A literary study of Pindar's fourth and fifth Pythian odes

Pindar;Pindar--Criticism and interpretation

Longley-Cook, Isobel A. ; Carey, Christopher ; Carey, Christopher

University:The University of St Andrews

Department:Classics (School of)

关键词: Pindar;    Pindar--Criticism and interpretation;   

Others  :  https://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/10023/2644/IALongley-CookPhDThesis.pdf?sequence=3&isAllowed=y

来源: DR-NTU

【 摘 要 】

Pythian 4 is Pindar's grandest ode. It was commissioned alongwith Pythian 5 to celebrate the chariot victory at Delphi of Arcesilas IV ofCyrene. The lengthy myth of Pythian 4 narrates the tale of Jason and theArgonauts, long established in the Greek mythic tradition. Pindar'streatment of this tradition to create his myth is examined. It reveals muchabout his aims in writing the ode, in particular in the characterisation ofhis hero, Jason, and his opponent, Pelias. The poem's structure and thenarrative technique employed in the myth are also examined. Aremarkable feature of Pythian 4 is its epic flavour. Analysis of Pindar'sproduction of this effect reveals many different devices which wouldremind his audience of epic, not least a singular concentration of epiclanguage in the ode. The epilogue of Pythian 4 refers to the contemporarypolitical situation in Cyrene. The poet's presentation and use of thismaterial is assessed in the light of his treatment of contemporaryallusions elsewhere in the odes.The complex relationship between the two odes for Arcesilas isconsidered in the light of other double commissions. Pythian 4 contains anunusual plea for an exile, Damophilus. He may have paid for the ode. Theunusual features of Pythian 5 are examined: an extraordinary tribute toArcesilas' charioteer, Carrhotus; vivid and numerous details of thetopography of Cyrene and details of religious cult practice there. Pythian 5also raises the question of the identity of the first person in Pindar. Thepoet's treatment of Cyrenean history, especially the figure of Battus, thevictor's ancestor, who features in the myths of both odes, is alsoconsidered.