcman o ...
of ancient Greece, his work is the best preserved.
Quintilian
Marcus Fabius Quintilianus (; 35 – 100 AD) was a Roman educator and rhetorician from Hispania, widely referred to in medieval schools of rhetoric and in Renaissance writing. In English translation, he is usually referred to as Quintilia ...
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
Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 – 27 November 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). The rhetorician Quintilian regarded his ' ...
rightly held, make him inimitable." His poems can also, however, seem difficult and even peculiar. The Athenian comic playwright
Eupolis
Eupolis ( grc-gre, Εὔπολις; c. 446c. 411 BC) was an Athenian poet of the Old Comedy, who flourished during the time of the Peloponnesian War.
Biography
Nothing whatsoever is known of his personal history. His father was named Sosipolis. ...
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
Bacchylides (; grc-gre, Βακχυλίδης; – ) 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 i ...
; 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.
Pindar was the first Greek poet to reflect on the nature of poetry and on the poet's role. His poetry illustrates the beliefs and values of
Archaic Greece
Archaic Greece was the period in Greek history lasting from circa 800 BC to the second Persian invasion of Greece in 480 BC, following the Greek Dark Ages and succeeded by the Classical period. In the archaic period, Greeks settled across the ...
at the dawn of the
Classical period. Like other poets of the Archaic Age, he has a profound sense of the vicissitudes of life, but he also articulates a passionate faith in what men can achieve by the grace of the gods, most famously expressed in the conclusion to one of his
Victory Odes:
Creatures of a day! What is anyone?
What is anyone not? A dream of a shadow
Is our mortal being. But when there comes to men
A gleam of splendour given of heaven,
Then rests on them a light of glory
And blessed are their days. (''Pythian 8'')
Biography
Sources
Five ancient sources contain all the recorded details of Pindar's life. One of them is a short biography discovered in 1961 on an Egyptian papyrus dating from at least 200 AD (
P.Oxy
The Oxyrhynchus Papyri are a group of manuscripts discovered during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries by papyrologists Bernard Pyne Grenfell and Arthur Surridge Hunt at an ancient rubbish dump near Oxyrhynchus in Egypt (, m ...
.2438). The other four are collections that weren't finalized until some 1600 years after his death:
* brief biography of Pindar and his tomb in Boeotia, from Pausanias’s “descriptions of Greece”
.23.2 .23.5
* ''Commentaries on Pindar'' by
Eustathius of Thessalonica
Eustathius of Thessalonica (or Eustathios of Thessalonike; el, Εὐστάθιος Θεσσαλονίκης; c. 1115 – 1195/6) was a Byzantine Greek scholar and Archbishop of Thessalonica. He is most noted for his contemporary account of the sa ...
;
* ''Vita Vratislavensis'', found in a manuscript at Breslau, author unknown;
* a text by
Thomas Magister
Thomas, surnamed Magister or Magistros ( el, Θωμάς Μάγιστρος), also known by the monastic name Theodoulos Monachos, was a native of Thessalonica, a Byzantine scholar and grammarian and confidential adviser of Andronikos II Palaiologo ...
;
* some meagre writings attributed to the lexicographer Suidas.
Although these sources are based on a much older literary tradition, going as far back as
Chamaeleon of Heraclea in the 4th century BC, they are generally viewed with scepticism today: much of the material is clearly fanciful.
Scholars both ancient and modern have turned to Pindar's own workhis
victory odes in particularas a source of biographical information: some of the poems touch on historic events and can be accurately dated. The 1962 publication of Elroy Bundy's ground-breaking work ''Studia Pindarica'' led to a change in scholarly opinion—the Odes were no longer seen as expressions of Pindar's personal thoughts and feelings, but rather as public statements "dedicated to the single purpose of eulogizing men and communities." It has been claimed that biographical interpretations of the poems are due to a "fatal conjunction" of historicism and Romanticism. In other words, we know almost nothing about Pindar's life based on either traditional sources or his own poems. However, the pendulum of intellectual fashion has begun to change direction again, and cautious use of the poems for some biographical purposes is considered acceptable once more.
Life
Infancy to adulthood
Pindar was born circa 518 BC (the 65th
Olympiad
An olympiad ( el, Ὀλυμπιάς, ''Olympiás'') is a period of four years, particularly those associated with the ancient and modern Olympic Games.
Although the ancient Olympics were established during Greece's Archaic Era, it was not until ...
) in
Cynoscephalae Cynoscephalae ( grc, Κυνὸς κεφαλαί, meaning "dog's heads") may refer to:
Geography
* Cynoscephalae (Boeotia), a town of ancient Boeotia
* Cynoscephalae (Thessaly), a town of ancient Thessaly
* Cynoscephalae Hills (Boeotia), a range of ...
, a village in
Boeotia
Boeotia ( ), sometimes Latinized as Boiotia or Beotia ( el, Βοιωτία; modern: ; ancient: ), formerly known as Cadmeis, is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, and its lar ...
, not far from
Thebes. His father's name is variously given as Daiphantus, Pagondas or Scopelinus, and his mother's name was Cleodice.
[Gerber, p. 253] It is told that he was stung on the mouth by a
bee
Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyly, monophyletic lineage within the ...
in his youth and this was the reason he became a poet of honey-like verses (an identical fate has been ascribed to other poets of the archaic period). Pindar was about twenty years old in 498 BC when he was commissioned by the ruling family in
Thessaly
Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thes ...
to compose his first victory ode (''Pythian 10''). He studied the art of lyric poetry in Athens, where his tutor was
Lasos of Hermione
Lasus of Hermione ( el, Λάσος ὁ Ἑρμιονεύς) was a Greek lyric poet of the 6th century BC from the city of Hermione in the Argolid. He is known to have been active at Athens under the reign of the Peisistratids. Pseudo-Plutarch's ' ...
, and he is also said to have received some helpful criticism from
Corinna
Corinna or Korinna ( grc, Κόριννα, Korinna) was an ancient Greek lyric poet from Tanagra in Boeotia. Although ancient sources portray her as a contemporary of Pindar (born ), not all modern scholars accept the accuracy of this tradition ...
.
The early-to-middle years of Pindar's career coincided with the
Greco-Persian Wars
The Greco-Persian Wars (also often called the Persian Wars) were a series of conflicts between the Achaemenid Empire and Greek city-states that started in 499 BC and lasted until 449 BC. The collision between the fractious political world of the ...
during the reigns of
Darius and
Xerxes. This period included the
first Persian invasion of Greece
The first Persian invasion of Greece, during the Greco-Persian Wars, began in 492 BC, and ended with the decisive Athenian victory at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC. The invasion, consisting of two distinct campaigns, was ordered by th ...
, which ending at the
Battle of Marathon
The Battle of Marathon took place in 490 BC during the first Persian invasion of Greece. It was fought between the citizens of Athens, aided by Plataea, and a Persian force commanded by Datis and Artaphernes. The battle was the culmination of ...
in 490 BC, and
second Persian invasion of Greece
The second Persian invasion of Greece (480–479 BC) occurred during the Greco-Persian Wars, as King Xerxes I of Persia sought to conquer all of Greece. The invasion was a direct, if delayed, response to the defeat of the first Persian invasion ...
(480-479 BC). During the second invasion, when Pindar was almost forty years old,
Thebes was occupied by Xerxes' general,
Mardonius, who with many Theban aristocrats subsequently perished at the
Battle of Plataea
The Battle of Plataea was the final land battle during the second Persian invasion of Greece. It took place in 479 BC near the city of Plataea in Boeotia, and was fought between an alliance of the Greek city-states (including Sparta, Athens, C ...
. It is possible that Pindar spent much of this time at
Aegina
Aegina (; el, Αίγινα, ''Aígina'' ; grc, Αἴγῑνα) is one of the Saronic Islands of Greece in the Saronic Gulf, from Athens. Tradition derives the name from Aegina (mythology), Aegina, the mother of the hero Aeacus, who was born ...
. His choice of residence during the earlier invasion in 490 BC is not known, but he was able to attend the
Pythian Games
The Pythian Games ( grc-gre, Πύθια;) were one of the four Panhellenic Games of Ancient Greece. They were held in honour of Apollo at his sanctuary at Delphi every four years, two years after the Olympic Games, and between each Nemean and I ...
for that year, where he first met the Sicilian prince, Thrasybulus, nephew of
Theron of Acragas
Theron ( el, Θήρων, ''gen''.: Θήρωνος; died 473 BC), son of Aenesidamus, was a Greek tyrant of the town of Acragas in Sicily from 488 BC. According to Polyaenus, he came to power by using public funds allocated for the hire of private ...
. Thrasybulus had driven the winning chariot and he and Pindar were to form a lasting friendship, paving the way for his subsequent visit to Sicily.
Middle age
![VIII](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d7/VIII.1.a%2C_Pompeii._June_2017._Painted_panel_from_west_end_of_south_wall_of_enthroned_Pindar_with_lyre%2C_with_Muse_and_poetess.jpg)
Pindar seems to have used his odes to advance his, and his friends', personal interests. In 462 BC he composed two odes in honour of Arcesilas, king of
Cyrene, (''Pythians 4 and 5''), pleading for the return from exile of a friend, Demophilus. In the latter ode Pindar proudly mentions his own ancestry, which he shared with the king, as an Aegeid or descendant of
Aegeus
In Greek mythology, Aegeus (, ; grc-gre, Αἰγεύς, Aigeús, also spelled Aegeas) was an archaic figure in the founding myth of Athens. The "goat-man" who gave his name to the Aegean Sea was the father of Theseus. He was also the founder of A ...
, the legendary king of Athens. The clan was influential in many parts of the Greek world, having intermarried with ruling families in Thebes, in
Lacedaemonia, and in cities that claimed Lacedaemonian descent, such as Cyrene and
Thera
Santorini ( el, Σαντορίνη, ), officially Thira (Greek language, Greek: Θήρα ) and classical Greek Thera (English language, English pronunciation ), is an island in the southern Aegean Sea, about 200 km (120 mi) southeast ...
. The historian
Herodotus
Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria ( Italy). He is known f ...
considered the clan important enough to deserve mention (''Histories'' IV.147). Membership of this clan possibly contributed to Pindar's success as a poet, and it informed his political views, which are marked by a conservative preference for oligarchic governments of the
Doric Doric may refer to:
* Doric, of or relating to the Dorians of ancient Greece
** Doric Greek, the dialects of the Dorians
* Doric order, a style of ancient Greek architecture
* Doric mode, a synonym of Dorian mode
* Doric dialect (Scotland)
* Doric ...
kind.
Pindar might not actually claim to be an Aegeid since his 'I' statements do not necessarily refer to himself. The Aegeid clan did however have a branch in Thebes, and his reference to 'my ancestors' in Pythian 5 could have been spoken on behalf of both Arcesilas and himselfhe may have used this ambivalence to establish a personal link with his patrons.
He was possibly the Theban
proxenos
Proxeny or ( grc-gre, προξενία) in ancient Greece was an arrangement whereby a citizen (chosen by the city) hosted foreign ambassadors at his own expense, in return for honorary titles from the state. The citizen was called (; plural: o ...
or consul for Aegina and/or
Molossia
The Molossians () were a group of ancient Greek tribes which inhabited the region of Epirus in classical antiquity. Together with the Chaonians and the Thesprotians, they formed the main tribal groupings of the northwestern Greek group. On thei ...
, as indicated in another of his odes, Nemean 7, in which he glorifies
Neoptolemus
In Greek mythology, Neoptolemus (; ), also called Pyrrhus (; ), was the son of the warrior Achilles and the princess Deidamia, and the brother of Oneiros. He became the mythical progenitor of the ruling dynasty of the Molossians of ancient Epi ...
, a national hero of Aegina and Molossia. According to tradition, Neoptolemus died disgracefully in a fight with priests at the temple in
Delphi
Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), in ancient times was a sacred precinct that served as the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient classical world. The oracle ...
over their share of some sacrificial meat. Pindar diplomatically glosses over this and concludes mysteriously with an earnest protestation of innocence"But shall my heart never admit that I with words none can redeem dishonoured Neoptolemus". Possibly he was responding to anger among Aeginetans and/or Molossians over his portrayal of Neoptolemus in an earlier poem, ''
Paean
A paean () is a song or lyric poem expressing triumph or thanksgiving. In classical antiquity, it is usually performed by a chorus, but some examples seem intended for an individual voice (monody). It comes from the Greek παιάν (also πα ...
6'', which had been commissioned by the priests at Delphi and which depicted the hero's death in traditional terms, as divine retribution for his crimes.
Some doubt this biographical interpretation of ''Nemean 7'' since it is largely based on marginal comments by scholiast
Scholia (singular scholium or scholion, from grc, σχόλιον, "comment, interpretation") are grammatical, critical, or explanatory comments – original or copied from prior commentaries – which are inserted in the margin of th ...
s and Pindaric scholiasts are often unreliable. The fact that Pindar gave different versions of the myth may simply reflect the needs of different genres, and does not necessarily indicate a personal dilemma. ''Nemean 7'' in fact is the most controversial and obscure of Pindar's victory odes, and scholars ancient and modern have been ingenious and imaginative in their attempts to explain it, so far with no agreed success.
In his first Pythian ode, composed in 470 BC in honour of the Sicilian tyrant
Hieron
Hiero or hieron (; grc, ἱερόν, "holy place") is a holy shrine, temple, or temple precinct in ancient Greece.
Hiero may also refer to:
Places and jurisdictions
* Hieron, Caria, an Ancient city and former bishopric in Asia Minor, now Avs ...
, Pindar celebrated a series of victories by Greeks against foreign invaders: Athenian and Spartan-led victories against Persia at
Salamis and
Plataea
Plataea or Plataia (; grc, Πλάταια), also Plataeae or Plataiai (; grc, Πλαταιαί), was an ancient city, located in Greece in southeastern Boeotia, south of Thebes.Mish, Frederick C., Editor in Chief. “Plataea.” '' Webst ...
, and victories by the western Greeks led by
Theron of Acragas
Theron ( el, Θήρων, ''gen''.: Θήρωνος; died 473 BC), son of Aenesidamus, was a Greek tyrant of the town of Acragas in Sicily from 488 BC. According to Polyaenus, he came to power by using public funds allocated for the hire of private ...
and Hieron against the Carthaginians and Etruscans at the battles of
Himera
Himera (Greek language, Greek: ), was a large and important ancient Greece, ancient Greek city, situated on the north coast of Sicily at the mouth of the river of the same name (the modern Imera Settentrionale), between Panormus (modern Palermo) ...
and
Cumae
Cumae ( grc, Κύμη, (Kumē) or or ; it, Cuma) was the first ancient Greek colony on the mainland of Italy, founded by settlers from Euboea in the 8th century BC and soon becoming one of the strongest colonies. It later became a rich Ro ...
. Such celebrations were not appreciated by his fellow Thebans: they had sided with the Persians and had incurred many losses and privations as a result of their defeat. His praise of Athens with such epithets as ''bulwark of
Hellas'' (''fragment 76'') and ''city of noble name and sunlit splendour'' (Nemean 5) induced the authorities in Thebes to fine him 5,000 drachmae, to which the Athenians are said to have responded with a gift of 10,000 drachmae. According to another account, the Athenians even made him their proxenus or consul in Thebes. His association with the fabulously rich Hieron was another source of annoyance at home. It was probably in response to Theban sensitivities over this issue that he denounced the rule of tyrants (i.e. rulers like Hieron) in an ode composed shortly after a visit to Hieron's sumptuous court in 476–75 BC (''Pythian 11'').
Pindar's actual phrasing in ''Pythian 11'' was "I deplore the lot of tyrants" and though this was traditionally interpreted as an apology for his dealings with Sicilian tyrants like Hieron, an alternative date for the ode has led some scholars to conclude that it was in fact a covert reference to the tyrannical behaviour of the Athenians, although this interpretation is ruled out if we accept the earlier note about covert references. According to yet another interpretation Pindar is simply delivering a formulaic warning to the successful athlete to avoid hubris
Hubris (; ), or less frequently hybris (), describes a personality quality of extreme or excessive pride or dangerous overconfidence, often in combination with (or synonymous with) arrogance. The term ''arrogance'' comes from the Latin ', mean ...
. It is highly unlikely that Pindar ever acted for Athenians as their proxenus or consul in Thebes.
Lyric verse was conventionally accompanied by music and dance, and Pindar himself wrote the music and choreographed the dances for his victory odes. Sometimes he trained the performers at his home in Thebes, and sometimes he trained them at the venue where they performed. Commissions took him to all parts of the Greek worldto the Panhellenic festivals in mainland Greece (Olympia, Delphi, Corinth and Nemea), westwards to Sicily, eastwards to the seaboard of Asia Minor, north to
Macedon
Macedonia (; grc-gre, Μακεδονία), also called Macedon (), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, and later the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled by ...
ia and
Abdera (''Paean 2'') and south to Cyrene on the African coast. Other poets at the same venues vied with him for the favours of patrons. His poetry sometimes reflects this rivalry. For example, ''Olympian 2'' and ''Pythian 2'', composed in honour of the Sicilian tyrants Theron and Hieron following his visit to their courts in 476–75 BC, refer respectively to ''ravens'' and an ''ape'', apparently signifying rivals who were engaged in a campaign of smears against himpossibly the poets
Simonides
Simonides of Ceos (; grc-gre, Σιμωνίδης ὁ Κεῖος; c. 556–468 BC) was a Greek lyric poet, born in Ioulis on Kea (island), Ceos. The scholars of Hellenistic Alexandria included him in the canonical list of the nine lyric p ...
and his nephew
Bacchylides
Bacchylides (; grc-gre, Βακχυλίδης; – ) 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 i ...
. Pindar's original treatment of narrative myth, often relating events in reverse chronological order, is said to have been a favourite target for criticism. Simonides was known to charge high fees for his work and Pindar is said to have alluded to this in ''Isthmian 2'', where he refers to the Muse as "a hireling journeyman". He appeared in many poetry competitions and was defeated five times by his compatriot, the poet
Corinna
Corinna or Korinna ( grc, Κόριννα, Korinna) was an ancient Greek lyric poet from Tanagra in Boeotia. Although ancient sources portray her as a contemporary of Pindar (born ), not all modern scholars accept the accuracy of this tradition ...
, in revenge of which he called her ''Boeotian sow'' in one of his odes (''Olympian'' 6. 89f.).
It was assumed by ancient sources that Pindar's odes were performed by a chorus, but this has been challenged by some modern scholars, who argue that the odes were in fact performed solo. It is not known how commissions were arranged, nor if the poet travelled widely: even when poems include statements like "I have come" it is not certain that this was meant literally. Uncomplimentary references to Bacchylides and Simonides were found by scholiasts
Scholia (singular scholium or scholion, from grc, σχόλιον, "comment, interpretation") are grammatical, critical, or explanatory comments – original or copied from prior commentaries – which are inserted in the margin of th ...
but there is no reason to accept their interpretation of the odes. In fact, some scholars have interpreted the allusions to fees in ''Isthmian 2'' as a request by Pindar for payment of fees owed to himself. His defeats by Corinna were probably invented by ancient commentators to account for the ''Boeotian sow'' remark, a phrase moreover that was completely misunderstood by scholiasts, since Pindar was scoffing at a reputation that all Boeotians had for stupidity.
Old age and death
His fame as a poet drew Pindar into Greek politics. Athens, the most important city in Greece throughout his poetic career, was a rival of his home city,
Thebes, and also of the island state
Aegina
Aegina (; el, Αίγινα, ''Aígina'' ; grc, Αἴγῑνα) is one of the Saronic Islands of Greece in the Saronic Gulf, from Athens. Tradition derives the name from Aegina (mythology), Aegina, the mother of the hero Aeacus, who was born ...
, whose leading citizens commissioned about a quarter of his Victory Odes. There is no open condemnation of the Athenians in any of his poems but criticism is implied. For example, the victory ode mentioned above (''Pythian 8'') describes the downfall of the giants
Porphyrion
In Greek mythology, Porphyrion ( grc-gre, Πορφυρίων) 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 ...
and
Typhon
Typhon (; grc, Τυφῶν, Typhôn, ), also Typhoeus (; grc, Τυφωεύς, Typhōeús, label=none), Typhaon ( grc, Τυφάων, Typháōn, label=none) or Typhos ( grc, Τυφώς, Typhṓs, label=none), was a monstrous serpentine giant an ...
and this might be Pindar's way of covertly celebrating a recent defeat of Athens by Thebes at the
Battle of Coronea (447 BC). The poem ends with a prayer for Aegina's freedom, long threatened by Athenian ambitions.
Covert criticism of Athens (traditionally located in odes such as ''Pythian'' 8, ''Nemean'' 8 and ''Isthmian'' 7) is now dismissed as highly unlikely, even by scholars who allow some biographical and historical interpretations of the poems.
One of his last odes (''Pythian 8'') indicates that he lived near a shrine to the oracle
Alcmaeon and that he stored some of his wealth there. In the same ode he says that he had recently received a prophecy from Alcmaeon during a journey to Delphi ("...he met me and proved the skills of prophecy that all his race inherit") but he does not reveal what the long-dead prophet said to him nor in what form he appeared.
[There are several other accounts of supernatural visitations relating to Pindar (see for example C.M. Bowra, ''Pindar'', pages 49-51). According to a ]scholium
Scholia (singular scholium or scholion, from grc, σχόλιον, "comment, interpretation") are grammatical, critical, or explanatory comments – original or copied from prior commentaries – which are inserted in the margin of th ...
, he and a pupil, Olympichus, once saw a mysterious flame on a mountain, attended by strange noises. Pindar then beheld Rhea, the Mother of the Gods, advancing in the form of a wooden image. Pausanias Pausanias ( el, Παυσανίας) may refer to:
*Pausanias of Athens, lover of the poet Agathon and a character in Plato's ''Symposium''
*Pausanias the Regent, Spartan general and regent of the 5th century BC
*Pausanias of Sicily, physician of th ...
(9.25.3) reported that he set up a monument near his home, dedicated conjointly to Pan and the Mother of the Gods (). According to Eustathius (''Proem.'' 27, p. 298. 9 Dr) and ''Vit. Ambr.'' (p. 2. 2 Dr.), Pan was once heard between Cithaeron
Cithaeron or Kithairon (Κιθαιρών, -ῶνος) is a mountain and mountain range about sixteen kilometres (ten miles) long in Central Greece. The range is the physical boundary between Boeotia in the north and Attica in the south. It is mai ...
and Helicon singing a paean
A paean () is a song or lyric poem expressing triumph or thanksgiving. In classical antiquity, it is usually performed by a chorus, but some examples seem intended for an individual voice (monody). It comes from the Greek παιάν (also πα ...
composed to him by Pindar (fr. 85). The ode was written to commemorate a victory by an athlete from
Aegina
Aegina (; el, Αίγινα, ''Aígina'' ; grc, Αἴγῑνα) is one of the Saronic Islands of Greece in the Saronic Gulf, from Athens. Tradition derives the name from Aegina (mythology), Aegina, the mother of the hero Aeacus, who was born ...
.
Pindar doesn't necessarily mean himself when he uses the first person singular. Many of his 'I' statements are generic, indicating somebody engaged in the role of a singer i.e. a 'bardic' I. Other 'I' statements articulate values typical of the audience, and some are spoken on behalf of the subjects celebrated in the poems. The 'I' that received the prophecy in ''Pythian 8'' therefore might have been the athlete from Aegina, not Pindar. In that case the prophecy must have been about his performance at the Pythian Games, and the property stored at the shrine was just a votive offering.
Nothing is recorded about Pindar's wife and son except their names, Megacleia and Daiphantus. About ten days before he died, the goddess
Persephone
In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Persephone ( ; gr, Περσεφόνη, Persephónē), also called Kore or Cora ( ; gr, Κόρη, Kórē, the maiden), is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. She became the queen of the underworld after ...
appeared to him and complained that she was the only divinity to whom he had never composed a hymn. She said he would come to her soon and compose one then.
Pindar lived to about eighty years of age. He died around 438 BC while attending a festival at
Argos
Argos most often refers to:
* Argos, Peloponnese, a city in Argolis, Greece
** Ancient Argos, the ancient city
* Argos (retailer), a catalogue retailer operating in the United Kingdom and Ireland
Argos or ARGOS may also refer to:
Businesses
...
. His ashes were taken back home to Thebes by his musically-gifted daughters, Eumetis and Protomache.
Post mortem
One of Pindar's female relatives claimed that he dictated some verses to her in honour of Persephone after he had been dead for several days. Some of Pindar's verses were inscribed in letters of gold on a temple wall in
Lindos
Lindos (; grc-gre, Λίνδος) is an archaeological site, a fishing village and a former municipality on the island of Rhodes, in the Dodecanese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Rhodes, of which it ...
, Rhodes. At Delphi, where he had been elected a priest of Apollo, the priests exhibited an iron chair on which he used to sit during the festival of the
Theoxenia
Xenia ( el, ξενία) is an ancient Greek concept of hospitality. It is almost always translated as 'guest-friendship' or 'ritualized friendship'. It is an institutionalized relationship rooted in generosity, gift exchange, and reciprocity. Hi ...
. Every night, while closing the temple doors, they intoned: "Let Pindar the poet go unto the supper of the gods!"
Pindar's house in
Thebes became one of the city's landmarks. When
Alexander the Great
Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, wikt:Ἀλέξανδρος, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Maced ...
demolished Thebes in 335 BC, as punishment for its resistance to Macedonian expansionism, he ordered the house be left intact out of gratitude for verses praising his ancestor,
Alexander I of Macedon
Alexander I of Macedon ( el, Ἀλέξανδρος ὁ Μακεδών), known with the title Philhellene (Greek: φιλέλλην, literally "fond/lover of the Greeks", and in this context "Greek patriot"), was the ruler of the ancient Kingdom of ...
.
Values and beliefs
Pindar's values and beliefs have been inferred from his poetry. No other ancient Greek poet has left so many comments about the nature of his art. He justified and exalted
choral poetry Choral poetry is a type of lyric poetry that was created by the ancient Greeks and performed by choruses (see Greek chorus). Originally, it was accompanied by a lyre, a string instrument like a small U-shaped harp commonly used during Greek classica ...
at a time when society was turning away from it. It "... had for two centuries reflected and shaped the sentiments, the outlook, and the convictions of the Greek aristocracies ... and Pindar spoke up for it with passionate assurance". His poetry is a meeting ground for gods, heroes and meneven the dead are spoken of as participants: "Deep in the earth their heart listens".
His view of the gods is traditional but more self-consistent than
Homer
Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...
's and more reverent. He never depicts gods in a demeaning role. He seems indifferent to the intellectual reforms that were shaping the theology of the times. Thus an eclipse is not a mere physical effect, as contemplated by early thinkers such as
Thales
Thales of Miletus ( ; grc-gre, Θαλῆς; ) was a Greek mathematician, astronomer, statesman, and pre-Socratic philosopher from Miletus in Ionia, Asia Minor. He was one of the Seven Sages of Greece. Many, most notably Aristotle, regarded him ...
,
Anaximander
Anaximander (; grc-gre, Ἀναξίμανδρος ''Anaximandros''; ) was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher who lived in Miletus,"Anaximander" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 1, p. 403. a city of Ionia (in moder ...
and
Heraclitus
Heraclitus of Ephesus (; grc-gre, Ἡράκλειτος , "Glory of Hera"; ) was an ancient Greek pre-Socratic philosopher from the city of Ephesus, which was then part of the Persian Empire.
Little is known of Heraclitus's life. He wrote ...
, nor was it even a subject for bold wonder, as it was for an earlier poet,
Archilochus
Archilochus (; grc-gre, Ἀρχίλοχος ''Arkhilokhos''; c. 680 – c. 645 BC) was a Greek lyric poet of the Archaic period from the island of Paros. He is celebrated for his versatile and innovative use of poetic meters, and is the ea ...
; instead Pindar treated an eclipse as a portent of evil.
[''Paean'' 9.13-20). The eclipse is mentioned in a fragment quoted by ]Stobaeus
Joannes Stobaeus (; grc-gre, Ἰωάννης ὁ Στοβαῖος; fl. 5th-century AD), from Stobi in Macedonia, was the compiler of a valuable series of extracts from Greek authors. The work was originally divided into two volumes containin ...
, addressed to the Thebans:
Is it some sign of war you bring? / Or blight on crops, or snow-fall's strength / Beyond all telling, or murderous strife at home, / Or emptying of the sea on land, / Or frost binding the earth, or south-wind in summer / With a flood of furious rain, / Or will you drown the land and raise / A new breed of men from the beginning?
Gods are the embodiment of power, uncompromisingly proud of their nature and violent in defense of their privileges. There is some rationalization of religious belief, but it is within a tradition at least as old as
Hesiod
Hesiod (; grc-gre, Ἡσίοδος ''Hēsíodos'') was an ancient Greek poet generally thought to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer. He is generally regarded by western authors as 'the first written poet i ...
, where abstractions are personified, such as "Truth the daughter of Zeus". Sometimes the wording suggests a belief in 'God' rather than 'a god' (e.g. "What is God? Everything"),
[fr. 129: ] but the implications are not given full expression and the poems are not examples of
monotheism
Monotheism is the belief that there is only one deity, an all-supreme being that is universally referred to as God. Cross, F.L.; Livingstone, E.A., eds. (1974). "Monotheism". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (2 ed.). Oxford: Oxford ...
. Nor do they vocalize a belief in Fate as the background to the gods, unlike the plays of
Aeschylus
Aeschylus (, ; grc-gre, Αἰσχύλος ; c. 525/524 – c. 456/455 BC) was an ancient Greek tragedian, and is often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Greek ...
for example. Pindar subjects both fortune and fate to divine will (e.g. "child of Zeus ... Fortune").
![Heracles](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/Heracles.jpg)
He selects and revises traditional myths so as not to diminish the dignity and majesty of the gods. Such revisionism was not unique.
Xenophanes
Xenophanes of Colophon (; grc, Ξενοφάνης ὁ Κολοφώνιος ; c. 570 – c. 478 BC) was a Greek philosopher
A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φ ...
had castigated
Homer
Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...
and
Hesiod
Hesiod (; grc-gre, Ἡσίοδος ''Hēsíodos'') was an ancient Greek poet generally thought to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer. He is generally regarded by western authors as 'the first written poet i ...
for the misdeeds they ascribed to gods, such as theft, adultery and deception, and
Pythagoras
Pythagoras of Samos ( grc, Πυθαγόρας ὁ Σάμιος, Pythagóras ho Sámios, Pythagoras the Samos, Samian, or simply ; in Ionian Greek; ) was an ancient Ionians, Ionian Ancient Greek philosophy, Greek philosopher and the eponymou ...
had envisioned those two poets being punished in Hades for blasphemy. A subtle example of Pindar's approach can be found in his treatment of the myth of Apollo's rape of the nymph
Cyrene. As the god of the
Delphic oracle
Pythia (; grc, Πυθία ) was the name of the high priestess of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. She specifically served as its oracle and was known as the Oracle of Delphi. Her title was also historically glossed in English as the Pythoness ...
, Apollo is all-knowing, yet in keeping with his anthropomorphic nature he seeks information about the nymph from a third party, in this case the centaur
Chiron
In Greek mythology, Chiron ( ; also Cheiron or Kheiron; ) was held to be the superlative centaur amongst his brethren since he was called the "wisest and justest of all the centaurs".
Biography
Chiron was notable throughout Greek mythology ...
. Chiron however affirms the god's omniscience with an elegant compliment, as if Apollo had only pretended to be ignorant: "You, Sire, who know the appointed end of all, and all paths..."
[Chiron's compliment to Apollo:]
"You, Sire, who know / The appointed end of all, and all paths: / How many leaves in April the earth puts forth, / How many grains of sand / In the sea and rivers / Are troubled by the waves and the swirling winds, / And what shall be, and whence it shall come / You see with clear eyes." Apollo's abduction of the nymph is not presented as a shameful act. Pindar's gods are above such ethical issues and it is not for men to judge them by ordinary human standards. Indeed, the finest breeds of men resulted from divine passions: "For Pindar a mortal woman who is loved by a god is an outstanding lesson in divine favours handsomely bestowed".
Being descendants of divine unions with privileged mortals, mythical heroes are an intermediate group between gods and men, and they are sympathetic to human ambitions. Thus, for example, Pindar not only invokes Zeus for help on behalf of the island of Aegina but also its national heroes
Aeacus
Aeacus (; also spelled Eacus; Ancient Greek: Αἰακός) 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, ...
,
Peleus
In Greek mythology, Peleus (; Ancient Greek: Πηλεύς ''Pēleus'') was a hero, king of Phthia, husband of Thetis and the father of their son Achilles. This myth was already known to the hearers of Homer in the late 8th century BC.
Biograp ...
and
Telamon
In Greek mythology, Telamon (; Ancient Greek: Τελαμών, ''Telamōn'' means "broad strap") was the son of King Aeacus of Aegina, and Endeïs, a mountain nymph. The elder brother of Peleus, Telamon sailed alongside Jason as one of his Argona ...
. Unlike the gods, however, heroes can be judged according to ordinary human standards and they are sometimes shown in the poems to demean themselves. Even in that case, they receive special consideration. Thus Pindar refers obliquely to the murder of
Phocus Phocus (; Ancient Greek: Φῶκος means "seal") was the name of the eponymous hero of Phocis in Greek mythology. Ancient sources relate of more than one figure of this name, and of these at least two are explicitly said to have had Phocis named a ...
by his brothers Peleus and Telamon ("I am shy of speaking of a huge risk, hazarded not in right"), telling the audience that he will not talk of it ("silence is a man's wisest counsel").
[''Nemean Odes'' 5.14–18:]
I am shy of speaking of a huge risk / Hazarded not in right, / How they left the famous island, / And what fate drove strong men from the Vineland. / I shall halt. Truth does not always / Gain more if unflinching / She reveals her face; / And silence is often a man's wisest counsel. The Theban hero
Heracles
Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive ...
was a favourite subject but in one poem he is depicted as small in order to be compared with a small Theban patron who had won the
pankration
Pankration (; el, παγκράτιον) was a sporting event introduced into the Greek Olympic Games in 648 BC, which was an empty-hand submission sport with few rules. The athletes used boxing and wrestling techniques but also others, such as ...
at the Isthmian Games: a unique example of Pindar's readiness to shape traditional myths to fit the occasion, even if not always flattering to the mythical hero. A hero's status is not diminished by an occasional blemish but rests on a summary view of his heroic exploits.
Some of his patrons claimed divine descent, such as
Diagoras of Rhodes
Diagoras of Rhodes (; el, Διαγόρας ὁ Ῥόδιος) 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 fa ...
, but Pindar makes all men akin to gods if they realize their full potential: their innate gifts are divinely bestowed, and even then success still depends on the gods' active favour. In honouring such men, therefore, Pindar was honouring the gods too. His statements about life after death were not self-consistent but that was typical for the times. Traditional ambivalence, as expressed by Homer, had been complicated by a growth of religious sects, such as the
Eleusinian mysteries
The Eleusinian Mysteries ( el, Ἐλευσίνια Μυστήρια, Eleusínia Mystḗria) were initiations held every year for the cult of Demeter and Persephone based at the Panhellenic Sanctuary of Elefsina in ancient Greece. They are the " ...
and
Pythagoreanism
Pythagoreanism originated in the 6th century BC, based on and around the teachings and beliefs held by Pythagoras and his followers, the Pythagoreans. Pythagoras established the first Pythagorean community in the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek col ...
, representing various schemes of rewards and punishments in the next life. However, for the poet, glory and lasting fame were men's greatest assurance of a life well-lived. He presents no theory of history apart from the view that Fortune is variable even for the best men, an outlook suited to moderation in success, courage in adversity. Notions of 'good' and 'bad' in human nature were not analysed by him in any depth nor did he arrive at anything like the
compassionate ethics of his near contemporary, Simonides of Ceos. His poems are indifferent to the ordinary mass of people. They are dismissed with phrases such as "the brute multitude" (''Pythian Ode'' 2.87). Nor are the poems concerned with the fate of rich and powerful men once they lose their wealth and social status (compared for example with the bitter and disillusioned poems of
Theognis of Megara
Theognis of Megara ( grc-gre, Θέογνις ὁ Μεγαρεύς, ''Théognis ho Megareús'') was a Greek lyric poet active in approximately the sixth century BC. The work attributed to him consists of gnomic poetry quite typical of the time, f ...
). They are more interested in what successful men do with their good fortune: success brings obligations, and religious and artistic activities need patrons.
Whereas the
Muses
In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the p ...
inspired Homer with relevant information and with the language to express it, Pindar seems to receive only their inspiration: his role is to shape that inspiration with his own wisdom and skill. Like his patrons, whom he immortalizes in verse, he owes his success to hard work as well as to innate gifts; though he hires himself out, he has a vocation. The Muses are to him as an oracle is to a prophet, and lesser poets are to him as ravens are to an eagle; the art of such men is as hackneyed as garland-making; his is magical:
Works
Pindar's strongly individual genius is apparent in all his extant compositions but, unlike
Simonides
Simonides of Ceos (; grc-gre, Σιμωνίδης ὁ Κεῖος; c. 556–468 BC) was a Greek lyric poet, born in Ioulis on Kea (island), Ceos. The scholars of Hellenistic Alexandria included him in the canonical list of the nine lyric p ...
and
Stesichorus
Stesichorus (; grc-gre, Στησίχορος, ''Stēsichoros''; c. 630 – 555 BC) was a Greek lyric poet native of today's Calabria (Southern Italy). He is best known for telling epic stories in lyric metres, and for some ancient traditions abou ...
for example, he created no new lyrical genres.
[Jebb, Richard (1905]
''Bacchylides: the poems and fragments''
Cambridge University Press, p. 41 He was however innovative in his use of the genres he inheritedfor example, in one of his victory odes (''Olympian'' 3), he announces his invention of a new type of musical accompaniment, combining lyre, flute and human voice (though our knowledge of Greek music is too sketchy to allow us to understand the full nature of this innovation).
[Pindar (1972) p. 17] Although he probably spoke
Boeotian Greek
In linguistics, Aeolic Greek (), also known as Aeolian (), Lesbian or Lesbic dialect, is the set of dialects of Ancient Greek spoken mainly in Boeotia; in Thessaly; in the Aegean island of Lesbos; and in the Greek colonies of Aeolis in Anatolia ...
he composed in a literary language that tended to rely more on the
Doric Doric may refer to:
* Doric, of or relating to the Dorians of ancient Greece
** Doric Greek, the dialects of the Dorians
* Doric order, a style of ancient Greek architecture
* Doric mode, a synonym of Dorian mode
* Doric dialect (Scotland)
* Doric ...
dialect than his rival
Bacchylides
Bacchylides (; grc-gre, Βακχυλίδης; – ) 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 i ...
, but less insistently than
Alcman
Alcman (; grc-gre, Ἀλκμάν ''Alkmán''; fl. 7th century BC) was an Ancient Greek choral lyric poet from Sparta. He is the earliest representative of the Alexandrian canon of the Nine Lyric Poets.
Biography
Alcman's dates are u ...
. There is an admixture of other dialects, especially Aeolic and epic forms, and an occasional use of some Boeotian words.
[Gerber, p. 255] He composed 'choral' songs yet it is by no means certain that they were all sung by choirsthe use of choirs is testified only by the generally unreliable scholiasts. Scholars at the
Library of Alexandria
The Great Library of Alexandria in Alexandria, Egypt, was one of the largest and most significant libraries of the ancient world. The Library was part of a larger research institution called the Mouseion, which was dedicated to the Muses, th ...
collected his compositions in seventeen books organized according to genre:
* 1 book of ''hymnoi'"
hymn
A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...
s"''
* 1 book of ''paianes'"
paean
A paean () is a song or lyric poem expressing triumph or thanksgiving. In classical antiquity, it is usually performed by a chorus, but some examples seem intended for an individual voice (monody). It comes from the Greek παιάν (also πα ...
s"''
* 2 books of ''dithyramboi'"
dithyramb
The dithyramb (; grc, διθύραμβος, ''dithyrambos'') was an ancient Greek hymn sung and danced in honor of Dionysus, the god of wine and fertility; the term was also used as an epithet of the god. Plato, in ''The Laws'', while discussing ...
s"''
* 2 books of ''prosodia'
"processionals"''
* 3 books of ''parthenia'"songs for maidens"''
* 2 books of ''hyporchemata'
"songs for light dances"''
* 1 book of ''enkomia'"
songs of praise
''Songs of Praise'' is a BBC Television religious programme that presents Christian hymns sung in churches of varying denominations from around the UK.
The series was first broadcast in October 1961. On that occasion, the venue was the Ta ...
"''
* 1 book of ''threnoi'"laments"''
* 4 books of ''epinikia'"
victory odes"''
Of this vast and varied corpus, only the ''epinikia''odes written to commemorate athletic victoriessurvive in complete form; the rest survive only by quotations in other ancient authors or from
papyrus
Papyrus ( ) is a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times as a writing surface. It was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, '' Cyperus papyrus'', a wetland sedge. ''Papyrus'' (plural: ''papyri'') can also refer to a ...
scraps unearthed in
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
. Even in fragmentary form however they reveal the same complexity of thought and language that are found in the victory odes.
Dionysius of Halicarnassus
Dionysius of Halicarnassus ( grc, Διονύσιος Ἀλεξάνδρου Ἁλικαρνασσεύς,
; – after 7 BC) was a Greek historian and teacher of rhetoric, who flourished during the reign of Emperor Augustus. His literary sty ...
singled out Pindar's work as an outstanding example of austere style () but he noted its absence in the maiden songs or ''parthenia''. One surviving fragment of a maiden song does seem to be different in tone, due however to the fact that it is spoken in the character of a girl:
Enough of his dithyrambic poetry survives for comparison with that of Bacchylides, who used it for narrative. Pindar's dithyrambs are an exuberant display of religious feeling, capturing the wild spirit of
Dionysus
In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Romans ...
and pointing forward to the ecstatic songs of
Euripides
Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian
Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful e ...
' ''
Bacchae
''The Bacchae'' (; grc-gre, Βάκχαι, ''Bakchai''; also known as ''The Bacchantes'' ) is an ancient Greek tragedy, written by the Athenian playwright Euripides during his final years in Macedonia, at the court of Archelaus I of Macedon. ...
''. In one of these, dedicated to the Athenians and written to be sung in Spring, he depicts the divine energy of the revitalized world.
Victory odes
![Farnese Diadumenos BM 501](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/Farnese_Diadumenos_BM_501.jpg)
Almost all Pindar's victory
ode
An ode (from grc, ᾠδή, ōdḗ) is a type of lyric poetry. Odes are elaborately structured poems praising or glorifying an event or individual, describing nature intellectually as well as emotionally. A classic ode is structured in three majo ...
s are celebrations of triumphs gained by competitors in
Panhellenic festivals such as the Olympian Games. The establishment of these athletic and musical festivals was among the greatest achievements of the Greek aristocracies. Even in the 5th century BC, when there was an increased tendency towards professionalism, they were predominantly aristocratic assemblies, reflecting the expense and leisure needed to attend such events either as a competitor or spectator. Attendance was an opportunity for display and self-promotion, and the prestige of victory, requiring commitment in time and/or wealth, went far beyond anything that accrues to athletic victories today, even in spite of the modern preoccupation with sport. Pindar's odes capture something of the prestige and the aristocratic grandeur of the moment of victory, as in this stanza from one of his Isthmian Odes, here translated by Geoffrey S. Conway:
:::::If ever a man strives
:::With all his soul's endeavour, sparing himself
:::Neither expense nor labour to attain
:::True excellence, then must we give to those
:::Who have achieved the goal, a proud tribute
:::::Of lordly praise, and shun
::::All thoughts of envious jealousy.
:::To a poet's mind the gift is slight, to speak
:::A kind word for unnumbered toils, and build
:::For all to share a monument of beauty. (''Isthmian'' I, antistrophe 3)
His victory odes are grouped into four books named after the
Olympian,
Pythian,
Isthmian, and
Nemean Games
The Nemean Games ( grc-gre, Νέμεα or Νέμεια) were one of the four Panhellenic Games of Ancient Greece, and were held at Nemea every two years (or every third).
With the Isthmian Games, the Nemean Games were held both the year before ...
Panhellenic festivals held respectively at
Olympia
The name Olympia may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film
* ''Olympia'' (1938 film), by Leni Riefenstahl, documenting the Berlin-hosted Olympic Games
* ''Olympia'' (1998 film), about a Mexican soap opera star who pursues a career as an athlet ...
,
Delphi
Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), in ancient times was a sacred precinct that served as the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient classical world. The oracle ...
,
Corinth
Corinth ( ; el, Κόρινθος, Kórinthos, ) is the successor to an ancient city, and is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part o ...
and
Nemea
Nemea (; grc, Νεμέα; grc-x-ionic, Νεμέη) 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 ...
. This reflects the fact that most of the odes were composed in honour of boys, youths, and men who had recently enjoyed victories in athletic (and sometimes musical) contests at those festivals. In a few odes however much older victories, and even victories in lesser games, are celebrated, often as a pretext for addressing other issues or achievements. For example, ''Pythian 3'', composed in honour of Hieron of Syracuse, briefly mentions a victory he had once enjoyed at the Pythian Games, but it is actually intended to console him for his chronic illness (similarly, ''Pythian'' 2 is like a private letter in its intimacy).
[Pindar (1972), p. 88. 96] ''Nemean 9'' and ''Nemean 10'' celebrate victories in games at
Sicyon
Sicyon (; el, Σικυών; ''gen''.: Σικυῶνος) or Sikyon was an ancient Greek city state situated in the northern Peloponnesus between Corinth and Achaea on the territory of the present-day regional unit of Corinthia. An ancient mona ...
and
Argos
Argos most often refers to:
* Argos, Peloponnese, a city in Argolis, Greece
** Ancient Argos, the ancient city
* Argos (retailer), a catalogue retailer operating in the United Kingdom and Ireland
Argos or ARGOS may also refer to:
Businesses
...
, and ''Nemean 11'' celebrates a victory in a municipal election on
Tenedos
Tenedos (, ''Tenedhos'', ), or Bozcaada in Turkish language, Turkish, is an island of Turkey in the northeastern part of the Aegean Sea. Administratively, the island constitutes the Bozcaada, Çanakkale, Bozcaada district of Çanakkale Provinc ...
(though it also mentions some obscure athletic victories). These three odes are the final odes in the ''Nemean'' book of odes, and there is a reason for their inclusion. In the original manuscripts, the four books of odes were arranged in the order of importance assigned to the festivals, with the Nemean festival, considered least important, coming last. Victory odes that lacked a Panhellenic subject were then bundled together at the end of the book of ''Nemean'' odes.
[Pindar (1972) Introduction p. xx]
Style
Pindar's poetic style is very distinctive, even when the peculiarities of the genre are set aside. The odes typically feature a grand and arresting opening, often with an architectural metaphor or a resounding invocation to a place or goddess. He makes rich use of decorative language and florid compound adjectives.
[Charles Segal, 'Choral Lyric in the Fifth Century', in Easterling, p. 232] Sentences are compressed to the point of obscurity, unusual words and periphrases give the language an esoteric quality, and transitions in meaning often seem erratic, the images seem to burst outit is a style that sometimes baffles but also makes his poetry vivid and unforgettable.
His odes were animated by...
Some of these qualities can be found, for example, in this stanza from ''Pythian 2'', composed in honour of Hieron:
The stanza begins with a celebration of divine power, and then abruptly shifts to a darker, more allusive train of thought, featuring condemnation of a renowned poet,
Archilochus
Archilochus (; grc-gre, Ἀρχίλοχος ''Arkhilokhos''; c. 680 – c. 645 BC) was a Greek lyric poet of the Archaic period from the island of Paros. He is celebrated for his versatile and innovative use of poetic meters, and is the ea ...
, ''Grown fat on the harsh words of hate''. Archilochus was an
iambic poet, working within a genre that licensed abusive and scurrilous versea regrettable tendency from the viewpoint of Pindar, whose own persona is intensely earnest, preaching to Hieron the need for moderation (wealth with wisdom) and submission to the divine will. The reference to the embittered poet appears to be Pindar's meditative response to some intrigues at Hieron's court, possibly by his rivals, condemned elsewhere as ''a pair of ravens'' (''Olympian 2''). The intensity of the stanza suggests that it is the culmination and climax of the poem. In fact, the stanza occupies the middle of ''Pythian 2'' and the intensity is sustained throughout the poem from beginning to end. It is the sustained intensity of his poetry that Quintilian refers to above as a ''rolling flood of eloquence'' and Horace below refers to as the ''uncontrollable momentum'' of a river that has burst its banks.
Longinus
Longinus () is the name given to the unnamed Roman soldier who pierced the side of Jesus with a lance and who in medieval and some modern Christian traditions is described as a convert to Christianity. His name first appeared in the apocryphal G ...
likens him to ''a vast fire'' and
Athenaeus
Athenaeus of Naucratis (; grc, Ἀθήναιος ὁ Nαυκρατίτης or Nαυκράτιος, ''Athēnaios Naukratitēs'' or ''Naukratios''; la, Athenaeus Naucratita) was a Greek rhetorician and grammarian, flourishing about the end of th ...
refers to him as ''the great-voiced Pindar''.
Pindar's treatment of myth is another unique aspect of his style, often involving variations on the traditional stories, since his original audience was familiar with the myths and this allowed him to concentrate on unique and surprising effects. Reversing the chronological order was one such effect, as in ''Olympian VII'' dedicated to Diagoras of Rhodes, but this could also resemble a circular pattern, beginning with a culminating event, followed by scenes leading up to it, and ending with its restatement, as in his account of the
Dioscuri
Castor; grc, Κάστωρ, Kástōr, beaver. and Pollux. (or Polydeukes). are twin half-brothers in Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology, known together as the Dioscuri.; grc, Διόσκουροι, Dióskouroi, sons of Zeus, links=no, f ...
in ''Nemean 10''. Myths enabled him to develop the themes and lessons that pre-occupy himin particular mankind's exulted relation with the gods via heroic ancestors and, in contrast, the limitations and uncertainties of human existencebut sometimes the traditional stories were an embarrassment and were carefully edited, as for example:
"Be still my tongue: here profits not / to tell the whole truth with clear face unveiled," (''Nemean 5'', epode 1); "Away, away this story! / Let no such tale fall from my lips! / For to insult the gods is a fool's wisdom," (''Olympian 9'', strophe 2); "Senseless, I hold it, for a man to say / the gods eat mortal flesh. / I spurn the thought," (''Olympian 1'', epode 2). His mythical accounts are edited for dramatic and graphic effects, usually unfolding through a few grand gestures against a background of large, often symbolic elements such as sea, sky, darkness, fire or mountain.
Structure
Pindar's odes typically begin with an invocation to a god or the Muses, followed by praise of the victor and often of his family, ancestors and home-town. Then follows a narrated myth, usually occupying the central and longest section of the poem, which exemplify a moral, while aligning the poet and his audience with the world of gods and heroes. The ode usually ends in more eulogies, for example of trainers (if the victor is a boy), and of relatives who have won past events, as well as with prayers or expressions of hope for future success.
[Pindar (1972)] The event where the victory was gained is never described in detail, but there is often some mention of the hard work needed to bring the victory about.
A lot of modern criticism tries to find hidden structure or some unifying principle within the odes. 19th century criticism favoured 'gnomic unity' i.e. that each ode is bound together by the kind of moralizing or philosophic vision typical of archaic
Gnomic poetry
: ''For the map projection see Gnomonic projection; for the game, see Nomic; for the mythological being, see Gnome.''
Gnomic poetry consists of meaningful sayings put into verse to aid the memory. They were known by the Greeks as gnomes (c.f. the ...
. Later critics sought unity in the way certain words or images are repeated and developed within a particular ode. For others, the odes are just celebrations of men and their communities, in which the elements such as myths, piety, and ethics are stock themes that the poet introduces without much real thought. Some conclude that the requirement for unity is too modern to have informed Pindar's ancient approach to a traditional craft.
The great majority of the odes are triadic in structurei.e., stanzas are grouped together in three's as a lyrical unit. Each triad comprises two stanzas identical in length and meter (called 'strophe' and 'antistrophe') and a third stanza (called an 'epode'), differing in length and meter but rounding off the lyrical movement in some way. The shortest odes comprise a single triad, the largest (''Pythian 4'') comprises thirteen triads. Seven of the odes however are monostrophic (i.e., each stanza in the ode is identical in length and meter). The monostrophic odes seem to have been composed for victory marches or processions, whereas the triadic odes appear suited to choral dances.
Pindar's metrical rhythms are nothing like the simple, repetitive rhythms familiar to readers of English versetypically the rhythm of any given line recurs infrequently (for example, only once every ten, fifteen or twenty lines). This adds to the aura of complexity that surrounds Pindar's work. In terms of meter, the odes fall roughly into two categoriesabout half are in
dactylo-epitrites (a meter found for example in the works of
Stesichorus
Stesichorus (; grc-gre, Στησίχορος, ''Stēsichoros''; c. 630 – 555 BC) was a Greek lyric poet native of today's Calabria (Southern Italy). He is best known for telling epic stories in lyric metres, and for some ancient traditions abou ...
, Simonides and Bacchylides) and the other half are in
Aeolic metres based on iambs and choriambs.
Chronological order
Modern editors (e.g., Snell and Maehler in their
Teubner
The Bibliotheca Teubneriana, or ''Bibliotheca Scriptorum Graecorum et Romanorum Teubneriana'', also known as Teubner editions of Greek and Latin texts, comprise one of the most thorough modern collection published of ancient (and some medieval) ...
edition), have assigned dates, securely or tentatively, to Pindar's victory odes, based on ancient sources and other grounds. The date of an athletic victory is not always the date of composition but often serves merely as a ''terminus post quem''. Many dates are based on comments by ancient sources who had access to published lists of victors, such as the Olympic list compiled by
Hippias of Elis
Hippias of Elis (; el, Ἱππίας ὁ Ἠλεῖος; late 5th century BC) was a Greek sophist, and a contemporary of Socrates. With an assurance characteristic of the later sophists, he claimed to be regarded as an authority on all subjects, ...
, and lists of Pythian victors made by
Aristotle
Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...
and
Callisthenes
Callisthenes of Olynthus (; grc-gre, Καλλισθένης; 360327 BCE) was a well-connected Greek historian in Macedon, who accompanied Alexander the Great during his Asiatic expedition. The philosopher Aristotle was Callisthenes's great ...
. There were however no such lists for the Isthmian and Nemean Games
Pausanias Pausanias ( el, Παυσανίας) may refer to:
*Pausanias of Athens, lover of the poet Agathon and a character in Plato's ''Symposium''
*Pausanias the Regent, Spartan general and regent of the 5th century BC
*Pausanias of Sicily, physician of th ...
(6.13.8) complained that the Corinthians and Argives never kept proper records. The resulting uncertainty is reflected in the chronology below, with question marks clustered around Nemean and Isthmian entries, and yet it still represents a fairly clear general timeline of Pindar's career as an epinician poet. The code M denotes monostrophic odes (odes in which all stanzas are metrically identical) and the rest are triadic (i.e. featuring strophes, antistrophes, epodes):
Manuscripts, shreds and quotes
Pindar's verses have come down to us in a variety of ways. Some are only preserved as fragments via quotes by ancient sources and papyri unearthed by archeologists, as at
Oxyrhynchus
Oxyrhynchus (; grc-gre, Ὀξύρρυγχος, Oxýrrhynchos, sharp-nosed; ancient Egyptian ''Pr-Medjed''; cop, or , ''Pemdje''; ar, البهنسا, ''Al-Bahnasa'') is a city in Middle Egypt located about 160 km south-southwest of Cairo ...
in fact the extant works of most of the other
canonic lyric poets have survived only in this tattered form. Pindar's extant verses are unique in that the bulk of themthe victory odeshave been preserved in a manuscript tradition, i.e., generations of scribes copying from earlier copies, possibly originating in a single archetypal copy and sometimes graphically demonstrated by modern scholars in the form of a
stemma codicum
Textual criticism is a branch of textual scholarship, philology, and of literary criticism that is concerned with the identification of textual variants, or different versions, of either manuscripts or of printed books. Such texts may range in da ...
, resembling a 'family tree'. Pindar's victory odes are preserved in just two manuscripts, but incomplete collections are located in many others, and all date from the mediaeval period. Some scholars have traced a stemma through these manuscripts, for example
Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff
Enno Friedrich Wichard Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff (22 December 1848 – 25 September 1931) was a German classical philologist. Wilamowitz, as he is known in scholarly circles, was a renowned authority on Ancient Greece and its literature ...
, who inferred from them the existence of a common source or archetype dated no earlier than the 2nd century AD, while others, such as
C.M. Bowra, have argued that there are too many discrepancies between manuscripts to identify a specific lineage, even while accepting the existence of an archetype. Otto Schroeder identified two families of manuscripts but, following on the work of Polish-born classicist, Alexander Turyn, Bowra rejected this also. Different scholars interpret the extant manuscripts differently. Bowra for example singled out seven manuscripts as his primary sources (see below), all featuring errors and/or gaps due to loss of folios and careless copying, and one arguably characterized by the dubious interpolations of Byzantine scholars. These he cross-referenced and then supplemented or verified by reference to other, still more doubtful manuscripts, and some papyrus fragmentsa combination of sources on which he based his own edition of the odes and fragments. His general method of selection he defined as follows:
Influence and legacy
* The influential Alexandrian poet
Callimachus
Callimachus (; ) was an ancient Greek poet, scholar and librarian who was active in Alexandria during the 3rd century BC. A representative of Ancient Greek literature of the Hellenistic period, he wrote over 800 literary works in a wide variety ...
was fascinated by Pindar's originality. His masterpiece ''
Aetia'' included an elegy in honour of Queen
Berenice
Berenice ( grc, Βερενίκη, ''Bereníkē'') is the Ancient Macedonian form of the Attic Greek name ''Pherenikē'', which means "bearer of victory" . Berenika, priestess of Demeter in Lete ca. 350 BC, is the oldest epigraphical evidence. Th ...
, celebrating a chariot victory at the Nemean Games, composed in a style and presented in a manner that recall Pindar.
* The Hellenistic epic ''
Argonautica
The ''Argonautica'' ( el, Ἀργοναυτικά , translit=Argonautika) is a Greek epic poem written by Apollonius Rhodius in the 3rd century BC. The only surviving Hellenistic epic, the ''Argonautica'' tells the myth of the voyage of Jason a ...
'', by
Apollonius Rhodius
Apollonius of Rhodes ( grc, Ἀπολλώνιος Ῥόδιος ''Apollṓnios Rhódios''; la, Apollonius Rhodius; fl. first half of 3rd century BC) was an ancient Greek author, best known for the ''Argonautica'', an epic poem about Jason and t ...
, was influenced by some aspects of Pindar's style and his use of episodic vignettes in narrative. The epic concerns the adventures of
Jason
Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea. He w ...
, also touched on by Pindar in ''Pythian'' 4, and both poems link the myth to a Greek audience in Africa.
* There seems to have been a vogue for Pindaric-style lyrics following the 'publication' of Horace's ''Odes'' 1–3. Horace had mastered other styles such as Sapphic and Alcaeic, which had discouraged his contemporaries from attempting anything in the same form, but he had not composed anything in triadic stanzas in the manner of Pindar.
* Pindar was much read, quoted, and copied during the
Byzantine Era
The Byzantine calendar, also called the Roman calendar, the Creation Era of Constantinople or the Era of the World ( grc, Ἔτη Γενέσεως Κόσμου κατὰ Ῥωμαίους, also or , abbreviated as ε.Κ.; literal translation of ...
. For example,
Christophoros Mytilenaios of the 11th century parodied a chariot race in his sixth poem, employing explicit allusions to Pindar.
* During the 17th and 18th centuries, literary theorists in Europe distinguished between two types of lyric poetry, loosely associated with Horace and Pindar. Regular verses in four line stanzas were associated with Horace's Odes, which did in fact inspire and influence poets of the period. Irregular verses in longer stanzas were termed
Pindarics Pindarics (alternatively Pindariques or Pindaricks) was a term for a class of loose and irregular odes greatly in fashion in England during the close of the 17th and the beginning of the 18th century. Abraham Cowley, who published fifteen ''Pindariq ...
, though the association with Pindar was largely fanciful.
Abraham Cowley
Abraham Cowley (; 161828 July 1667) was an English poet and essayist born in the City of London late in 1618. He was one of the leading English poets of the 17th century, with 14 printings of his ''Works'' published between 1668 and 1721.
Early ...
was considered the main exponent of English Pindarics. In fact, the two styles were not always easy to distinguish and many 'Pindaric' odes were quite Horatian in content, as in some poems by
Thomas Gray
Thomas Gray (26 December 1716 – 30 July 1771) was an English poet, letter-writer, classics, classical scholar, and professor at Pembroke College, Cambridge, Pembroke College, Cambridge. He is widely known for his ''Elegy Written in a Country ...
.
[David Money]
'The seventeenth and eighteenth centuries'
in ''The Cambridge Companion to Horace'', Stephen Harrison (ed), Cambridge University Press (2007), pp. 327–28
* A 'Pindaric Ode' was composed for the revived 1896 Olympic Games in Athens by the Oxford scholar George Stuart Robinson, and similar compositions were commissioned from and composed by classicist
Armand D'Angour
Armand D'Angour (born 23 November 1958) is a British classical scholar and classical musician, Professor of Classics at Oxford University and Fellow and Tutor in Classics at Jesus College, Oxford. His research embraces a wide range of areas acros ...
for the Athens Olympics in 2004 and the London Olympics in 2012.
Horace's tribute
The Latin poet,
Quintus Horatius Flaccus
Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 – 27 November 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). The rhetorician Quintilian regarded his ' ...
, was an admirer of Pindar's style. He described it in one of his
Sapphic poems, addressed to a friend,
Iullus Antonius
Iullus Antonius (43–2 BC) was a Roman magnate and poet. A son of Mark Antony and Fulvia, he was spared by the emperor Augustus after the civil wars of the Republic, and was married to the emperor's niece. He was later condemned as one of the lo ...
:
Bowra's tribute
C. M. Bowra
Sir Cecil Maurice Bowra, (; 8 April 1898 – 4 July 1971) was an English classical scholar, literary critic and academic, known for his wit. He was Warden of Wadham College, Oxford, from 1938 to 1970, and served as Vice-Chancellor of the Unive ...
, the leading Pindaric scholar of his generation and the editor of the 1935
OUP
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
edition of his poems, summarized Pindar's qualities in the following words:
See also
*
John Wolcot
John Wolcot (baptised 9 May 1738 – 14 January 1819) was an English satirist, who wrote under the pseudonym of "Peter Pindar".
Life
Wolcot was baptised at Dodbrooke, near Kingsbridge, Devon. In the parish register, his surname was spelled " ...
Notes
References
Sources
* Bowie, Ewen, 'Lyric and Elegiac Poetry' in ''The Oxford History of the Classical World'', J. Boardman, J. Griffin and O. Murray (eds), Oxford University Press (1986)
*
*
*
* Currie, Bruno (2005)
''Pindar and the Cult of Heroes'' Oxford University Press
* Easterling, P. & Knox, B. (eds) (1985), ''The Cambridge History of Classical Greek Literature'' "Greek Literature", Cambridge University Press
* Gerber, Douglas E. (1997
''A Companion to the Greek lyric poets'' Brill
*
* Morice, Francis David (2009), ''Pindar'', Bibliobazaar, LLC
* Conway, Geoffrey Seymour (1972), ''The Odes of Pindar'', Dent
* Race, William H. (1997), ''Pindar: Olympian Odes, Pythian Odes'', Loeb Classical Library
* De Romilly, Jacqueline (1985), ''A Short History of Greek Literature'', University of Chicage Press
Further reading
* Nisetich, Frank J., Pindar's Victory Songs. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1980: translations and extensive introduction, background and critical apparatus.
* Revard, Stella P., ''Politics, Poetics, and the Pindaric Ode 1450–1700'', Turnhout, Brepols Publishers, 2010,
* Race, W. H. Pindar. 2 vols. Cambridge:
Harvard University Press
Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retirem ...
, 1997.
*
*
Barrett, W. S., ''Greek Lyric, Tragedy, and Textual Criticism: Collected Papers'', edited M. L. West (Oxford & New York, 2007): papers dealing with Pindar,
Stesichorus
Stesichorus (; grc-gre, Στησίχορος, ''Stēsichoros''; c. 630 – 555 BC) was a Greek lyric poet native of today's Calabria (Southern Italy). He is best known for telling epic stories in lyric metres, and for some ancient traditions abou ...
,
Bacchylides
Bacchylides (; grc-gre, Βακχυλίδης; – ) 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 i ...
and
Euripides
Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian
Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful e ...
* Kiichiro Itsumi, ''Pindaric Metre: 'The Other Half (Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press, 2009).
* Burnett, Anne Pippin, ''Pindar'' (London: Bristol Classical Press, 2008) (Ancients in action).
* Wells, James Bradley. ''Pindar's Verbal Art: An Enthnographic Study of Epinician Style'', Hellenic Studies Series 40. Washington, DC,
Center for Hellenic Studies
The Center for Hellenic Studies (CHS) is a research institute for classics located in Washington, D.C. at 3100 NW Whitehaven Street. It is affiliated with Harvard University.
Nestled in Rock Creek Park behind Embassy Row, the Center for Hellen ...
, 2010,
External links
Works by Pindar at Perseus Digital Library*
*
*
*
marked up to show selected rhetorical and poetic devices
read aloud in Greek, with text and English translation provided
Pythian 8 'Approaching Pindar' by William Harris (text, translation, analysis)
Pindarby Gregory Crane, in the
Perseus Encyclopedia
Pindar's Lifeby
Basil L. Gildersleeve, in ''Pindar: The Olympian and Pythian Odes''
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Pindar, Olympian Odes, I, 1–64; read by William Mullen
Perseus Digital Library Lexicon to Pindar William J. Slater, De Gruyter 1969: scholarly dictionary for research into Pindar
Pindar-A Hellenistic Bibliographycompiled by Martine Cuypers
* William J. Slater,
Lexicon to Pindar', Berlin, De Gruyter, 1969 on the
Perseus Project
The Perseus Project is a digital library project of Tufts University, which assembles digital collections of humanities resources. Version 4.0 is also known as the "Perseus Hopper", and it is hosted by the Department of Classical Studies. The proj ...
;Historic editions
The Odes of Pindartranslated into English with notes, D.W.Turner, A Moore, Bohm Classical Library (1852), digitalized by Google
*
Pindarranslations and notes by Reverend C.A.Wheelwright, printed by A.J.Valpy, M.A., London (1830): digitalized by Google
* ''Pindari carmina'', adnotationem criticam addidit
Tycho Mommsen The Mommsen family is a German family of influential historians.
*Jens Mommsen (1783–1851) ∞ Sophie Elisabeth Krumbhaar (1792–1855)
**Theodor Mommsen (1817-1903), 1902 Nobel Laureate in Literature ∞ Marie Reimer (1832–1907)
***Marie Momms ...
vol. 1vol. 2 Berolini apud Weidmannos, 1864.
*
Scholia
Scholia (singular scholium or scholion, from grc, σχόλιον, "comment, interpretation") are grammatical, critical, or explanatory comments – original or copied from prior commentaries – which are inserted in the margin of th ...
of Pindar:
** ''Pindari opera quae supersunt. Scholia integra'', Augustus Boeckhius (ed.), 2 voll., Lipsiae apud Ioann. August. Gottlob Weigen, 1811
vol. 1vol. 2
** ''Scholia vetera in Pindari carmina'',
Anders Bjørn Drachmann (ed.), 3 voll., Verlag Adolf M. Hakkert, Amsterdam, 1903-27
vol. 1vol. 2 vol. 3.
{{Authority control
510s BC births
430s BC deaths
5th-century BC Greek people
5th-century BC poets
Ancient Boeotian poets
Ancient Thebans
Doric Greek poets
Nine Lyric Poets
Proxenoi