Epinician poetry

The celebration of sporting successes in Classical Sparta has often been denied, but a fragment belonging to an epinician ode composed by Simonides for a Spartan victor and several agonistic epigrams of the same period demonstrate that Spartans did not refrain from advertising their victories in poetic forms.

Come illustra analiticamente la recente raccolta di iscrizioni curata da alessandra manieri, i documenti epigrafici conservano memoria, per un ampio arco temporale che va almeno dal iV secolo a.C. sino alla tarda età imperiale, della vivace attività di agoni poetico-musicali in tutte le più importanti città della Beozia. 1 La maggior parte della documentazione risale al ii sec. a.C., nel momento che segnò l'avvicendamento, in Grecia, della potenza romana ai regni ellenistici. in questa fase, le competizioni musicali divennero occasione di promozione politica e celebrazione ufficiale dei conquistatori, per sancirne la potenza e la superiorità e, al tempo stesso, la magnanimità nei confronti delle popolazioni assoggettate. in generale, il quadro delle gare fu rinnovato e riorganizzato, e alcuni agoni furono istituiti ex novo. 2 in particolare, una nuova e ben documentata fase di vitalità per i concorsi beotici fu avviata da Silla nel periodo che, conquistata atene nel marzo dell'86 a.C., seguì al suo duro intervento militare a Cheronea e a orcomeno, per contenere le mire espansionistiche del re del Ponto mitridate Vi sulla Grecia e sull'asia minore. 3 i programmi dei concorsi sarebbero stati allora ampliati e al termine delle competizioni musicali sarebbe stata introdotta una esibizione di "epinici". Si tratta di una definizione singolare, inesemplata nelle altre sedi de-1 Gli Ptoia e i Soteria ad acrefia, i Basileia e i Trophoneia a Lebadea, gli Agrionia, i Charitesia e gli Homoloia a orcomeno, gli Amphiaraia a oropo, i Serapieia a tanagra, i Mouseia e gli Erotideia a tespie, gli Agronia, i Rhomaia e i Dionysia Heracleia a tebe. alcuni di essi erano concorsi misti perché includevano nel programma anche gare sportive. Si tratta, in particolare, dei Soteria, i Basileia, i Trophoneia, gli Amphiaraia, gli Erotideia, i Dionysia Heracleia.

The article investigates the uses to which the figures of the Muse(s) are put in the poetics of Pindar and Bacchylides, considered against the background of their earlier employments in elegiac and melic poetry. Based on a thorough examination of the evidence, it argues that the two poets pursue different strategies: whereas Bacchylides develops a poetic mythology of named Muses (particularly, Ourania), Pindar redeploys the single unnamed Muse of the earlier hexameter and choral traditions, envisioning her as the poet’s collaborator. Pindar may thus be seen to originate the notion of the Muse as a deity associated with poetic composition, as contrasted with her mnemonic-epistemic role in hexameter verse.

Scholars have often tried to trace precise parallels between myth and encomium in Bacchylides’ Ode 3, as the stories of pious Croesus seems to provide a mythic ἀνάλογον for pious Hiero. As a consequence, the divine rescue of Croesus is interpreted as an almost explicit promise of immortality to Hiero: the gods will save him too. However, the relationship between Croesus’ myth and Hiero’s life is far less mechanical: the myth is no doubt designed to highlight the virtue of piety, but the exceptional and ultimately super-human emphasis on the figure of Croesus ultimately suggests that his miraculous salvation cannot be taken as a paradigm for ordinary human beings - Croesus’ complaint against Apollo’s apparent ingratitude is in fact modelled on a specific type of ‘protest’ prayer that calls to mind Homer’s heroes. The following section of the song (gnome and myth of Admetus) function as a reminder: Hiero is a human being, and is not supposed to seek immortality. Rather, he can enjoy his piety and the everyday happiness it entails. The second myth, therefore, somehow corrects the first one, in that it promotes everyday piety as against (unattainable) immortality. Even this second option, however, proves misleading. Both the first and the second option, i.e. immortality and everyday piety, resurface in the arduous priamel that closes the song. The priamel, in fact, works as a praeteritio: neither immortality (the ‘gold’) nor the enjoyment of everyday piety (the euphrosyne) is a viable solution for human beings who, like Hiero, are confronted with the miseries of old age. The only available solution is to pursue glory, which consists in memorable deeds as sung in poetry. All in all, Bacchylides points to two options as a possible consolation for old Hiero, only to discard them in favour of (his own) poetry. Finally, Bacchylides presents his poetry as a form of ΧΑΡΙΣ that, reflects accurately the magnificence of Hiero’s deeds (ΚΑΛΩΝ is arguably the right reading at l. 96), thus fulfilling a sophisticated strategy designed to extol the art of the “Cean nightingale”.

Hellenistic Epinician

With the notable exception of Callimachus’ elegiac and iambic epinician experiments (Victoria Berenices, Victoria Sosibii, Iamb VIII), in the Hellenistic period the epigrammatic genre seems to be the true heir of the lyric victory ode, as clearly shown by the work of scholars such as Robert, Ebert and Moretti. The publication of P.Mil.Vogl. VIII 309 brought to us eightheen new agonistic epigrams, attributed to Podisippus; some others, mainly anonymous, are scattered through old and recently published epigram collections. Taking into consideration Callimachus’ elegiac poems and agonistic and dedicatory epigrams, I shall explore how the theme of victory (both athletic and military), which is at the core of the Hellenistic royal ideology, is presented in the Hellenistic epinician code, focusing in particular on the actualization of the archaic topos of the aggelia, and on the adaptation of the epinician kudos to royal women. I shall also discuss the relation between agonistic “epinician” epigrams, especially those in honor of Ptolemaic and Attalid dynasts, and the monumental representation of royal victory.

The problem of unity has plagued Pindaric criticism for generations and, although it has been a driving force in advancing the understanding of many aspects of the odes, it has also contributed to an excessive rationalization of its poetry by means of logical analysis that are inextricably bound to the literary form of the epinicians. Since I understand Pindar’s epinicians to be the entextualized script of an oral performance, I shall claim that the tools of traditional textual criticism will usually fall short of grasping the very unity after which they strive by forcing the odes to comply to a "centripetal" notion of unity (Heath, 1986). On the contrary, what I shall be proposing is that we move from a textual unity to a gestalt unity approach, which, as I shall try to show, is more akin to the dynamics of grasping the odes contents in the context of an oral delivery. By using the tools provided by the framework of Cognitive Sciences, I shall try to show that the architecture of Pindar’s epinicians invite such an approach, and that they are, in fact, designed to elicit a visual, rather than syntactical, parsing of the odes’ content in the audience.

Abstract: This introductory chapter outlines the rationale and scope of the book, whose aim is to open out appreciation of the significance of Aeginetan poetry, culture, and society as widely as possible, both within the immediate contexts and concerns of Aeginetan aristocrats, and through the history of fifth-century Greece. Main subjects for discussion are poetic articulations of local myth, economics, politics and administration, ritual and cult, art, and historiography. A detailed discussion of methodology and approaches is presented together with an overview of subsequent chapters.

The cultural and intellectual heritage of Western Greece-the coastal areas of Southern Italy and Sicily settled by Hellenes in the 8 th and 7 th centuries BCE-is sometimes overlooked in academic studies. Yet evidence suggests that poets, playwrights, philosophers, and other maverick intellectuals found fertile ground here for the growth of their ideas and the harvesting of their work. The goal of this series is to explore the distinctive heritage of Western Greece from a variety of disciplinary perspectives including art history, archaeology, classical literature, drama, epigraphy, history, philosophy, and religion.

Beginning with the criticism in antiquity scholars have commonly perceived Bacchylides “the Cean nightingale” and Pindar “the Theban eagle,” as two rival poets in epinician poetry with totally different styles. Dionysius of Halicarnassus is one of the earliest critics who explores this stylistic bifurcation clearly. Dionysius’ distinction between “austere” (austêra) and “polished” (glaphyra) forms of composition makes the identification of the prominent bifurcation between the styles of Bacchylides and Pindar possible. Defining this stylistic bifurcation accurately is only possible by scrutinizing the categories represented by the music in the archaic epoch, which is an integral part of epinician poetry. These musical categories clarify how the style chosen by the Archaic Greek poet is parallel to the ethical references of the performed music of epinician. In this paper which takes its point of departure from the above-mentioned stylistic bifurcation, I will argue that both poets have their “unique” expressions in stylistic contexts via a comparative study of some pieces of Bacchylides’ and Pindar’s victory odes. This work was supported by Scientific Research Project Coordination Unit of Istanbul University, project number: 13281.

Pindaros (MÖ 518-438), lirik şiirler arasında yapıtları en iyi şekilde korunarak günümüze kadar gelen Yunan şairdir. Bütün Zafer Şarkıları ise bu türün (epinikion) ulaşabildiğimiz en geniş külliyatını oluşturur. Thebailı soylu bir aileye mensup olan Pindaros, yaşadığı dönemde en zorlu rakipleri olan Keoslu Simeonides ve onun yeğeni Bakkhylides ile girdiği zorlu şiirsel rekabetle nam salmıştır. Şiirlerinde yoğun şekilde kullandığı dramatik öğelerin parlaklığı büyük hayranlık kazanmasına ve Horatius, Catullus gibi Latin şiirinin öncü şairleri tarafından model alınmasına yol açmıştır. Zafer şarkılarında başvurulan mitler takip edilebilecek bir niteliğe sahip olsa da kullanılan yoğun metaforik dil, şiirsel biçimi zorlayan üslup ve özdeyişlerin derinliği şarkılara nüfuz edilmesi için okuyucunun da çabasını gerektirir.

Ebat: 13.5 x 21 cm
Sayfa Sayısı: 312
ISBN: 978-975-08-3366-3
Fiyatı: 26 TL
Kâzım Taşkent Klasik Yapıtlar Serisi 92

In this thesis I shall investigate the implications of the consistent use Pindar and Bacchylides make of the term κῶμος to the occasion of the performance of the epinikia. I shall argue, from the perspective of Cognitive Linguistics and Poetics, that, through the analysis of the relevant passages in Greek literature from Homer to the V century drama, the term always implies some sort celebration, either mobile or not, and that it is never used to denote either song or chorus. Most importantly I shall argue that κῶμος implies a frame in an Idealized Cognitive Model for VICTORY CELEBRATION within which references to the victory ode must be understood. Based on this, I shall discuss the implications of these results and try to reexamine the assumption, held as unproblematic by the majority of critics, that the victory odes were always performed chorally on its première. Additionally I shall reassess the problems of identifying the 'persona loquens' in the poems and I shall propose that in most cases it never seems to refer to a chorus. Finally, I shall discuss some scenarios of transmission of the odes, proposing that writing needs not be assumed for the transmission of the text until a fairly late date and that a continuous tradition of oral reperformances must have played an essential role in the preservation of the text.

The essay focuses on the use of some rhetorical figures of the unsaid in
Pindar’s laudatory poetry. The figure of the ‘enigma’ is studied with special
attention. It turns out to be very appropriate in the difficult balance that the
poet must maintain between his economic agreement with the patron and
the ethical duty to respect the truth.

“Bakkhylides” İskenderiye Kütüphanesi’nin âlimleri tarafından antik Yunan lirik şiirinin dokuz büyük isminden biri kabul edilmiştir. Bu dokuz büyük şairin arasında yer alan Simonides’in yeğeni, Pindaros’unsa çağdaşıdır. “Epinikion” (atletik müsabakaların galiplerini övmek amacıyla yazılan “zafer şarkıları”) yazımındaki rakibi ve çağının en ünlü şairi Pindaros’un gösterişli üslubunun aksine, Bakkhylides’in şiirlerinin ayırt edici özelliği dilinin sadeliği ve akıcılığıdır. Elinizdeki kitap, Bakkhylides’in bütün “epinikion”larının ve “dithyrambos”larının (bağbozumu şenliklerinde okunan Dionysos ilahileri) yanı sıra diğer türlerdeki şiirlerini ve fragmanlarını bir araya getiriyor.

Ebat: 13.5 x 21 cm
Sayfa Sayısı: 216
ISBN: 978-975-08-3901-6
Fiyatı: 21 TL
Kâzım Taşkent Klasik Yapıtlar Serisi 95

This article seeks to examine the proemium (1-19) to Pindar's Olympian 7, so as to highlight the opening strategy of the epinician song and the poet's arrival to the celebration of the acclaimed victorious athlete, the boxer Diagoras of Rodes. The analysis focus on the bond between the world of gámos-the wedding-and the world of níkē-of the athletic victory built by means of the long initial simile (1-10) which prepares the announcement of Pindar's disembark-of his voice-in the island of his laudandus.

A norma del codice civile italiano, è vietata la riproduzione, totale o parziale (compresi estratti, ecc.), di questa pubblicazione in qualsiasi forma e versione (comprese bozze, ecc.), originale o derivata, e con qualsiasi mezzo a stampa o internet (compresi siti web personali e istituzionali, academia.edu, ecc.), elettronico, digitale, meccanico, per mezzo di fotocopie, pdf, microfilm, film, scanner o altro, senza il permesso scritto della casa editrice.

Como lo indica el título de este trabajo, la relación entre el vasallaje a la corona española y la presencia de un orgullo americano sirven como marco conceptual para analizar los Epinicios Gratulatorios al conde de Galve desde una perspectiva que toma en cuenta no solo la tradición encomiástica europea, sino que analiza la manera cómo estas composiciones poéticas son el producto de la interpretación/creación que los diferentes poetas hicieron de su específico contexto geográfico, histórico y cultural.
A modo general la investigación está dividida en tres partes. En la primera se mencionan de manera sucinta las dos principales tendencias de estudio sobre el barroco hispanoamericano. La segunda alude brevemente a la coincidencia cronológica entre el
gobierno de Gaspar de la Cerda, conde de Galve y virrey de Nueva España, y la llamada Guerra de la Liga de Augsburgo o Guerra de los Nueve Años. La tercera constituye el estudio de los Epinicios Gratulatorios propiamente dichos. A través de un análisis descriptivo de los mismos, se pone en evidencia la manera cómo estos encomian la figura de poder del conde de Galve por medio de un enaltecimiento al continente americano.

No presente artigo irei argumentar que Píndaro, ainda imerso em uma cultura oral, produzia canções compostas a partir do estatuto cognitivo de uma tradição de composição poética oral, a qual tinha como objetivo uma performance igualmente oral e pública e um contexto de recepção e disseminação futuros baseado em cenários de reperformances inseridos nos mais diversos contextos. Tentarei demonstrar, utilizando abordagens da Linguística e da Poética Cognitivas, que essas são conclusões dedutíveis a partir dos próprios textos dos epinícios que apontam, ademais para cenários de reperformance futuros que foram, ulteriormente, a principal fonte de preservação da letra das canções. Como meu uso da bibliografia citada irá demonstrar, o assunto já foi explorado por outros pesquisadores, ainda que seja relativamente recente na crítica pindárica. Acredito, no entanto, que a inovação não se dá apenas por novas descobertas, mas pelo constante diálogo com a crítica pretérita. Dessa forma, uma nova análise do diversos problemas e cenários discutidos na bibliografia citada podem certamente contribuir para uma recepção mais crítica desses estudos no Brasil.

ABSTRACT

In this paper I shall argue that Pindar, being still immersed in an oral culture, produced songs that were composed according to the mental dispositions of an oral tradition of song-making, which were aimed at an oral performance; moreover, that he had in mind a future context of oral transmission by means of successive reperformances of the original song. I shall try to demonstrate that this is deducible from the texts of the epinicians themselves. Within this framework I shall discuss the possible scenarios of reperformance that would help further the dissemination of the epinikia, arguing that they are not only plausible, but even likelier than an immediate written tradition. As my use of previous bibliography shows, this discussion is by no means new, although not very disseminated in the circles of Pindaric criticism. Notwithstanding, many works in recent years have been shifting towards the oralist approach to classical “texts”. What I intend, therefore, with this paper is to discuss such approaches from a new perspective, which is that of Cognitive Linguistics and Poetics, reviewing their conclusions, while trying to further a more critical reception of these studies in Brazil.

This paper aims at investigating the relationship between epinician odes and agonistic epigrams composed to celebrate the victories of Sicilian aristocrats. As is well known, Sicilian tyrants appreciated several forms of self-promotion and celebration, including the epinician song commissioned to a professional poet and the erection of a monument in a Panhellenic sanctuary, which normally also featured an inscribed epigram. For example, in 468 BC Hieron, when he gained his last grandiose victory at Olympia, commissioned Bacchylides the Epinician 3 and the sculptor Onatas a bronze monument with an inscribed epigram (17 Ebert)  to celebrate it; the runner Ergoteles of Himera commissioned Pindar Olympian 12 for his victory at Pytho in 470 BC and a statue with a four-line epigram for his last victory at Olympia in 464 BC. In both cases, I will examine the differences and the similarities between the language and the ideology of both poetic forms, in relationship with the expected audience / context of performance. More comparisons between Pindar’s Sicilian odes and other agonistic epigrams (e.g. Polyzalos’ dedication at Delphi) will contribute to elucidate the complex web of relations between the two contemporary and rival genres, in order to show the reciprocal influences.

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Pindar's Sicilian odes composed for Hieron and Chromius are embellished with various mythological narratives that are also encountered in early epic material. I suggest that Pindar not only localizes-to some extent-these originally Panhellenic mythological narratives in order to embed them in the foundation narratives that he constructs for the Sicilian victors but that the poet creates a complex interplay between epichoric and Panhellenic elements within the context of the Sicilian odes. In this way, Pindar creates for Hieron and his newly-founded city a mythical past and legitimizes his right to rule before the eyes of local and Panhellenic audiences.