by Cecil Bowra
Yet even Wisdom
Is in bondage to gain. Him too
[55] A princely wage seduced, when the gold
Gleamed in his hand,
To raise from the dead
A man whom death had taken.
But Kronos’ son
Cast with his hands at the two of them:
Quickly he tore the breath out of their breasts
And the blazing thunderbolt drove death home.
– We must ask from the Gods
Things suited to hearts that shall die,
[60] Knowing the path we are in, the nature of our doom.
Dear soul of mine, for immortal days
Trouble not: the help that is to be had
Drain to the last. And yet, if only
Wise Cheiron were still living in his cave,
And the honey of our songs laid a spell on his soul,
[65] O surely I had moved him to send, even now,
One that should heal good men
From burning sicknesses,
One called Son of Latoïdas or of the Father.
I would have ploughed the Ionian Sea
And come by ship to the Fountain of Arethoisa,
To my friend of Aitna town;
IV
[70] Who reigns in Syracuse
A King, kind to his people, not envying merit,
To strangers a marvellous father.
Could I have landed with double delight for him,
With a golden gift of health,
And a triumph to make bright the Pythian crowns,
Which Pherenikos the conqueror horse
Won at the games
In Krisa once –
[75] No star in heaven, I say, had then shone farther
Than I, as I came from crossing the deep sea.
But I wish to make my vow to the Mother.
To her and Pan the Maidens sing
Before my house,
Goddess of awe, in the nights.
[80] And you, Hieron,
Having the wit to know
What sayings are sharp and true, have learned the old proverb:
‘With every blessing God gives a pair of curses.’
This is what fools cannot bear with decency;
But good men can, and turn the fair part outwards.
Your portion of Felicity attends you.
[85] On the Prince who rules his people, if on any,
Is the eye of mighty Fate,
Untroubled life.
Neither Peleus had, the son of Aiakos,
Nor godlike Kadmos.
These two, they say, had the utmost bliss of men:
They heard the Muses
[90] Singing, with gold in their hair,
On that mountain and in seven-gated Thebes
(When one
Married soft-eyed Harmonia, and one Thetis,
Wise Nereus’ golden child)
V
And with both the Gods feasted. They saw those Kings,
The sons of Kronos, sitting on golden thrones,
And took their marriage-gifts.
[95] Through the favour of Zeus, they put from them
Their former sorrows, and set their hearts up straight.
– But time passed on: and from Kadmos
Three of his daughters, by their sharp anguish,
Took away his share of delight,
– Though father Zeus came to the lovely bed
Of white-armed Thyona –
[100] And Peleus’ son, the only son
Whom immortal Thetis bore to him in Phthia,
Killed by an arrow in battle, was burned with fire
And woke the Danaans’ tears.
If any man understands the way of truth,
When the Blessed Ones send him aught,
He must needs be happy.
[105] Many are the high-flying winds, and blow many ways:
Man’s bliss does not go steady for long
When it follows him with all its weight.
I will be little when little is my circumstance
And great when it is great. What doom,
Now or to come, attends me,
By that I shall set my heart, and serve it after my measure,
[110] If God should give me the luxury of wealth,
I think surely I should know
Thenceforth the heights of fame.
Of Nestor and the Lykian Sarpedon,
Those household names,
The loud lines speak, which craftsmen built with skill,
And thence we know them.
Greatness in noble songs
[115] Endures through time: but to win this, few find easy.
Pythian III, written about 474 B.C., is not an Epinician but a poetical epistle to Hieron, who is ill and has asked Pindar to visit him in Sicily. Pindar, with some elaboration, refuses.
1–60 The double myth of Koronis and her child, Asklapios, illustrates the danger of trying to pass beyond the proper limits for men, and enforces Pindar’s advice that Hieron should not indulge too strong hopes of recovery.
8 The daughter of Phlegyas is Koronis, who, when with child by Apollo, promises to marry Ischys.
26 The stranger is Ischys.
28 In earlier versions Apollo heard the news from a raven.
32 Apollo sends Artemis to kill the guilty couple.
45 The child, Asklapios, is given to Cheiron to be educated.
54 Asklapios is bribed to raise a man from the dead, and is punished for it.
61 Pindar addresses himself, but what he says is more relevant to Hieron.
74 The horse Pherenikos is celebrated in Olympian I.
77 Pindar explains that he cannot come to Syracuse because he is busy with the cult of Pan and the Great Mother (Kybele). This would be taken seriously.
110 Pindar suggests that he would like a handsome reward, but leaves it not very explicit. It is possible that this was prompted by the large fine inflicted on him by the Thebans for praising Athens.
Nemean III
For Aristokleidas of Aigina, winner in the trial of strength
I
Lady Muse, our mother, I beg you,
Come in the holy Nemean month
To Aigina’s welcoming Dorian island.
By Asopos’ water young men are waiting,
[5] Craftsmen of honey-toned songs, in desire of your voice.
Everything done thirsts for one thing or other,
But victory in the Games loves song most of all,
Most deft attendant on wreaths and on prowess.
Give it without stint from my skill,
[10] And begin, daughter of the sky’s many-clouded King,
A hymn of glory. I shall partner it
With their choir and the lute.
Its task shall be pleasant,
To be a jewel on the land
Where of old the Myrmidons dwelt.
Their company, ancient in story,
[15] Aristokleidas has not fouled with reproaches
– Such was your will – nor did he turn soft
In the brawny ranks of the Trial of Strength.
For wearying blows in Nemea’s deep plain
He brings a health-giving cure in victory’s prize.
If Aristophanes’ son, being beautiful,
Has done what befits his beauty
[20] And scaled the heights of manhood,
Yet to travel further is not easy
Over the untrodden sea beyond the Pillars of Herakles.
II
Them the god-hero placed to witness to all
Of the limit of sailing.
He broke monstrous beasts in the sea
And alone tracked the currents in the shallows,
[25] Till he came to the bounds which send men home,
And made the earth known.
My heart, to what stranger cape
Do you turn my voyage?
I bid you bring the Muse to Aiakos and his race;
High Justice wafts the saying: ‘Praise the noble.’
[30] Nor are desires for what is not his
Better load for a man. Make your search at home.
You have found the ornament you deserve,
A sweet song to sing. In tales of old prowess
Is that of King Peleus’ joy.
He cut an enormous spearshaft,
And single-handed, without an army,
Took Iolkos, and caught
[35] The sea-maiden Thetis by might and main.
Stalwart, strong Telamon
Destroyed Laomedon, with Iolas at his side.
He followed him in pursuit
Of the brawny bronze-bowed Amazons,
Nor did terror that breaks a man
Dull the edge of his spirit.
[40] (A man has much weight if glory belongs to his breed,
But whoso needs to be taught,
His spirit blows here and there in the dark,
Nor ever enters he the lists with sure foot,
Though countless the glories his futile fancy savours.)
III
Brown-haired Achilles stayed in Philyra’s home,
A child whose play was mighty exploits.
Often his hands threw
[45] The short iron javelin to rival the winds;
He dealt death in battle to ravening lions
And boars were his prey. Their panting bodies
He brought to the Centaur, Kronos’ son,
In his sixth year at first, then through all his days.
[50] Artemis marvelled at him, and bold Athana,
That he killed deer without hounds or treacherous traps.
By his feet he defeated them. (What I tell
Was spoken by men of old.)
Deep-counselling Cheiron
Nursed Jason inside his stone dwelling,
And Asklapios after him,
[55] And taught him the use of medicine with gentle hands.
In time he found a wedding
For Nereus’ bright-bosomed daughter;
He cherished her noble son for her, and exalted
His spirit in all things fitting,
That, sent by the sea-winds’ blasts to Troy,
[60] He should stand up to the clash of spears and the battle-cry
Of Lykians and Phrygians and Dardanians,
And fight hand to hand with Ethiopian spearmen,
And nail to his heart the resolve
That their sultan, Helenos’ mad-hearted kinsman.
Memnon, should not come back home.
From him is the light of the Aiakidai
Firm-fixed, a beacon flame.
[65] Zeus, thine is their blood and thine the struggle
Which my song has struck,
As in young men’s voices it cries aloud the land’s delight.
The clamour is right for the victor Aristokleidas,
Who has set this island on words of glory,
And on bright hopes of honour
[70] The holy Hall of the Pythian God.
Trial reveals the end in which each man surpasses,
Among boys a boy, a man among men,
And among elders, thirdly –
In each state that belongs to our mortal breed
[75] Man’s life drives a four-in-hand of excellences
And bids us give thought to what lies in front.
These he lacks not. Greeting, my friend!
I send you this honey mixed with white milk,
And mingling dew is spread on it,
A drink of song on the breath of Aeolian pipes,
[80] Late though it be. The eagle is swift among birds,
And with a long sweep from afar
Suddenly seizes the bloody prey with its talons,
While the chattering daws range low.
For you, now that that bright-throne Kleio is willing,
Because of your victorious spirit
From Nemea and from Epidauros
And Megara light looks out.
Nemean III was composed about 474 B.C., but there was an interval between the victory celebrated and the actual celebration (80).
3 The Aiginetans prided themselves on their Dorian origin.
10 The Muse, daughter of Zeus, must begin the song, but Pindar is the intermediary between her and the choir.
13 The Myrmidons are the first inhabitants of Aigina, and their name was thought to be connected with murmekes, ‘ants’, which, according to legend, were changed into men.
22–6 After introducing the theme of Herakles, Pindar leaves it. Its purpose is to set the right standard for heroic performance, but Herakles is not an Aiginetan; so Pindar moves to local heroes.
33–6 Peleus normally gets his spear from Cheiron; here he cuts it for himself. Normally, too, he does not take Iolkos without help from others. Pindar stresses his unique strength.
36–9 Telamon takes Troy in the first siege.
40–42 Pindar puts forward his doctrine that mere teaching will not make an athlete or a soldier or a poet; he must have an inborn gift.
43–63 A myth of Achilles, especially of his childhood, when he was taught by the Centaur Cheiron.
54 Other pupils of Cheiron are Jason and Asklapios.
65 The victor’s family claims descent from Zeus.
70 In Aigina there was a temple of Apollo used by his special interpreters.
70–75 There are three ages of man – youth, maturity, and old age. In each the four traditional virtues, wisdom, justice, reverence, and temperance, must be applied to the right conditions at the time.
76–80 In remarkable imagery Pindar indicates the sweetness and lightness of his song.
80 Pindar is like an eagle catching his prey – in catching his theme. The daws are his imitators who scavenge his leavings.
83 Kleio, later the Muse of history, is still a Muse of song.
Olympian X
For Hagesidamos of Western Lokroi, winner in the boys’ boxing
I
Read me the name of the Olympian victor,
Archestratos’ son –
Where, in my heart is it written?
I had forgotten I owe him
A sweet song. But, Muse,
And you also, Truth, daughter of Zeus,
[5] Keep off with uplifted hand
The lying reproach
That I have done wrong to a friend.
From far away the future
Has come upon me and made me ashamed
Of my deep debt.
Yet interest has power
To deliver me from wounding complaints.
[10] See how the flowing wave
Now drowns the rolling shingle
And how we shall carry out our contract
To his dear delight.
For Simplicity rules the city
Of the Lokrians in the West,
[15] And their care is for Kalliopa
And brazen Ares.
– Even prodigious Herakles
Was routed in battle with Kyknos –.
Let Hagesidamos,
Who has won in the boxing at Olympia,
Thank Ilas as Patroklos thanked Achilles.
[20] One born to prowess
May be whetted and stirred
To win huge glory
If a God be his helper.
II
Without labour few find joy,
A light upon life that makes up for all efforts.
The ordinances of Zeus have roused me
To sing of the grandest of Games,
Which by the ancient tomb of Pelops,
[25] With contests six in number, Herakles founded
When he slew Poseidon’s son, fine Kteatos,
And slew Eurytos, to exact
From violent Augeas,
Willing from an unwilling giver,
The wages for his serfdom.
[30] In bushes under Kleonai
He trapped and broke them on t
he road;
For his Tirynthian army,
When it sat in the vales of Elis,
Had been slaughtered before
By the insolent Moliones;
[35] The Epeians’ king, cheater of strangers,
Soon afterwards saw his rich land in stubborn flame,
And under strokes of iron
Into a deep pit of doom
His own city sinking.
[40] (There is no way to put aside
The struggle against the stronger.)
And he last of all, in his folly,
Met capture and escaped not precipitous death.
III
The strong son of Zeus drove the whole of his host
And all his booty to Pisa,
[45] And measured a holy place
For his mighty Father.
He fenced the Altis and marked it off
In a clean space, and the ground encircling it
He set for rest at supper,
In honour of the Ford of Alpheos
And the twelve Kings of the Gods.
[50] To Kronos’ Hill he gave a name; for before
It was nameless when Oinomaos ruled,
And drenched with many a snowstorm.
In this first birthday-rite
The Fates stood near at hand,
And he who alone proves the very truth,
[55] Time. In his forward march
He has revealed all clearly:
How Herakles portioned the booty, war’s gift,
Made sacrifice and founded
The fourth year’s feast
With the first Olympiad
And the winning of victories.
Who won the new crown
[60] With hands, feet or chariot,
Set in his thoughts a prayer for the struggle
And got it in deed?
IV
In the foot-race the best
[65] Was Oionos, Likymnios’ son, who ran
A straight stretch on his feet;
He came from Midea pressing his company.
In wrestling, Echemos brought honour to Tegea,
And Doryklos won the prize for boxing,
A dweller in Tiryns city.
In the four-horsed chariot
[70] Samos won, Halirrothios’ son
From Mantinea. With the javelin,
Phrastor hit the mark, and Nikeus,
Circling his hand with a stone,
Threw it far beyond all.
His fellow-fighters
Flashed into a loud uproar.
The evening was lit
