PINDAR ∑ SELECTED ODES

These translations are taken from the superb version by Frank J. Nisetich entitled Pindarπs Victory Songs (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins 1980). I strongly recommend purchase of this book, not least for its substantial introduction to the world of the text, the nature of Greek poetry generally, and the study of Pindar in particular.

Noting the following sigla in the text will help you to read more thoughtfully:

* The English translation is glossed (to the right) with the original Greek

∂ Indicates a gnÙmÍ or proverbial saying

ß Indicates a priamel

+ Indicates a metaphor or simile

OLYMPIAN 1

[Hieron of Syracuse, race for single horse, 476 BCE]

TURN 1 [1-11]

ß Water is preeminent and gold, + like a fire

burning in the night, outshines

all possessions that magnify menπs pride.

But if, my soul,* you yearn [philon Ítor]

to celebrate great games,

look no further

for another star

shining through the deserted ether

brighter than the sun, or for a contest

mightier than Olympia — + where the song [hothen ho poluphatos humnos amphiballetai

has taken its coronal [sophÙn mÍtiessi

design of glory, plaited

in the minds of poets*

as they come, calling on Zeus's name,

to the rich radiant hall of Hieron

COUNTERTURN 1 [12-22]

who wields the scepter of justice in Sicily,

reaping the prime of every distinction.

And he delights in the flare of music,

the + brightness of song circling [mousikas en aÙtÙi]

his table from man to man.

Then take the Dorian lyre

down from its peg

if the beauty of Pisa

and of Pherenikos

somehow cast your mind

under a gracious spell,

when by the stream

of Alpheos, keeping his flanks

ungrazed by the spur, he sped

and put his lord in the embrace of power —

STAND 1 [23-29]

Syracusan knight and king, blazoned

with glory in the land of Pelops:

Pelops, whom earth-cradling Poseidon loved,

since Klotho had taken him

out of the pure caldron, his ivory shoulder

gleaming in the hearth-light.

Yes! Marvels are many,* stories [Í thaumata polla]

starting from mortals somehow

stretch truth to deception

woven cunningly on the loom of lies.* [dedaidalmenoi pseudesi poikilois]

TURN 2 [30-40]

Grace,* the very one who fashions every delight [Kharis]

for mortal men, by lending her sheen

to what is unbelievable, often makes it believed.

∂ but the days to come

are the wisest witness.

∂ It is proper for a man

to speak well of the gods —

the blame will be less.

Pelops, I will tell your story

differently from the men of old. Your father Tantalos

had invited the gods to banquet

in his beloved Sipylos, providing

a stately feast in return

for the feast they had given him.

It was then Poseidon seized you,

COUNTERTURN 2 [41-51]

overwhelmed in his mind with desire, and swept you

on golden mares to Zeus's glorious palace

on Olympos, where, at another time, Ganymede came also

for the same passion in Zeus.

But after you had disappeared

and searchers

again and again

returned to your mother

without you, then one of the neighbors,

invidious, whispered that the gods has sliced you

limb by limb into the fury

of boiling water,

and then they passed

morsels of your flesh

around the table, and ate them.

STAND 2 [52-58]

No! I cannot call any of the blessed gods

a savage:* I stand apart. [gastrimargon]

∂ disaster has often claimed the slanderer.

If ever the watchlords of Olympos

honored a man, this was Tantalos.

But he could not digest

his great bliss* — in his fullness he earned the doom [olbon]

that the father poised above him, the looming

boulder which, in eternal

distraction, he strains to heave from his brow.

TURN 3 [59-69]

Such is the misery upon him, a fourth affliction

among three others, because he robbed

the immortals — their nektar and ambrosia,

which had made him deathless,

he stole and gave to his drinking companions.

∂ But a man who hopes

to hide his doings from the gods

is deluded.

For this they hurled his son Pelops back among the short-lived

generations of men.

But when he grew

toward the time of bloom* [euanthemon ... phuan]

and black down curled upon his cheeks,

he thought of a marriage there for his seeking —

COUNTERTURN 3 [70-80]

to win from her Pisan father the girl Hippodameia.

going down by the dim sea,

alone in the dark, he called on the god

of the trident, loud pounding

Poseidon, who appeared

and stood close by.

'If in any way,'

Pelops said to him,

'the gifts of Aphrodite

count in my favor, + shackle the bronze spear* of Oinomaos, [pedason egkhos ...khalkeon]

bring me on the swiftest chariot

to Elis, and put me

within the reach

of power, for he has slain

thirteen suitors now, and so he delays

STAND 3 [81-87]

his daughterπs marriage. ∂ Great danger

does not come upon

the spineless man, and yet, if we must die,

why squat in the shadows, coddling a bland

old age, with no nobility, for nothing?

As for me, I will undertake this exploit,

and you — I beseech you: let me achieve it.'

He spoke, and his words found fulfillment:

the god made him glow with gifts —

a golden chariot and winged horses never weary.

TURN 4 [88-98]

He + tore the strength from Oinomaos* and took [helen d'Oinomaou bian]

the maiden to his bed.

She bore him six sons, leaders of the people,

intent on prowess.

Now in the bright blood rituals

Pelops has his share, reclining

by the ford of Alpheos.

Men gather at his tomb, near the crowded altar.

The glory of the Olympiads

shoots its rays afar in his races, where speed

and strength are matched

in the bruise of toil.

But the victor,

for the rest of his life,

enjoys days of contentment,

COUNTERTURN 4 [99-109]

as far as contests can assure them.

∂ A single day's blessing

is the highest good a mortal knows.

I must crown him now

to the horseman's tune,

in Aiolian rhythms,

for I believe

the + shimmering folds of my song* [klutaisai ... humnÙn ptukhais]

shall never embrace* [daidalÙsemen]

a host more lordly in power or perception of beauty.

Hieron, a god is overseer

to your ambitions, keeping watch,

cherishing them as his own.

If he does not abandon you soon,

still sweeter the triumph I hope

STAND 4 [110-116]

will fall to your speeding chariot,

and may I be the one to praise it,

riding up the sunny Hill of Kronos!

The Muses is + tempering her mightiest arrow for me.* [karterÙtaton belos alkai trephei]

∂ Men are great in various ways, but in kingship

the ultimate crest is attained.

Peer no farther into the beyond.

For the time we have, may you continue to walk on high,

and may I for as long consort with victors,

conspicuous for my skill among Greeks everywhere.

OLYMPIAN 2

[ThÍrÙn of Akragas, chariot race, 476 BCE]

TURN 1 [1-7]

Songs, lords of the lyre, [anaxiphormigges humnoi]

what god, what hero, what man

shall we celebrate?

ß Pisa belongs to Zeus,

Herakles founded the Olympian Games,

firstfruits of war.

And Theron must be proclaimed

for his chariot victory — Theron, true host of strangers,

bulwark of Akragas, exalter of his city,

noblest scion of noble ancestors

COUNTERTURN 1 [8-14]

who suffered much

to win their sacred home

by the river, and they became

the light of Sicily,

their fated course

bringing wealth and honor

to match their inborn greatness.

But O Kronian son of Rhea, lord of Olympos' throne,

of Alpheus' crossing and the greatest of contests:

moved by my song, preserve their native land to them

STAND 1 [15-20]

and their posterity. ∂ What has been done

with justice or without

not even time the father of all* [Khronos ho pantÙn patÍr]

can undo. But with good luck

oblivion may come,* for ∂ malignant pain [latha de potmÙi sun eudaimoni genoit'an]

perishes in noble joy, confounded

TURN 2 [21-27]

whenever a fate from the gods

raises happiness on high.

So the royal daughters of Kadmos

suffered greatly,

but their sorrows

fell before mightier blessings.

Long-haired Semela, dying in the thunder roar,

lives among the Olympians, beloved of Pallas and Zeus

and ever beloved of Dionysos, her son,

COUNTERTURN 2 [28-34]

and they say that in the sea

with the daughters of Nereus

for all time

imperishable life embraces Ino.

∂ Truly, mortals have no way

of knowing the bounds of death,* [peiras outi thanatou]

nor even whether we shall finish

a day, a sun's child, with cheer unblemished.

∂ The shifting tides of good and evil

beat incessantly upon mankind.

STAND 2 [35-40]

Thus the fate* that guards the ancestral fortune [Moir']

of these men, bringing them happiness* secured [sun olbÙi]

by the gods, has also sent them affliction,* sure [pÍm']

to abate in its turn, from the moment

Laios' tragic son, crossing his father's path,

killed him and fulfilled the oracle spoken of old at Pytho.

TURN 3 [41-47]

And sharp-eyed Erinys saw and slew

his warlike children at each other's hands.

Yet Thersandros survived

fallen Polyneikes and won honor

in youthful contests

and the brunt of war, a scion of aid

to the house of Adrastos; and his seed lives on

in Theron, son of Ainesidamos, who deserves

to enjoy the lyre* and the song of praise. [luran]

COUNTERTURN 3 [48-54]

For he himself took the prize at Olympia,

while at Pytho and Isthmos too

kindred Graces* brought his brother, [Kharites]

paired with him in destiny, garlands

for the four horses driven

twelve times around the post.

∂ A man forgets the strain of contending

when he triumphs. And wealth, uplifted by nobility,

gives scope for actions of every kind,

kindling the heart with zeal for achievement,

STAND 3 [55-60]

a star far-seen, a man's truest beacon-light.

And if, possessing it, one knows what must befall —

that of those who die here, the arrogant

are punished without delay, for someone under the earth

weighs transgressions in this realm of Zeus,

and there is iron compulsion in his word.* [logon phrasais anagkai]

TURN 4 [61-67]

But with equal nights

and equal days,

possessing the sun forever,

the noble enjoy an easy existence, troubling

neither earth nor the sea's waters

in might of hand

for an empty living,

but with the gods they honored, all who delight in oath-keeping

abide free of affliction, while the others

go through pain not to be looked at.

COUNTERTURN 4 [68-74]

And those who have endured

three times in either realm

to keep their souls untainted

by any injustice, travel

Zeus' road to the tower of Kronos,

where ocean-born breezes blow around

the island of the blest

and sprays of gold flower from the earth and from the sea —

with these they wreathe their hands

and crown their heads,

STAND 4 [75-80]

obeying the high decrees of Rhadamanthys,

who sits, a ready companion, beside

the great Father, consort of Rhea throned on high.

Among them dwell the heroes Peleus and Kadmos

and Achilleus, whom Thetis, moving Zeus' heart with prayer,

brought to their company, her son

TURN 5 [81-87]

who smote Hektor to the ground, + Troy's

invincible, unyielding bastion,* [Troias | amakhon astrabÍ kiona]

and consigned to death

Kyknos and Memnon, child of the Dawn.

+ There are in my quiver

many swift arrows, striking

to the wise,* but the crowd need interpreters. [phÙnaenta sunetoisin]

The man of discernment knows much by nature.* [sophos ho polla eidÙs phuai]

Let those who have acquired their knowledge

chatter in vain, + unruly jackdaws* bickering [korakes]

COUNTERTURN 5 [88-94]

at the majestic eagle of Zeus.

It is time we took aim, my heart:

whom are we hitting

again, letting fly

the arrows of glory

from the string of gentle thoughts?

Aiming at you, Akragas,

I swear with true mind, no city in a hundred years

has reared a man more liberal in thought

or lavish of hand

STAND 5 [95-100]

Than Theron. But praise falls in with surfeit

and is muted, not in justice

but because of boisterous men, whose noise

would obscure beauty, for ∂ [+] sands cannot be counted,

and how many joys

this man has brought his fellows, who can say?

OLYMPIAN 8

[Alkimedon of Aigina, boys' wrestling, 460 BCE]

TURN 1 [1-7]

+ Mother of contests for the golden crown,* [matÍr Ù khrusostephanÙn aethlÙn]

queen of truth, Olympia,

where men of prophecy,

consulting Zeus' sacrificial fire,

probe his will!

God of the white-flashing bolt,

what has he to say

of the contenders, struggling

for glory,* breathless until they hold it? [mainomenÙn megalan| aretan thumÙi labein]

COUNTERTURN 1 [8-14]

Prayers are answered in return for reverence.

O thickly-wooded grove

above Alpheos, receive

this chorus and the crown it brings:

the fame* your shining garland gives [kleos]

is great and lives forever.

Yet there are other forms of fortune,

and many are the roads

success travels in a god's companionship.

STAND 1 [15-22]

Timosthenes, it is your lot to have

Zeus in your ancestry. He made you shine

at Nemea, and by the Hill of Kronos

he made your brother, Alkimedon, an Olympian victor.

Handsome in appearance, he cast no shame on his looks

in action: he triumphed in wrestling

and had his home proclaimed —

Aigina, haven of long-oared ships

and harbor of Justice, Lady of Salvation,* [sÙteira ... Themis]

who sits by Zeus, god of strangers,* and is honored there [Dios xeniou]

TURN 2 [23-29]

more than anywhere. ∂ For whatever has much weight

swaying in the balance

is hard to determine

with fair mind

and by strict standard.

Yet some divine decree —

may future time* preserve it — [ho d'epantellÙn khronos]

has reared this + column

of light* for every stranger, this sea-rounded land [kiona daimonian]

COUNTERTURN 2 [30-36]

governed by Dorian folk since Aiakos' day:

Aiakos, whom Leto's child

and Poseidon,

lord of the tide,

summoned to help them

+ crown Troy with her ring of walls,* [IliÙi mellontes epi stephanon teu|xai]

because it was her doom

to sink in the tumult of war,

gasping billows of black smoke.

STAND 2 [37-44]

Serpents, three serpents with cold

green in their eyes, sprang

at her newly built tower. Two fell down

stunned, spitting their life-breath out,

while the third landed hissing

upon it. Apollo marked the wonder

and said to Aiakos: 'In the place

where your hands have worked

Pergamos is taken. So I read

this omen sent by Zeus the thunderer,

TURN 3 [45-51]

and she will fall through battle-might of yours,

beginning with the first

and ending with the third

in your line.'

So the god spoke, clearly,

and rode full-speed for Xanthos,

to the Amazons and the Danube,

while Poseidon steered for Isthmos,

bringing Aiakos to Aigina on golden mares,

COUNTERTURN 3 [52-58]

then on to Corinth, famed for its festival.

But nothing brings the same delight to all.

And if in my song

I have magnified

Melesias' glory

as a trainer of youths,

+ let no resentment strike me

with a foul stone,* for I will also sing [mÍ baletÙ me lithÙi trakhei phthonos]

of his triumph over the youths at Nemea, and mention next

STAND 3 [59-66]

his victory against the men

in pankration. ∂ To teach, then,

is easier for one who knows.

The man of no foresight

gives a fool's lesson, for the thoughts of inexperience

have no weight. Melesias will tell you

better than anyone how to train

a man bent on taking

glory from contests. And now Alkimedon

is his pride, and his thirtieth triumph:

TURN 4 [67-73]

with fortune from god and his own courage

he threw his four opponents

and laid upon their limbs

a hateful homecoming,

disgrace,

and secrecy,

while in his father's father he inspired

new strength against old age:

man's noble deeds put Hades out of mind.

COUNTERTURN 4 [74-80]

But I must waken memory and tell

how the hands of the Blepsiadai

have flowered in victory:

the sixth crown* [stephanos]

falls to them now

in contests for garlands.

And the dead, too, have a share

in a rite's due performance.

The dust does not hide their kinsman's glory.

STAND 4 [81-88]

Iphion will hear the voice

of Hermes' daughter, Angelia,

and pass on her message

to Kallimachos, the shining adornment

Zeus gives his kin at Olympia. I pray

that he give good upon good

and brush away sting of sickness

or any second thoughts in his bounty.

let there be painless life for them

and sure exaltation for their city.

OLYMPIAN 11

[Hagesidamas of Western Lokroi, boys' boxing, 460 BCE]

TURN [1-6]

ß Sometimes men need the winds most,

at other times

waters from the sky,

+ rainy descendants of the cloud,* [ombriÙn paidon nephelas]

and when a man has triumphed

and put his toil behind,

it is time for melodious song

to arise, laying the foundation of future glory,

a sworn pledge securing proud success.

COUNTERTURN [7-12]

For Olympian victors, such acclaim

is laid in store

without limit, and I

am eager to + tend * it with my song. [glÙssa poimainein ethelei]

∂ For a man flourishes

in wise understanding,* [sophais ... prapidessin]

as in all things,

through a god's favor.* Know now, son of Archestratos, [ek theou]

Hagesidamos, because of your boxing victory

STAND [13-20]

I will sing, and + my song will be

an added adornment

to your gold olive crown,* [epi stephanÙi khruseas elaias]

shining with love for Western Lokroi. Go there

and join the revels, Muses. By my bond,

you will not find a people indifferent to strangers

or blind to beauty, but men of keenest discernment

and courage in war. ∂ For the crimson fox

and thunderous lion cannot change their inborn ways.

PYTHIAN 3

[Hieron of Syracuse, race for single horse, 474 (?) BCE]

TURN 1 [1-7]

If I were permitted

to utter the prayer

in everyone's mind,

I would wish that Chiron,

son of Philyra and sovereign Kronos,

a dear friend of mankind,

now dead and gone,

were living still and that he ranged

the ridges of Pelion, even as he was

when he raised Asklepios,

the gentle hero, craftsman

in remedies for the limbs of men tormented by disease.

COUNTERTURN 1 [8-14]

Before his mother,

daughter of Phlegyas the rider,

could bring him to birth,

before Eleithyia could ease her pangs,

she sank to the house of Death,* [eis AÔda domon]

stricken in her chamber

by the gold arrows of Artemis

at the urging of Apollo: the wrath of gods

finds fulfillment. In her folly,* [amplakiaisi phrenÙn]

she had slighted him, consenting —

without her father's knowledge —

to another union though she had lain before with Apollo

STAND 1 [15-23]

and bore the god's pure seed within her.

She did not wait for her marriage feast,

the high cries of Hymen! Hymen!

such as girls of her age, maiden companions,

echo in song, bantering the bride

with girlhood names on her wedding night.

No: like many another, she hungered

for things remote.* ∂ There are some, utterly [ta porsÙ]

shiftless, who always look ahead,

scorning the present, hunting the wind of doomed hopes.

TURN 2 [24-30]

Eager Koronis, fond of gay clothing, [eskhe toi tautan megalan auatan

was wholly taken [kallipeplou lÍma KorÙnidos

with this infatuation — she lay

in the arms of a stranger

who came from Arkadia,

but she did not escape her watcher:

Loxias the king,

in his temple at Delphi, heard what had happened,

informed by his surest confidant, his all-knowing mind* [panta isanti noÙi]

impervious to lies,

beyond the reach of mortal [kleptei te min ou theos ou

or immortal deception, of fraud planned or perpetrated.* [brotos ergois oute boulais

COUNTERTURN 2 [31-37]

He saw her then,

lying in bed with Ischys,

son of Elatos —

he saw her blasphemous deceit

and sent down Artemis

raging with anger

to Lakereia, for the maidens dwelled

on the banks of Lake Boibias. An evil power [daimÙn d'heteros

possessed and destroyed her* and many others [es kakon trepsais edamassato nin

were involved in her ruin.

∂ Though but a spark of fire

fall on the mountain, the thick trees blaze and are gone.

STAND 2 [38-46]

Only when her kinsmen had placed the girl

on a wooden mound and the grim glare of flame

ran crackling around her did Apollo relent:

'I cannot kill my own child, trapped

in the doom of its ruined mother,'

he said, and strode into the blaze.

The fire hid nothing from him: in one step

he found the corpse, tore the infant from it,* [paid'ek nekrou harpase]

and carried it to Chiron in Thessaly

to be taught the art of medicine. [iasthai nosous]

TURN 3 [47-53]

And those who came to him

with flesh-devouring sores,

with limbs gored by gray bronze

or crushed beneath flung stones,

all those with bodies broken,

sun-struck or frost-bitten,

he freed of their misery,

each from his ailment, and led them forth —

some to the lull of soft spells,* others by potions,* [epaoidais] [prosanea pinontas]

still others with bandages

steeped in medications* [guiois peraptÙn ... pharmaka]

culled from all quarters, and some he set right through surgery.* [tomais]

COUNTERTURN 3 [54-60]

But ∂ + even wisdom* feels [sophia]

the lure of gain* — gold glittered in his hand, [kerdei]

and he was hired

to retrieve from death

a man already forfeit:

the son of Kronos hurled

and drove the breath, smoking from both their chests —

savior and saved alike speared by lightning flash.

∂ From the gods we must expect

things that suit our mortal minds,

aware of the here and now, aware of our allotment.* [aisas]

STAND 3 [61-69]

+ Do not yearn, O my soul, for immortal life!* [mÍ, phila psukha, bion athanaton|speude]

Use to the utmost the skill* that is yours. [makhanan]

Yet if wise Chiron still haunted his cave,

if my singing* had worked upon his mood [humnoi | hameteroi]

like a soothing drug,* I would have moved him [philtron ... meligarues]

to rear another healer,* a son of Leto [iatÍra]

or of Zeus, a hero to relieve good men

of the blaze of fever. And I would have come,

cleaving the Ionian Sea on ship,

to Arethusa's fountain and my Aitnaian host

TURN 4 [70-76]

who holds the throne of Syracuse,

a king gentle to his citizens

and generous to his nobles,

a father to arriving strangers.

If I had stepped from ship

bringing this double grace to him,

golden health and a revel-song

to brighten his triumphs, the Pythian garlands

Pherenikos took at Kirrha once, beating all contenders:

I say I would have crossed

the deep sea

+ like a radiance reaching farther than a heavenly star.

COUNTERTURN 4 [77-83]

But I wish to make my prayer

to the sacred Mother Goddess [Matri]

whom Theban maidens celebrate

all the night through,

singing of her and of Pan

not far from where I dwell.

If, Hieron, you understand,

recall the proverb now: ∂ the deathless gods

dole out to death-bound men two pains for every good.

Fools make nothing of either.

The noble turn both to advantage,

folding pain within, and showing beauty without.

STAND 4 [84-92]

You have a share of happiness — on you, [tin de moir'eudaimonias hepetai]

if on any man, great destiny* has smiled, [ho megas potmos]

for you are a master *of a people. Still, [turannon]

∂ no life was ever safe from falling: not even Peleus,

the son of Aiakos, or Kadmos, the god's double,

knew perfect bliss,* though men account them [olbon hupertaton]

blest with the highest joy — they heard the Muses singing

on the mountain and in seven-gated Thebes,

when Kadmos married dark-eyed Harmonia

and Peleus married Thetis, the glorious daughter of Nereus,

TURN 5 [93-99]

and the gods feasted

in their company,

the children of Kronos,

kings on golden thrones:

they beheld them

and received their wedding gifts.

So Zeus blessed them with a change

from former troubles, and their hearts were high.

But in time again Kadmos lost his share of bliss:* [euphrosunas meros]

three of his daughters destroyed it

and yet the fourth,

white-armed lovely Thyona, welcomed Zeus to her bed.

COUNTERTURN 5 [100-106]

And the only child

of Peleus and immortal Thetis,

felled by an arrow in war

and leaving life behind,

stirred the lament of the Danaans

a he burned on the pyre.

∂ It is proper that a mortal man,

knowing the way of truth, prosper from the gods

when he has the chance. ∂ Winds soar on high —

one is a blessing, another is not.

∂ Happiness that wafts a man

in full sail will not sustain him long.

STAND 5 [107-115]

I will be small among the small,

great among the great. The spirit embracing me

from moment to moment I will cultivate,

as I can and as I ought. And if the gods bestow

abundant wealth* on me, then I will hope [plouton habron]

to find high glory* in days to come. [kleos hupsÍlon]

We know of Nestor and Lykian Sarpedon

from resonant words, such as skilled craftsmen of songs

have welded together. It is radiant poetry* [kleinais aoidais]

that makes virtue long-lived, but for few is the making easy.

PYTHIAN 10

[Hippokleas of Pelinna, double race for boys, 498 BCE]

TURN 1 [1-6]

Lakedaimon is happy,

Thessaly is blest:

both have their kings descended from one father,

Herakles, prince of battle.

Why am I declaiming

in this way?

Pytho and Pelinna exhort me,

and the sons of Aleuas, eager

that I bring to Hippokleas

the voices of the men singing in glorious revel.

COUNTERTURN 1 [7-12]

For he enjoys the + taste of victory:* [geuetai gar aethlÙn]

the throng of surrounding people

heard Parnassos Valley

proclaim him best

of the youths in the double race.

∂ The end and the beginning,

O great Apollo, ripen into + sweetness* for men [gluku ... telos arkha]

when a god urges them on.* [daimonos ornuntos]

He has done what he has done

in accordance, surely, with your plans.

But he has also + walked in the footsteps of his father,* [embebaken ikhnesin patros]

STAND 1 [13-18]

twice victorious at Olympia,

in the battle-worn gear of Ares. And in the contest

in the deep meadow under Kirrha's crags,

Phrikias prevailed in speed of foot.

May father and son behold their wealth's

proud flower bloom tomorrow as today.

TURN 2 [19-24]

Having no small share

of the good things in Hellas,

may they encounter

no reversal of fortune

from the jealous gods.

∂ The gods may feel no sorrow,

but a man

should be accounted happy

and worthy of song

if boldness and power have gained him

the greatest prize for might of hand or speed of foot,

COUNTERTURN 2 [25-30]

and if he's also lived to see

his young son

duly crowned

with Pythian garlands.

∂ The bronze sky is beyond

his reach forever, but he has found

all the happiness

our mortal race can come to.

For neither on shipboard

nor by any journey made on foot

would you ever discover the miraculous way to the Hyperboreans.

STAND 2 [31-36]

With them Perseus, lord of the People, once feasted,

entering their houses. He had come upon them

while they were offering

hekatombs of asses to glorify Apollo,

who delights in their perpetual feasts and hymns

and is amused by the shrill impiety of their brutes.

TURN 3 [37-42]

And the Muse has never traveled

from their midst.

To the strumming

of harp-strings* [luran te boai]

and the piping of oboes,* [kanakhai t'aulÙn]

their maiden choruses

whirl, dancing everywhere.

They wreathe their hair in golden laurel

and regale themselves.

+ The cup of age and sickness

has not been poured for them. Free of toil and battle

COUNTERTURN 3 [43-48]

they live, escaping the rigid

rule of Nemesis.

Into their blissful company

came the son of Dana‰,

bold of heart,

for Athena was his guide.

He slew the Gorgon then,

and brought her head

decked in serpent curls,

+ a stony death* [lithinon thanaton pherÙn]

to the men of Seriphos. ∂ No miracle is too great

STAND 3 [49-54]

for my belief, when the gods

bring it to pass. + Stay the oars now!

Heave the anchor overboard

before we splinter

on the bristling reef.

+ For the song of praise

darts from theme to theme, like a bee.

TURN 4 [55-60]

And I hope — while the Ephyraians

+ pour forth the honey

of my singing

along the banks of the Peneios —

that this music for his crowns

will make Hippokleas

still more admired

among his peers and elders and keep him

in the thoughts of young maidens.

ß ∂ Desire for one thing

moves one heart, a different passion excites another:

COUNTERTURN 4 [61-66]

but if a man attains his wish

let him cling to it and not let it go

for something far off.

∂ There is no telling

what will be

a year from now.* [ta d'eis eniauton atekmarton pronoÍsai]

I put my trust

in the warm friendship of Thoras —

it is he who has + yoked this four-horse chariot* [harma ... tetraoron]

of the Muses, eagerly tending my song,* [eman poipnuÙn kharin]

loving one who loves him back,* each taking the other's hand. [phileÙn phileont']

STAND 4 [67-72]

∂ Gold and a straight mind show what they are

on the touchstone. Let us praise

his brave brothers too, because

they bear on high the ways of Thessaly

and bring them glory. In their hands

belongs the + piloting of cities, their fathers' heritage.

NEMEAN 1

[Khromios of Aitna, chariot race, 476 (?) BCE]

TURN 1 [1-7]

O sacred ground, where Alpheos + breathes again!* [Ampneuma semnon Alpheou]

Ortygia, scion of glorious Syracuse!

+ Bed of Artemis

and + sister of Delos,

from you the music has its source,

sounding high praise of horses + with storm in their speed,* [aellopodÙn ... hippÙn]

glory to Zeus of Aitna!

The chariot of Chromios

and Nemea

bid me + harness deed to song in praise of victory.

COUNTERTURN 1 [8-14]

The foundations have been laid — with the gods

and Chromios' inspired exploits.

+ The peak of perfect glory

appears in triumph,

for the Muse

loves to dwell on mighty contests. Let her radiance

stream upon this island now,

Persephone's gift from Zeus,

lord of Olympos, who bent his brow

and promised to exalt her over the fruitful earth,

STAND 1 [15-18]

Sicily, teeming with cities supreme in wealth.

And the son of Kronos dowered her

with a people enamored of bronze war

and of horses, a people often crowned

with the gold leaves of Olympian olive. I have touched on a theme [pollÙn epeban|kairon

rich in opportunity and founded in truth.* [ou pseudei balÙn

TURN 2 [19-25]

At the courtyard doors of a liberal host, I stand

singing his noble deeds

here, where a brilliant banquet has been laid out for me.

Indeed, this house has often been

no stranger to guests from abroad.

∂ For those who criticize the noble are doomed

to carry water against smoke!

∂ Different men have different skills.

One must take

the straight path: fight with what one has by nature.

COUNTERTURN 2 [26-32]

∂ Action is the way of strength; [prassei men ergÙi men sthenos,

stratagem the way of council,* in those [boulaisi de phrÍn

endowed with the gift of foresight.

Son of Hagesidamos, thanks to you

I have a wide range of themes.

I love not to keep great wealth buried deep in hall,

but to make good use of what I own

and be of good repute

among my friends.

∂ For all men are alike in expectation, [koinai gar erkhont'elpides | poluponÙn andrÙn]

STAND 2 [33-36]

born to endure.* But when I move among the heights

of triumph, Herakles comes to mind. I embrace him

eagerly, + stirring to life again the ancient story,* [arkhaion otrunÙn logon]

how that child of Zeus, having survived

the throes of birth and come with his twin brother

from his mother's womb into the sudden wondrous light,

TURN 3 [37-43]

did not escape the notice of Hera

when he was laid

in purple swaddling bands.

Stung to the heart with wrath,* [sperkhtheisa thumÙi]

the Queen of the gods

dispatched a pair of serpents.* Through the open doors [drakontas]

into the wide inner chambers they glided,

to wind themselves around the babes,

eager to snatch them in their jaws.

But Herakles raised his head and made first trial of battle.

COUNTERTURN 3 [44-50]

gripping both snakes by their throats,

one in each unshakable hand.

+ Moment by moment,* [agkhomenois de khronos |

strangling, [psukhas anepneusen meleÙn aphatÙn

the life-breath

fled their hideous coils. Unbearable terror + struck

the women in attendance on Alkmena.

She herself, leaping to her feet

just as she was, in her bed-clothes,

had tried to keep monsters at bay.

STAND 3 [51-54]

And the chiefs of the Kadmeians arrived together

in haste, with a rattle of bronze arms,

Amphitryon among them, sword in hand,

+ shaken with anxiety.* ∂ For every man + feels the weight [oxeiais aniaisi tupeis]

of sorrows at home, while troubles elsewhere

do not hold the heart for long.

TURN 4 [55-61]

He stood there, wavering

between terror and delight,

for he could see the unearthly

strength and power of his son.

The immortal gods had turned

the messengers' report from bad to good.

He summoned his townsman, great

prophet of Zeus on high,

unerring Teiresias, who told him

and the entire company what lay in wait for Herakles —

COUNTERTURN 4 [62-68]

how many savage beasts he would slay

on land and sea, beasts

with no sense of justice;* [aÔdrodikas]

how he would put an end

to a certain creature,

loathsome, lurching with perverse glut of men.

And when the gods should face the giants

in battle on Phlegra's plain, he spoke

of bright hair fouled in the dust

beneath the arrows sprung from Herakles' bow;

STAND 4 [69-72]

and prophesied he would enjoy unbroken peace

for all time, repose in the gods' blissful hall,

a perfect reward for his vast labors,

with lovely Hebe for his bride;

and that, having celebrated his wedding at the side

of Zeus, son of Kronos, he would praise the sacred law.

NEMEAN 3

[Aristokleidas of Aigina, pankration, 475 (?) BCE]

TURN 1 [1-8]

O lady Muse, my mother! [‘ potnia Moisa, mater hametera, lissomai]

Come, I beseech you,*

in the sacred Nemean month

to Dorian Aigina, island haven

of the wide world: by the waters of Asopos

the young men wait,

+ builders of sweet revel-songs,* [meligaruÙn tektones | kÙmÙn]

eager for your voice. Other deeds

have other + thirsts,* but victory [dipsÍi]

+ yearns for music,* [aethlonikia de malist' aoidan philei]

the perfect + attendant* to its crown and its valor. [opadon]

COUNTERTURN 1 [9-16]

Let it tend upon us now, welling

from my mind: begin, daughters of Zeus,

the hymn of glory to the ruler

of the sky, deep in cloud,

and I will entrust the words to the young men's voices

and to the lyre.* It will be a pleasant task [lurai]

to adorn this country, home

of the Myrmidons of old, whose fabled assembly

Aristokleidas did not disgrace —

with your help, he kept his nerve in the brutal

STAND 1 [17-21]

pankration contest. His triumph in the deep fields of Nemea

+ soothes the pain* of blows endured. But if [akos hugiÍron ... pherei]

this son of Aristophanes — handsome in looks

and deeds to match — has reached the peak of manliness,* [anoreais hupertatais]

to go on from there is no light matter, crossing

the pathless sea beyond the Pillars of Herakles,

TURN 2 [22-29]

which that hero-god set up in glory

to mark the limits of our voyaging — Herakles, who overcame

the monsters of the deep and, on his own,

explored the shallow straits, his journey's end

and turning point: he had shown

the world's boundary. But O my heart!* [thume]

+ to what foreign beach are you blown off course?

I bid you summon the Muse to Aiakos and his race:

for though the essence of justice

appear in the maxim + Praise the noble,

COUNTERTURN 2 [30-37]

∂ longing for another's glory is not the better way:

look closer to home.

Here you have honors

worthy of noble utterance: lord Peleus

rejoiced in deeds of valor

long ago, when he cut his peerless spear.

He stormed Iolkos alone, without an army,

and pinned down Thetis of the sea,

for all her struggles. And mighty Telamon

crushed Laomedon — he stood by Iolaus then

STAND 2 [38-42]

and went with him once against the fierce Amazons

armed with brazen bows — man-quelling terror never stopped him.

∂ There is great weight in inherited glory,

while mere instruction leaves a man a thing of shadows: puffing

here and there, he never comes down with sure foot

but savors endless exploits in his futile thoughts.

TURN 3 [43-50]

Blond Achilleus, while still a child

at play about Philyra's house, performed

deeds of might: often brandishing

his iron javelin, swift as the wind,

he battled savage lions to their deaths

and slew boars, dragging

their bodies, trembling

in their last grasp, to Chiron the centaur;

this from the time he was six and ever after.

Artemis was amazed

and bold Athena marveled to see him

COUNTERTURN 3 [51-58]

killing stags without the help of hounds

or traps: he ran them down

on foot. And men of old tell how

shrewd Chiron raised Jason also,

in his house of stone, and reared Asklepios,

whom he taught the mild-handed use

of salves and drugs.* [ton pharmakÙn didaxe malakokheira nomon]

And it was Chiron who saw to the wedding

of Nereus' radiant daughter and brought up

her dread child Achilleus,

raising his thoughts in all things noble

STAND 3 [59-63]

that he might go on the sea-winds' blast

to Troy of the clashing spears, endure

the cries of Lykians and Phrygians, the shrill

Dardan battle-shout, and then, hand to hand against

the spearmen of Ethiopia, determine that their prince,

fiery Memnon, cousin of Helenos, would never go home again.

TURN 4 [64-71]

From Troy the fame of Aiakos' sons

+ burns like a beacon, seen

afar and forever, O Zeus!

it is your blood

in their veins, your contest that the young men hail

as they proclaim Aigina's victory.

Aristokleidas deserves the jubilant

reception of song for having bathed

this island in the speech of renown* [eukleÔ prosethÍke logoi]

and Apollo's Thearion in the brightness

of hopes.* But trial alone reveals innate superiority [aglaaisi merimnais]

COUNTERTURN 4 [72-79]

in the youth among youths, the man

among men, the elder

among elders, each lot

as we inherit it, we —

a perishable race. Yet our mortal life

brings with it four virtues* also, [tessaras aretas]

and bids us heed what lies at hand.

In these you are not lacking. Hail, friend!

I send you this + blend of honey and white milk

bubbling at the brim,

a + draft of music breathed through Aiolian flutes,* [pom'aoidimon Aiolissin en pnoaisin aulÙn]

STAND 4 [80-84]

late, surely, and yet, among birds, + the eagle

is swift: though he swoop from afar, he has his prey,

spattered with blood, in his claws, while + the crows

chatter, grazing the lower air. In you the brilliance

of a contending spirit, lit by Kleo's grace,

has shone forth from Nemea and Epidauros and Megara!

NEMEAN 5

[Pytheas of Aigina, boys' pankration, 483 (?) BCE]

TURN 1 [1-6]

I am no sculptor, fashioning statues

to stand motionless, fixed to the same base.

No, + on every merchant ship,

on every boat I bid my song

go forth from Aigina,

spreading abroad the news

that Lampon's mighty son Pytheas,

his cheeks not yet darkened

by late summer, + mother

of delicate bloom, has taken

the crown for pankration in the Nemean games,

COUNTERTURN 1 [7-12]

bringing honor to the heroic spearmen

sprung from Kronos, Zeus,

and the golden Nereids:

the sons of Aiakos and their mother city,

a land dear to strangers,

destined to be strong

in her people and famed

for her ships, from the moment the glorious

sons of EndaÔs stood at the altar

of Zeus Hellanios and prayed for her,

raising their hands to heaven with Phokos lord of might,

STAND 1 [13-18]

Phokos, whom the goddess Psamatheia bore

where the sea-waves break. I hesitate to speak [aideomai mega eipein |

of a fateful act, not ventured in justice* — [en dikai te mÍ kekinduneumenon

how they fled the famous island, and what god

drove those men of power from Oinona, I will refrain:

∂ not every truth, you know, is the better

for showing its face in the light, and keeping silence

is often the wisest thing for a man to appreciate.

TURN 2 [19-24]

But if praising wealth or might of hand

or iron war is the order of the day,

let someone + dig me a wide jumping space

right here: there's a light

spring in my knees, and + eagles

swoop beyond the sea.

Why, in honor of these people,

even the brilliant chorus of the Muses

sang eagerly on Mount Pelion.

And, as they sang, Apollo's

golden plectrum swept

the lyre's seven strings,* [phormigg' ... heptaglÙsson]

COUNTERTURN 2 [25-30]

leading the way through every hymn.

They began with Zeus and went on to sing

of sacred Thetis and of Peleus —

and how the wanton Hippolyta, daughter of Kretheus,

yearned to entangle him

in guile,* persuading [dolÙi pedasai]

her husband Akastons,

lord of the Magnetes, to join her

in her cunning plans:* for she had framed [poikilois bouleumasin]

a false, fabricated story,* [pseustan de poiÍton sunepaxe logon]

that Peleus had attempted to embrace her in Akaston's own

STAND 2 [31-36]

wedding bed. The opposite was the case: repeatedly,

with all her will, she had entreated him, but the mere

suggestion had roused his anger — he had spurned her,

dreading Zeus' wrath, god of guests. And the lord

of the storm-cloud, king of the immortal gods,

took note of it on high, bending his brows

in promise to Peleus that he would quickly win

a Nereid with golden distaff for his bride,* [khrusalakatÙn tina NÍ |reÔdÙn]

TURN 3 [37-42]

obtaining the consent of her brother-in-law

Poseidon, who often goes from Aigai

to the glorious Dorian Isthmos,

where festal throngs receive him as a god

to the piping of flutes,

and hold the rugged contest

for might of limb.

∂ Birth and destiny determine the outcome [Potmos de krinei suggenÍs ergÙn pÈri |

of every deed.* You, Euthymenes, [pantÙn

twice taken into the arms of Victory

at Aigina, have known the + embrace of elaborate song.

COUNTERTURN 3 [43-48]

Yes, Pytheas, even now your mother's brother

follows upon you, honoring the race

born in the line of Aiakos.

Nemea is true to him and the sacred month

Apollo cherishes.

He vanquished those of his age

who came against him, at home

and in the lovely arms of Megara.

I rejoice, that this whole city strives for honor.

Fortunate in Menandros' help,

you've won yourself a share in the + sweet

STAND 3 [49-54]

recompense* of toil. It is only right [glukeian ... amoiban]

that a trainer of athletes hail from Athens.

But if you come to sing of Themistios, + warm to the strain!* [mÍketi rhigei]

let loose your voice, + unfurl the sails:

proclaim him a boxer; add that he took a second glory,

winning in pankration at Epidauros, and with crowns

of plaited grass and flowers in your hands, join

the shining Graces on their way to Aiakos' shrine!

ISTHMIAN 7

[Strepsiadas of Thebes, pankration, 454 BCE]

TURN 1 [1-5]

ß In which of the ancient glories

of this country

do you most delight your heart,

O blessed Theba?

Was it when you raised into the light

Dionysos,

comrade of Demeter

for whom bronze cymbals clash?

Or when you welcomed

in the dead of night

the mightiest of gods,

a + snow of gold* — [Í khrusÙi mesonuktion | neiphontadexamena ton phertaton theÙn]

COUNTERTURN 1 [6-10]

when, having stood in the doorway,

he came to the wife

of Amphitryon

and begot Herakles?

Or is it the + deep mind of Teiresias?* [amphi puknais Teiresiao boulais]

Or Iolaos,

skilled with horses?

Or the Sown Men, relentless

with their spears?

Or when from the dread

din of battle you sent

Adrastos away, deprived

STAND 1 [11-17]

of all his allies, fleeing to Argos,

nurse of horses? Or when you established

on a secure footing

the Dorian colony of the Lakedaimonians,

and the sons of Aigeus, your descendants,

took Amyklai? But the grace of old

drops to sleep, and + mortal men forget

TURN 2 [18-22]

whatever has not intermingled

in the + glorious streams of verses,* [klutais epeÙn rhoaisin]

and come to flower

through a poet's skill.

Then sing the sweet-voiced song

for Strepsiadas too —

victorious in pankration at Isthmos,

he is awesome in strength

and handsome to see,

nor does the distinction

he has achieved

put his looks to shame.

COUNTERTURN 2 [23-27]

The dark-haired Muses make him glow.

To his maternal uncle and namesake

he has given

a flowering garland

to possess in common —

Strepsiadas,

for whom brazen Ares mixed

the + draft of death: but ∂ honor

rewards the brave.

Let him, who in the storm's onset

turns the hail of blood

from his dear country,

STAND 2 [28-34]

hurling havoc amid the enemy host,

know well that in his life

and in his death, he magnifies

his city's glory more than any. And you, son of Diodotos,

in emulation of warlike Meleagros,

of Hektor and Amphiaraos, in the + flower of your strength

breathed out the breath of life,* [euanthe'apepneusas halikian]

TURN 3 [35-39]

fighting in the forefront

where the best men

stayed the strife of battle

+ at the edge of hope.* [eskhatais ep'elpesin]

Unspeakable is the sorrow I have borne.* [etlan de penthos ou phaton.]

But now Poseidon has calmed the storm,

and I will sing,

fitting my head with garlands.

May no envy

of the gods

fall upon me

COUNTERTURN 3 [40-44]

that in pursuit of delight

as it comes each day,

I go in peace

toward old age

and the mortal limit of life:

for ∂ we all perish,

though our luck varies.

∂ If a man gazes in the distance,

he is too short

to reach the bronze-paved

home of the gods:* [brakhus exikesthai khalkopedon theÙn |hedran]

winged Pegasos shook from his back

STAND 3 [45-51]

Bellerophon, his rider, striving

to enter the dwellings of the sky

and join Zeus' company.

∂ + Most bitter is the end

of a sweetness not our right.

For myself, O Loxias, I wish another

flourishing garland, from your games at Pytho!

ISTHMIAN 8

[Kleandros of Aigina, boys' pankration, 478 BCE]

STROPHE 1 [1-10]

For Kleandros and his youth, let someone go

to the bright doors of Telesarchos, his father,

+ rousing the revel song* in glorious recompense for his struggles, [anegeiretÙ | kÙmon]

+ to pay him for his triumph at Isthmos* [Isthmiados te ni|kas apoina]

and for showing his might in the Nemean games.

And therefore I too, though grieved at heart,

have been requested to summon the golden Muse.

And having been delivered from great sorrows,

let us not go ungarlanded —

do not nurse your own troubles.

No, turning away from intractable evils,

let us perform a song especially sweet after our toil.

For some god has turned aside

the stone of Tantalos

that loomed over our heads,

STROPHE 2 [11-20]

an unbearable strain for Hellas. But now

it is gone, and my strong anxiety is at an end.

∂ It is always better to heed the present.

The future is deceptive —

it hovers before us, full of distortions.

Yet mortals can recover even from this, if they are free.

A man must be hopeful.

A man raised in seven-gated Thebes

must make first offering

of the Graces' finest song to Aigina,

for she and Theba were born twin daughters of Asopos,

youngest of his children.

And they found favor with Zeus the King,

who made one to dwell by the bright spring of Dirka,

+ mistress of a chariot-loving city;

STROPHE 3 [21-30]

but you he brought to the island of Oinopia,

and the bed of love.

You bore him a son, dearest of mortal men

to the deep-thundering father:

divine Aiakos, who settled disputes even among gods,

whose godlike sons and warrior grandsons

were supreme in courage,

confronting the brazen throng of battle rich in groans.

And they were wise and prudent of heart.* [sÙphrones t' ... pinutoi te thumon]

Even the assembly of the gods took note of this,

when Zeus and gleaming Poseidon clashed

over the wedding of Thetis, each desiring

to make her his beautiful bride, for passion possessed them.

But the immortal minds of the gods

did not fulfill that marriage,

STROPHE 4 [31-40]

once they heard the oracles —

wise Themis in their midst proclaimed it fated

that the goddess of the sea

bear a son mightier than his father,

a lord who would speed from his hand

another weapon, more powerful than thunder

or Poseidon's relentless trident,

if she joined in love with Zeus or Zeus' brother:

'But let it not be so! Let her marry a mortal instead

and see her son killed in battle,

a son + equal to Ares* in might of hand [AreÔ t'en|aligkion]

or to the lightning bolt in speed of foot.

It is my counsel to give her as a wedding prize

to Aiakos' son Peleus, reputed to be

the most righteous man the plain of Iolkos has reared.

STROPHE 5 [41-50]

Let the announcement go at once

to Chiron in his immortal cave —

and let not the daughter of Nereus

put into our hands again + the leaves of strife.* [neikeÙn petala]

May she + loosen the bridle of her virginity* [luoi ken khalinon ...parthenias]

in the hero's arms on the evening of full moon.'

So the goddess urged the children of Kronos

who bent immortal brows, assenting.

And + the fruit of her words did not perish,* [epeÙn de karpos | ou katephthine]

for they say that even Lord Zeus joined

in honoring the wedding of Thetis. And there

the songs of skilled poets revealed to those who knew it not

the young valor of Achilleus,

who stained the vine-clad Mysian plain

with the black blood of Telephos,

STROPHE 6 [51-60]

and + bridged a return* for the sons of Atreus, [gephurÙse ...noston]

and freed Helen,

cleaving the sinews of Troy with his spear —

all those who strove to keep him

from marshaling the deadly work of war upon the plain:

the proud strength of Memnon, and Hektor,

and others of the best men for whom Achilleus, Aiakid champion,

showed the way to Persephone's house

and so brought glory to Aigina and his lineage.

Nor did + songs abandon him even in death,* [oude thanont'aoidai epelipon]

but the maidens of Helikon stood at his pyre

and beside his tomb, + pouring upon it the dirge of glory:* [epi thrÍnon ... ekhean]

thus the immortals themselves chose to make

even a man who had perished

a theme for the hymns of goddesses.

STROPHE 7 [61-70]

And there is a reason for it still —

the Muses in their chariot hasten to proclaim

the memory of Nikokles, the boxer: glorify him,

who gained the Dorian garland in the grove at Isthmos;

he too once vanquished

those who lived in the surrounding country,

confounding them with inescapable blows.

And his cousin, Kleandros, does not disgrace him.

Let one of the youths plait him

a garland of myrtle for his pankration victory,

and because of the gathering of Alkathoˆs

and the young men at Epidauros

welcomed him in triumph before.

We may praise him justly, for he has not consigned

his youth to oblivion, bereft of noble deeds.