Pythian Ode 1 by Pindar
Pythian Ode 1 by Pindar is a celebratory poem composed in 470 BCE to honor Hieron of Aetna for his victory in the chariot race at the Pythian Games. This ode not only praises Hieron's athletic achievement but also highlights his military successes and virtuous leadership as he established a new city on Sicily’s eastern coast. The poem opens with invocations to the Muse and Apollo, establishing a divine context where even the gods are moved by song. Pindar includes mythological references, such as the story of Typhon and volcanic imagery from Mount Aetna, which connect Hieron's triumph to broader themes of heroism and power.
Throughout the ode, parallels are drawn between Hieron and historical figures like Philoctetes, emphasizing the significance of his actions in the larger narrative of Greek victories over foreign foes, including the Persians and Carthaginians. As the poem concludes, Pindar offers counsel to Hieron on the importance of moderation and integrity in leadership, suggesting that a ruler should strive for honorable remembrance rather than fear or cruelty. Ultimately, Pindar underscores that true victory lies not only in athletic success but in achieving a lasting legacy defined by virtue and good fortune.
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Pythian Ode 1 by Pindar
Excerpted from an article in Magill’s Survey of World Literature, Revised Edition
First published: 498-446 b.c.e. (English translation, 1656)
Type of work: Poem
The Work
Pythian 1 was written to celebrate Hieron’s victory in the chariot race in the Pythia of 470 b.c.e. and as a hymn of praise on his military successes and his virtuous actions. It is addressed to Hieron of Aetna to mark his recent foundation of that new city on the eastern coastline of Sicily. By this stage, the island was under Hieron’s control, and he had defeated foreign enemies, including the Carthaginians and the Etruscans. In spite of Hieron’s harsh treatment of his political opponents within Sicily, Pindar presents him as almost the incarnation of the ideal ruler.
The ode commences with a standard address to the Muse and to Apollo’s lyre, which has the power to subdue all powers in the human and divine realms. The eagle of Zeus is imagined as sleeping to the sweet melodies of choral song, while Ares, the god of war, lays down his weapons and has soothing dreams. The mention of Zeus takes readers into the first mythological excursus, namely the story of Typhon, the fire-breathing monster who was buried under Mount Aetna after he attacked the king of the gods. Rather unusually for Pindar, the mythical elements in this ode are brief.
There follows a description of a volcanic eruption on Aetna, which must have been inspired by first-hand experience during Pindar’s period of residence on the island of Sicily. The vivid images of fire, smoke, and lava make for a dramatic scene. This leads Pindar back to the city of Aetna and Hieron’s victory at the Pythian games. He predicts that the city will win numerous victories in the future, as its athletes set sail across the sea to the great Panhellenic festivals on the Greek mainland. Apollo is asked to “make this land a mother of brave men.”
A second mythological reference occurs in the third segment of the poem, to Philoctetes, who was left to spend the Trojan war on the island of Lemnos because he was suffering from a festering wound in his foot. When he was finally brought to the battlefield, after being persuaded by Odysseus and Diomedes, he shot Paris with his arrows and shortly thereafter Troy fell to its besiegers. Pindar draws a parallel with Hieron, although its precise import is left ambiguous; perhaps it is a general reference to the growth of Hieron’s power and prestige, but one suspects there is somehow more to it than that.
Next, Pindar mentions the Greek victories in the battles of Salamis (480 b.c.e.) and Plataea (479 b.c.e.), which brought an end to the Persian invasion led by Xerxes. In the same passage, reference is made to the defeat of the Carthaginians and the Etruscans in two naval battles in which Hieron played a leading role. The implication is that Hieron’s actions were akin to those of those other heroic Greeks who “saved Hellenic civilization” from the barbarians. This leads back to Hieron’s athletic victory and Pindar’s role as the poet who is to record it in song. It is his duty to be both effective and concise in this role, he says.
Perhaps because he has been so generous with his praise of him, Pindar ends the poem by proffering some advice to Hieron. He alludes to the dangers of envy and “hidden anger,” as well as the need for the ruler’s words to be “forged on the anvil of truth.” Moderation, once again, is the key to good governance, both of one’s self and one’s subjects. Better to be remembered, like Croesus, for being generous, than, like the tyrant Phalaris, for acts of cruelty. The most important goals in the contest of life, Pindar advises, are to win good fortune and preserve an honorable name; that is the greatest victory crown of all.
Bibliography
Carne-Ross, D. S. Pindar. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1985.
Conway, Geoffrey S. The Odes of Pindar. London: J. M. Dent, 1972.
Currie, Bruno. Pindar and the Cult of Heroes. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 2005.
Gerber, Douglas E. Pindar’s Olympian 1, a Commentary. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1982.
Hornblower, Simon, and Catherine Morgan. Pindar’s Poetry, Patrons, and Festivals: From Archaic Greece to the Roman Empire. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 2007.
Instone, Stephen. Pindar: The Complete Odes. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 2007.
Steiner, Deborah. The Crown of Song: Metaphor in Pindar. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 1986.