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119-431: The Odes were developed as a conscious imitation of the short lyric poetry of Greek originals – Pindar , Sappho and Alcaeus are some of Horace's models. His genius lay in applying these older forms to the social life of Rome in the age of Augustus . The Odes cover a range of subjects – love; friendship; wine; religion; morality; patriotism; poems of eulogy addressed to Augustus and his relations; and verses written on

238-461: A "brilliant supplement" by Maurice Bowra in fr. 34, a hymn to the Dioscuri that includes a description of St. Elmo's fire in the ship's rigging. Working with only eight letters ( πρό...τρ...ντες ; tr. pró...tr...ntes ), Bowra conjured up a phrase that develops the meaning and the euphony of the poem ( πρότον' ὀντρέχοντες ; tr. próton' ontréchontes ), describing luminescence "running along

357-656: A branch in Thebes, and his reference to 'my ancestors' in Pythian 5 could have been spoken on behalf of both Arcesilas and himself – he may have used this ambivalence to establish a personal link with his patrons. He was possibly the Theban proxenos or consul for Aegina and/or Molossia , as indicated in another of his odes, Nemean 7, in which he glorifies Neoptolemus , a national hero of Aegina and Molossia. According to tradition, Neoptolemus died disgracefully in

476-455: A campaign of smears against him – possibly the poets Simonides and his nephew Bacchylides . 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

595-520: A century after Horace's death, remarked on the curiosa felicitas (studied spontaneity) of the Odes ( Satyricon 118). The English poet Alfred Tennyson declared that the Odes provided "jewels five-words long, that on the stretched forefinger of all Time / Sparkle for ever" ( The Princess , part II, l.355). The four books of odes contain 103 poems in total (104 if the Carmen Saeculare

714-490: A contrast with book 3, where 10 of the odes are longer. The poems seem carefully arranged: the first and last are addressed respectively to Pollio and Maecenas (Horace's two patrons), and the two central odes (10 and 11) are addressed to Lucius Licinius Varro Murena , who was Maecenas's brother-in-law, and a certain Quinctius, who may have been Pollio's brother-in-law. 13 of the 20 poems are addressed to living individuals,

833-402: 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 , Anaximander and Heraclitus , nor was it even a subject for bold wonder, as it was for an earlier poet, Archilochus ; instead Pindar treated an eclipse as a portent of evil. Gods are

952-451: A festival at Argos . His ashes were taken back home to Thebes by his musically gifted daughters, Eumetis and Protomache. 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 , Rhodes. At Delphi, where he had been elected

1071-529: A fight with priests at the temple in Delphi 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 6 , which had been commissioned by

1190-577: A fuller collection of Alcaic fragments, including a commentary, which was published at Antwerp in 1568. The first separate edition of Alcaeus was by Christian David Jani and it was published at Halle in 1780. The next separate edition was by August Matthiae , Leipzig 1827. Some of the fragments quoted by ancient scholars were able to be integrated by scholars in the nineteenth century. Thus for example two separate quotes by Athenaeus were united by Theodor Bergk to form fr. 362. Three separate sources were combined to form fr. 350, as mentioned above, including

1309-399: A hardy athlete into a doting lover. I.9, Vides ut alta stet nive candidum... – Winter Without Bids Us Make Merry Within (Soracte) – (with borrowing from an original by Alcaeus ) – To Thaliarchus. The snow is deep and the frost is keen – Pile high the hearth and bring out old wine – Leave all else to the gods. I.10, Mercuri, facunde nepos Atlantis... – Hymn to Mercury – Mercury

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1428-518: A higher proportion than in books 1 and 3. In many of them Horace gives advice drawn from different philosophical schools. II.1, Motum ex Metello consule civicum... – To Asinius Pollio, the writer of tragedy, who is now composing a history of the civil wars. A lament for the carnage caused by the conflicts of the Romans with their fellow-citizens. II.2, Nullus argento color est avaris... – The Wise Use of Money – To Sallustius Crispus (nephew of

1547-507: A huge risk, hazarded not in right"), telling the audience that he will not talk of it ("silence is a man's wisest counsel"). The Theban hero Heracles 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 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

1666-407: 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

1785-512: 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: ἐμὲ δὲ πρέπει παρθενήια μὲν φρονεῖν γλώσσᾳ τε λέγεσθαι. emè dè prépei parthenḗia mèn phroneîn glṓssāi te légesthai. I must think maidenly thoughts And utter them with my tongue. 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

1904-403: A mercenary in the army of Nebuchadnezzar II and probably took part in the conquest of Askelon. Alcaeus wrote verses in celebration of Antimenides's return, including mention of his valour in slaying the larger opponent (frag. 350), and he proudly describes the military hardware that adorned their family home (frag. 357). Alcaeus was in some respects not unlike a Royalist soldier of the age of

2023-472: A miscellany of subjects and incidents, including the uncertainty of life, the cultivation of tranquility and contentment, and the observance of moderation or the " golden mean ." The Odes have been considered traditionally by English-speaking scholars as purely literary works. Recent evidence by a Horatian scholar suggests they may have been intended as performance art, a Latin re-interpretation of Greek lyric song. The Roman writer Petronius , writing less than

2142-552: 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 , Pindar celebrated a series of victories by Greeks against foreign invaders: Athenian and Spartan-led victories against Persia at Salamis and Plataea , and victories by

2261-407: A prayer for a safe voyage. Hither now to me from your isle of Pelops, You powerful children of Zeus and Leda, Showing yourselves kindly by nature, Castor And Polydeuces! Travelling abroad on swift-footed horses, Over the wide earth, over all the ocean, How easily you bring deliverance from Death's gelid rigor, Landing on tall ships with a sudden, great bound, A far-away light up

2380-485: A prayer for the safe voyage of Virgil to Athens, which suggests the daring of the earliest mariners and the boldness of men in overcoming difficulties set by Nature. I.4, Solvitur acris hiems... – A Hymn to Springtime – The changing season warns us of the shortness of life. Horace urges his friend Sestius – vitae summa brevis spem nos vetat incohare longam (The brief sum of life forbids us cling to far-off hope). I.5, Quis multa gracilis te puer in rosa... – To

2499-592: A priest of Apollo, the priests exhibited an iron chair on which he used to sit during the festival of the Theoxenia . 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 demolished Thebes in 335 BC, as punishment for its resistance to Macedonian expansionism, he ordered

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2618-404: 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: εἴρειν στεφάνους ἐλαφρόν: ἀναβάλεο: Μοῖσά τοι κολλᾷ χρυσὸν ἔν τε λευκὸν ἐλέφανθ᾽ ἁμᾷ καὶ λείριον ἄνθεμον ποντίας ὑφελοῖσ᾽ ἐέρσας. To plait garlands is easy. Strike up! The Muse Welds together gold and white ivory And the lily-flower snatched from

2737-650: A prose paraphrase from Strabo that first needed to be restored to its original meter, a synthesis achieved by the united efforts of Otto Hoffmann, Karl Otfried Müller and Franz Heinrich Ludolf Ahrens . The discovery of the Oxyrhynchus papyri towards the end of the nineteenth century dramatically increased the scope of scholarly research. In fact, eight important fragments have now been compiled from papyri – frs. 9, 38A, 42, 45, 34, 129, 130 and most recently S262. These fragments typically feature lacunae or gaps that scholars fill with 'educated guesses', including for example

2856-463: A quite regular basis, such as at the Kallisteia , an annual festival celebrating the island's federation under Mytilene, held at the 'Messon' (referred to as temenos in frs. 129 and 130), where Sappho performed publicly with female choirs. Alcaeus's reference to Sappho in terms more typical of a divinity, as holy/pure, honey-smiling Sappho (fr. 384), may owe its inspiration to her performances at

2975-517: 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

3094-550: 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. His fame as a poet drew Pindar into Greek politics. Athens, the most important city in Greece throughout his poetic career,

3213-597: A sense of action. He probably performed his verses at drinking parties for friends and political allies – men for whom loyalty was essential, particularly in such troubled times. The Roman poet Horace modelled his own lyrical compositions on those of Alcaeus, rendering the Lesbian poet's verse-forms, including 'Alcaic' and 'Sapphic' stanzas, into concise Latin – an achievement he celebrates in his third book of odes. In his second book, in an ode composed in Alcaic stanzas on

3332-485: 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. The ode was written to commemorate a victory by an athlete from Aegina . Pindar doesn't necessarily mean himself when he uses

3451-406: A storm, in his study on Homer's use of allegory. The hymn to Hermes, fr308(b), was quoted by Hephaestion and both he and Libanius , the rhetorician, quoted the first two lines of fr. 350, celebrating the return from Babylon of Alcaeus's brother. The rest of fr. 350 was paraphrased in prose by the historian/geographer Strabo . Many fragments were supplied in quotes by Athenaeus , principally on

3570-572: A tenth metre appearing in 1.11. It has been suggested that poems 1.12–1.18 form a second parade, this time of allusions to or imitations of a variety of Greek lyric poets: Pindar in 1.12, Sappho in 1.13, Alcaeus in 1.14, Bacchylides in 1.15, Stesichorus in 1.16, Anacreon in 1.17, and Alcaeus again in 1.18. The book contains many well-known phrases, such as nunc est bibendum (1.37.1), carpe diem (1.9.7), and nil desperandum (1.7.27). The poems can be summarised as follows: I.1, Maecenas atavis edite regibus... – Dedication of

3689-490: A verb (in this case "Let's drink!") and it includes a proverbial expression ("Only an inch of daylight left") though it is possible that he coined it himself. Alcaeus rarely used metaphor or simile and yet he had a fondness for the allegory of the storm-tossed ship of state. The following fragment of a hymn to Castor and Polydeuces (the Dioscuri ) is possibly another example of this though some scholars interpret it instead as

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3808-558: A war against the Cantabrians. I.37, Nunc est bibendum... – Now Is the Time to Drink! – An ode of joy for Octavian's victory at Actium , the capture of Alexandria, and the death of Cleopatra (30 BC). The tone of triumph over the fallen queen is tempered by a tribute of admiration to her lofty pride and resolute courage. I.38, Persicos odi, puer, apparatus... – Away With Oriental Luxury! – Horace directs his servant to make

3927-564: A wine party, Horace endeavors to restrain his quarrelsome companions – He asks the brother of Megilla of Opus to confide the object of his affections. I.28, Te maris et terrae numeroque... – Death, The Doom of All – An unburied corpse first addresses the deceased philosopher Archytas with some philosophical reflections, then requests a passing merchant to stop and bury him. I.29, Icci, beatis nunc Arabum invides... – The Scholar Turned Adventurer – A remonstrance addressed to Iccius on his intention of giving up philosophy and of joining

4046-423: Is a reference to St. Elmo's Fire , an electrical discharge supposed by ancient Greek mariners to be an epiphany of the Dioscuri, but the meaning of the line was obscured by gaps in the papyrus until reconstructed by a modern scholar; such reconstructions are typical of the extant poetry (see Scholars, fragments and sources below). This poem does not begin with a verb but with an adverb (Δευτέ) but still communicates

4165-411: Is a short biography discovered in 1961 on an Egyptian papyrus dating from at least 200 AD ( P.Oxy .2438). The other four are collections that were not finalized until some 1600 years after his death: 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

4284-481: Is addressed as the god of eloquence and the promoter of the civilization of man; as the messenger of the gods and the inventor of the lyre; skilled in craft and cunning; and the conductor of souls to the Underworld. I.11, Tu ne quaesieris... – Carpe Diem ! – The poet seeks to dissuade Leuconoe from giving heed to the false arts of astrologers and diviners. It is vain to inquire into the future – Let us enjoy

4403-484: Is by no means certain that they were all sung by choirs – the use of choirs is testified only by the generally unreliable scholiasts. Scholars at the Library of Alexandria collected his compositions in seventeen books organized according to genre: Of this vast and varied corpus, only the epinikia  – odes written to commemorate athletic victories – survive in complete form;

4522-570: Is clearly fanciful. Scholars both ancient and modern have turned to Pindar's own work – his victory odes in particular – as 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

4641-420: Is considered by some modern scholars to be too simplistic and often it is practically impossible to know whether a lyric composition was sung or recited, or whether or not it was accompanied by musical instruments and dance. Even the private reflections of Alcaeus, ostensibly sung at dinner parties, still retain a public function. Critics often seek to understand Alcaeus in comparison with Sappho: If we compare

4760-419: Is included). They are not all of equal length. Books 1, 2, 3, and 4 have 876 lines, 572 lines, 1004 lines, and 582 lines respectively. (The Carmen Saeculare has 76 lines.) The number of poems in each book is 38, 20, 30, and 15. The odes range from 8 lines to 80 lines in length, the average being about 30 lines. Book 1 consists of 38 poems. The opening sequence of nine poems are all in a different metre, with

4879-520: 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 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

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4998-413: 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 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

5117-400: Is partly the story of the scholars who rescued his work from oblivion. His verses have not come down to us through a manuscript tradition – generations of scribes copying an author's collected works, such as delivered intact into the modern age four entire books of Pindar 's odes – but haphazardly, in quotes from ancient scholars and commentators whose own works have chanced to survive, and in

5236-436: Is still too young to return his passion – Soon it will be otherwise. Pindar Pindar ( / ˈ p ɪ n d ər / ; ‹See Tfd› Greek : Πίνδαρος Pindaros [píndaros] ; Latin : Pindarus ; c.  518 BC  – c.  438 BC ) was an Ancient Greek lyric poet from Thebes . Of the canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, his work is the best preserved. Quintilian wrote, "Of

5355-483: Is too sketchy to allow us to understand the full nature of this innovation). Although he probably spoke Boeotian Greek , he composed in a literary language that tended to rely more on the Doric dialect than his rival Bacchylides , but less insistently than Alcman . There is an admixture of other dialects, especially Aeolic and epic forms, and an occasional use of some Boeotian words. He composed 'choral' songs yet it

5474-541: Is variously given as Daiphantus, Pagondas or Scopelinus, and his mother's name was Cleodice. It is told that in his youth, or possibly infancy, bees built a honeycomb in his mouth 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 to compose his first victory ode ( Pythian 10 ). He studied

5593-455: The Muses 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

5712-499: The Stuarts . He had the high spirit and reckless gaiety, the love of country bound up with belief in a caste, the licence tempered by generosity and sometimes by tenderness, of a cavalier who has seen good and evil days. — Richard Claverhouse Jebb Alcaeus was a contemporary and a countryman of Sappho and, since both poets composed for the entertainment of Mytilenean friends, they had many opportunities to associate with each other on

5831-429: The Alcaic style (square brackets indicate uncertainties in the ancient text): πώνωμεν· τί τὰ λύχν' ὀμμένομεν; δάκτυλος ἀμέρα· κὰδ δ'ἄερρε κυλίχναις μεγάλαις [αιτα]ποικίλαισ· οἶνον γὰρ Σεμέλας καὶ Δίος υἶος λαθικάδεον ἀνθρώποισιν ἔδωκ'. ἔγχεε κέρναις ἔνα καὶ δύο πλήαις κὰκ κεφάλας, [ἀ] δ' ἀτέρα τὰν ἀτέραν κύλιξ ὠθήτω... Let's drink! Why are we waiting for the lamps? Only an inch of daylight left. Lift down

5950-496: The Alexandrian scholars Aristophanes of Byzantium and Aristarchus of Samothrace sometime in the 3rd century BC, and yet his verses today exist only in fragmentary form, varying in size from mere phrases, such as wine, window into a man (fr. 333) to entire groups of verses and stanzas, such as those quoted below (fr. 346). Alexandrian scholars numbered him in their canonic nine (one lyric poet per Muse). Among these, Pindar

6069-573: The Death of Quintilius I.25, Parcius iunctas quatiunt fenestras... – Lydia, Thy Charms Are Past – Horace taunts Lydia with her approaching old age and her lack of admirers. I.26, Musis amicus tristitiam et metus tradam... – In Praise of Aelius Lamia – The poet bids the Muses to inspire him to sing the praises of Aelius Lamia, a man distinguished for his exploits in war. I.27, Natis in usum laetitiae scyphis... – Let Moderation Reign – At

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6188-660: The Delights of the Country – Horace invites Tyndaris to his Sabine farm , and describes the air of tranquility and security there, blessed as it is with favoring protection of Faunus and the rural deities. I.18, Nullam, Vare, sacra vite prius severis arborem... – The Praise of Wine, and the ill effects of intemperance. I.19, Mater saeva Cupidinum... – The Poet's Love for Glycera I.20, Vile potabis modicis Sabinum cantharis... – An Invitation to Maecenas – You will drink poor Sabine wine in modest bowls when you visit

6307-527: The First Three Books of the Odes to Maecenas (Horace's Patron) – Every man is governed by his ruling passion: the Olympian charioteer, the politician, the trader, the husbandman, the merchant, the man of pleasure, the soldier, and the hunter. To win the title of a lyric poet is all that Horace desires. I.2, Iam satis terris nivis atque dirae... – To Octavian , The Deliverer and Hope of

6426-626: The Lyre – The poet addresses his lyre, and blends with the address the praises of the Greek poet Alcaeus. I.33, Albi, ne doleas plus nimio memor... – The Faithless Glycera – A consolation to the contemporary poet Tibullus over a lost love. I.34, Parcus deorum cultor et infrequens... – The Poet's Conversion from Error – After hearing thunder in a cloudless sky, Horace renounces his former error and declares his belief in Jupiter, Fortuna, and

6545-478: The Muse as "a hireling journeyman". He appeared in many poetry competitions and was defeated five times by his compatriot, the poet Corinna , 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

6664-511: 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

6783-412: The Sicilian prince, Thrasybulus, nephew of Theron of Acragas . 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. 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

6902-530: The State – The subject of this ode is the overflowing of the Tiber, which recalls to the poet the flood of Deucalion. He imagines that the disaster is caused by the wrath of Ilia (the wife of Tiber), the civil wars, and the assassination of Julius Caesar. Octavian, as Mercury in human shape, is invoked to save the empire. I.3, Sic te diva potens Cypri... – To Virgil, Setting Out for Greece – The ode begins with

7021-582: The art of lyric poetry in Athens, where his tutor was Lasos of Hermione , and he is also said to have received some helpful criticism from Corinna . The early to middle years of Pindar's career coincided with the Greco-Persian Wars during the reigns of Darius and Xerxes . This period included the first Persian invasion of Greece , which ended at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC, and the second Persian invasion of Greece (480-479 BC). During

7140-462: 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

7259-513: The chamber of the scarlet-clothed Hours is opened And the nectareous flowers usher in the fragrant spring, Then are scattered, then, on the immortal ground The lovely petals of violets; roses are wound in our hair; Loudly echo the voices of songs to the flutes, And choirs step in procession to dark-ribboned Semele . Almost all Pindar's victory odes are celebrations of triumphs gained by competitors in Panhellenic festivals such as

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7378-418: 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 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

7497-544: The difference between his own 'down-to-earth' style and Sappho's more 'celestial' qualities when he describes her almost as a goddess (as cited above), and yet it has been argued that both poets were concerned with a balance between the divine and the profane, each emphasising different elements in that balance. Dionysius of Halicarnassus exhorts us to "Observe in Alcaeus the sublimity, brevity and sweetness coupled with stern power, his splendid figures, and his clearness which

7616-792: The dire Judge of the dead, the blest in their divine Seclusion, Sappho on the Aeolian lyre, Mourning the cold girls of her native isle, And you, Alcaeus, more full-throatedly Singing with your gold quill of ships, exile And war, hardship on land, hardship at sea. Ovid compared Alcaeus to Sappho in Letters of the Heroines , where Sappho is imagined to speak as follows: nec plus Alcaeus consors patriaeque lyraeque laudis habet, quamvis grandius ille sonet. Nor does Alcaeus, my fellow-countryman and fellow-poet, receive more praise, although he resounds more grandly. The story of Alcaeus

7735-425: The disinclination of the multitude for elegant learning". Some scholars in the modern age also found his poetry perplexing, at least until the 1896 discovery of some poems by his rival Bacchylides ; comparisons of their work showed that many of Pindar's idiosyncrasies are typical of archaic genres rather than of only the poet himself. His poetry, while admired by critics, still challenges the casual reader and his work

7854-401: 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 , 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"), but

7973-420: The expedition to Arabia Felix. I.30, O Venus, regina Cnidi Paphique... – A Prayer to Venus – Venus is invoked to abandon for a while her beloved Cyprus, and to honor with her presence the temple prepared for her at the home of Glycera. I.31, Quid dedicatum poscit Apollinem vates?... – Prayer to Apollo on the consecration of his temple. I.32, Poscimus, si quid vacui sub umbra... – Invocation to

8092-534: The festival. The Lesbian or Aeolic school of poetry "reached in the songs of Sappho and Alcaeus that high point of brilliancy to which it never after-wards approached" and it was assumed by later Greek critics and during the early centuries of the Christian era that the two poets were in fact lovers, a theme which became a favourite subject in art (as in the urn pictured above). The poetic works of Alcaeus were collected into ten books, with elaborate commentaries, by

8211-412: 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

8330-453: 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

8449-544: The flirt Pyrrha, who is as faithless as the winds or seas, and whose fancy no lover can hold onto. (See Odes 1.5 .) I.6, Scribēris Vario fortis et hostium victor... – Horace pleads his inability to worthily sing the praises of M. Vipsanius Agrippa, the distinguished Roman Commander. I.7, Laudabunt alii claram Rhodon aut Mytilenen... – Fairest of Spots, O Plancus, is Tibur – There, or wherever you may be, drown your cares in wine. I.8, Lydia, dic, per omnis te deos oro... – To Lydia, who has transformed Sybaris from

8568-538: The forestays running, Bringing radiance to a ship in trouble, Sailed in the darkness! The poem was written in Sapphic stanzas , a verse form popularly associated with his compatriot, Sappho, but in which he too excelled, here paraphrased in English to suggest the same rhythms. There were probably another three stanzas in the original poem but only nine letters of them remain. The 'far-away light' ( Πήλοθεν λάμπροι )

8687-436: 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 ) Five ancient sources contain all the recorded details of Pindar's life. One of them

8806-544: The historian Sallust). The love of gain grows by self-indulgence. The moderate man is the genuine king. II.3, Aequam memento rebus in arduis... – The Wisdom of Moderation, The Certainty of Death – To Quintus Dellius. Let us enjoy our life while we may, for death will soon strip us all alike of our possessions. II.4, Ne sit ancillae tibi amor pudori... – To Xanthias Phoceus – Horace encourages his friend on his love for Phyllis, his slave. II.5, Nondum subacta ferre iugum valet... – Not Yet! – The beautiful Lalage

8925-408: The house be left intact out of gratitude for verses praising his ancestor, Alexander I of Macedon . 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 at a time when society was turning away from it. It "... had for two centuries reflected and shaped the sentiments,

9044-473: The implications are not given full expression and the poems are not examples of monotheism . Nor do they vocalize a belief in Fate as the background to the gods, unlike the plays of Aeschylus for example. Pindar subjects both fortune and fate to divine will (e.g. "child of Zeus ... Fortune"). He selects and revises traditional myths so as not to diminish the dignity and majesty of the gods. Such revisionism

9163-404: The island of Aegina but also its national heroes Aeacus , Peleus and Telamon . 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 by his brothers Peleus and Telamon ("I am shy of speaking of

9282-509: The large cups, my friends, the painted ones; for wine was given to men by the son of Semele and Zeus to help them forget their troubles. Mix one part of water to two of wine, pour it in up to the brim, and let one cup push the other along... The Greek meter here is relatively simple, comprising the Greater Asclepiad , adroitly used to convey, for example, the rhythm of jostling cups ( ἀ δ' ἀτέρα τὰν ἀτέραν ). The language of

9401-510: The misery of jealousy with the happiness secured by constancy in love. I.14, O navis, referent in mare te novi fluctus... – The Ship of State – Horace refers to a period during which the Roman state was tossed and nearly wrecked by perpetual storms. He exhorts it to beware of fresh perils and keep safely in harbor. I.15, Pastor cum traheret... – The Prophecy of Nereus – As Paris hurries from Sparta to Troy with Helen, Nereus stills

9520-431: 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 , 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

9639-450: The nine lyric poets, Pindar is by far the greatest, in virtue of his inspired magnificence, the beauty of his thoughts and figures, the rich exuberance of his language and matter, and his rolling flood of eloquence, characteristics which, as Horace rightly held, make him inimitable." His poems can also, however, seem difficult and even peculiar. The Athenian comic playwright Eupolis once remarked that they "are already reduced to silence by

9758-437: The nymph from a third party, in this case the centaur Chiron . 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..." 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,

9877-483: 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 ). They are more interested in what successful men do with their good fortune: success brings obligations, and religious and artistic activities need patrons. Whereas

9996-401: 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 men – even 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 's and more reverent. He never depicts gods in

10115-529: The poem is typically direct and concise and comprises short sentences — the first line is in fact a model of condensed meaning, comprising an exhortation ("Let's drink!"), a rhetorical question ("Why are we waiting for the lamps?") and a justifying statement ("Only an inch of daylight left"). The meaning is clear and uncomplicated, the subject is drawn from personal experience, and there is an absence of poetic ornament, such as simile or metaphor. Like many of his poems (e.g., frs. 38, 326, 338, 347, 350), it begins with

10234-529: The poems for some biographical purposes is considered acceptable once more. πολλὰ γὰρ πολλᾷ λέλεκται: νεαρὰ δ᾽ ἐξευ- ρόντα δόμεν βασάνῳ ἐς ἔλεγχον, ἅπας κίνδυνος. Story is vast in range: new ways to find and test upon the touchstone, Here danger lies. Pindar was born circa 518 BC (the 65th Olympiad ) in Cynoscephalae , a village in Boeotia , not far from Thebes . His father's name

10353-598: The poet's life are well known. He was born into the aristocratic, warrior class that dominated Mytilene, the strongest city-state on the island of Lesbos and, by the end of the seventh century BC, the most influential of all the North Aegean Greek cities, with a strong navy and colonies securing its trade-routes in the Hellespont. The city had long been ruled by kings born to the Penthilid clan but, during

10472-496: The poet's life, the Penthilids were a spent force and rival aristocrats and their factions contended with each other for supreme power. Alcaeus and his older brothers were passionately involved in the struggle but experienced little success. Their political adventures can be understood in terms of three tyrants who came and went in succession: Sometime before 600 BC, Mytilene fought Athens for control of Sigeion and Alcaeus

10591-569: The poet. I.21, Dianam tenerae dicite virgines... – Hymn to Diana and Apollo and their mother Latona I.22, Integer vitae scelerisque purus... – Upright of Life and Free from Wickedness – Addressed to Aristius Fuscus – Begins as a solemn praise of honest living and ends in a mock-heroic song of love for sweetly laughing "Lalage" (cf. II.5.16, Propertius IV.7.45). I.23, Vitas inuleo me similis, Chloë... – Fear Me Not, Chloe, and do not shun me. (See Odes 1.23 .) I.24, Quis desiderio sit pudor aut modus... – To Virgil – A Lament for

10710-443: The present, for this is all we can command. It closes with the famous line: carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero (Seize the day, trusting tomorrow as little as possible). I.12, Quem virum aut heroa lyra... – The Praises of Octavian – The poet praises Octavian by associating him with gods and heroes, and distinguished Romans of earlier days. I.13, Cum tu, Lydia... – Jealousy – Addressed to Lydia – The poet contrasts

10829-584: 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: Alcaeus of Mytilene Alcaeus of Mytilene ( / æ l ˈ s iː ə s / ; Ancient Greek : Ἀλκαῖος ὁ Μυτιληναῖος , Alkaios ho Mutilēnaios ; c.  625/620 – c.  580 BC)

10948-427: 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 scholiasts 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

11067-596: 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 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

11186-470: The relics of Greek verse. In the variety of his subjects, in the exquisite rhythm of his meters, and in the faultless perfection of his style, all of which appear even in mutilated fragments, he excels all the poets, even his more intense, more delicate and more truly inspired contemporary Sappho. The Roman poet, Horace, also compared the two, describing Alcaeus as "more full-throatedly singing" – see Horace's tribute below. Alcaeus himself seems to underscore

11305-493: The rest survive only by quotations in other ancient authors or from papyrus scraps unearthed in Egypt . Even in fragmentary form however, they reveal the same complexity of thought and language that are found in the victory odes. Dionysius of Halicarnassus singled out Pindar's work as an outstanding example of austere style ( αὐστηρὰ ἁρμονία ) but he noted its absence in the maiden songs or parthenia . One surviving fragment of

11424-512: 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 , 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 . The historian Herodotus considered

11543-408: 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

11662-466: The sea's dew. Pindar's strongly individual genius is apparent in all his extant compositions but, unlike Simonides and Stesichorus for example, he created no new lyrical genres. He was however innovative in his use of the genres he inherited – for 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

11781-535: The seaboard of Asia Minor, north to Macedonia 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

11900-479: 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 . It is possible that Pindar spent much of this time at Aegina . His choice of residence during the earlier invasion in 490 BC is not known, but he was able to attend the Pythian Games of that year, where he first met

12019-421: The simplest preparations for his entertainment. Book 2 consists of 20 poems. This book is noticeably different in style from book 1: the great variety of metres of book 1 has gone: instead, all but two of the odes are either Alcaic or Sapphic. The odes are a little longer on average than those in book 1: only one ode has less than 6 stanzas, compared with 24 in book 1; also there are no odes longer than 10 stanzas,

12138-404: 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

12257-513: The subject of an almost fatal accident he had on his farm, he imagines meeting Alcaeus and Sappho in Hades : quam paene furvae regna Proserpinae et iudicantem vidimus Aeacum sedesque descriptas piorum et Aeoliis fidibus querentem Sappho puellis de popularibus et te sonantem plenius aureo, Alcaee, plectro dura navis, dura fugae mala, dura belli! How close the realm of dusky Proserpine Yawned at that instant! I half glimpsed

12376-595: The subject of wine-drinking, but fr. 333, "wine, window into a man", was quoted much later by the Byzantine grammarian, John Tzetzes . The first 'modern' publication of Alcaeus's verses appeared in a Greek and Latin edition of fragments collected from the canonic nine lyrical poets by Michael Neander , published at Basle in 1556. This was followed by another edition of the nine poets, collected by Henricus Stephanus and published in Paris in 1560. Fulvius Ursinus compiled

12495-437: The superintending providence of the gods. I.35, O diva, gratum quae regis Antium... – Hymn to Fortuna – The poet invokes Fortune as an all-powerful goddess. He implores her to preserve Octavian in his distant expeditions, and to save the state from ruinous civil wars. I.36, Et ture et fidibus iuvat – An Ode of Congratulation to Plotius Numida, on his safe return from Spain, where he had been serving under Octavian in

12614-468: The tattered remnants of papyri uncovered from an ancient rubbish pile at Oxyrhynchus and other locations in Egypt: sources that modern scholars have studied and correlated exhaustively, adding little by little to the world's store of poetic fragments. Ancient scholars quoted Alcaeus in support of various arguments. Thus for example Heraclitus "The Allegorist" quoted fr. 326 and part of fr. 6, about ships in

12733-435: The two, we find that Alcaeus is versatile, Sappho narrow in her range; that his verse is less polished and less melodious than hers; and that the emotions which he chooses to display are less intense. The Aeolian song is suddenly revealed, as a mature work of art, in the spirited stanzas of Alcaeus. It is raised to a supreme excellence by his younger contemporary, Sappho, whose melody is unsurpassed, perhaps unequalled, among all

12852-569: The western Greeks led by Theron of Acragas and Hieron against the Carthaginians and Etruscans at the battles of Himera and Cumae . 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

12971-806: The wild spirit of Dionysus and pointing forward to the ecstatic songs of Euripides ' Bacchae . In one of these, dedicated to the Athenians and written to be sung in Spring, he depicts the divine energy of the revitalized world. φοινικοεάνων ὁπότ' οἰχθέντος Ὡρᾶν θαλάμου εὔοδμον ἐπάγοισιν ἔαρ φυτὰ νεκτάρεα. τότε βάλλεται, τότ' ἐπ' ἀμβρόταν χθόν' ἐραταί ἴων φόβαι, ῥόδα τε κόμαισι μείγνυται, ἀχεῖ τ' ὀμφαὶ μελέων σὺν αὐλοῖς οἰχνεῖ τε Σεμέλαν ἑλικάμπυκα χοροί. phoinikoeánōn hopót' oikhthéntos Hōrân thalámou eúodmon epágoisin eár phutà nektárea. tóte bálletai, tót' ep' ambrótan khthón' erataí íōn phóbai, rhóda te kómaisi meígnutai, akheî t' omphaì meléōn sùn auloîs oikhneî te Semélan helikámpuka khoroí. When

13090-402: The winds and prophesies – Ilium 's doom is inevitable. I.16, O matre pulchra filia pulchrior... – An Apology – The poet has offended some lady by the intemperate utterances of his verse; he now seeks forgiveness for the fault. He describes the sad effects of unbridled anger, and urges her to restrain hers. I.17, Velox amoenum saepe Lucretilem... – An Invitation to Tyndaris to Enjoy

13209-512: Was a lyric poet from the Greek island of Lesbos who is credited with inventing the Alcaic stanza . He was included in the canonical list of nine lyric poets by the scholars of Hellenistic Alexandria . He was a contemporary of Sappho , with whom he may have exchanged poems. He was born into the aristocratic governing class of Mytilene , the main city of Lesbos, where he was involved in political disputes and feuds. The broad outlines of

13328-421: Was a rival of his home city, Thebes , and also of the island state Aegina , 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 and Typhon and this might be Pindar's way of covertly celebrating

13447-510: 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 world – to the Panhellenic festivals in mainland Greece (Olympia, Delphi, Corinth and Nemea), westwards to Sicily, eastwards to

13566-527: Was held by many ancient critics to be pre-eminent, but some gave precedence to Alcaeus instead. The canonic nine are traditionally divided into two groups, with Alcaeus, Sappho and Anacreon , being 'monodists' or 'solo-singers', with the following characteristics: The other six of the canonic nine composed verses for public occasions, performed by choruses and professional singers and typically featuring complex metrical arrangements that were never reproduced in other verses. However, this division into two groups

13685-498: 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 and Pythagoreanism , 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

13804-419: 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 . It is highly unlikely that Pindar ever acted for Athenians as their proxenus or consul in Thebes. Lyric verse

13923-590: Was not unique. Xenophanes had castigated Homer and Hesiod for the misdeeds they ascribed to gods, such as theft, adultery and deception, and Pythagoras 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 , Apollo is all-knowing, yet in keeping with his anthropomorphic nature he seeks information about

14042-425: Was old enough to participate in the fighting. According to the historian Herodotus , the poet threw away his shield to make good his escape from the victorious Athenians then celebrated the occasion in a poem that he later sent to his friend, Melanippus. It is thought that Alcaeus travelled widely during his years in exile, including at least one visit to Egypt. His older brother, Antimenidas, appears to have served as

14161-585: Was unimpaired by the dialect; and above all mark his manner of expressing his sentiments on public affairs", while Quintilian , after commending Alcaeus for his excellence "in that part of his works where he inveighs against tyrants and contributes to good morals; in his language he is concise, exalted, careful and often like an orator"; goes on to add: "but he descended into wantonness and amours, though better fitted for higher things". The works of Alcaeus are conventionally grouped according to five genres. The following verses demonstrate some key characteristics of

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