Pindar's ''First Pythian Ode'' is an

ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...

epinicion praising Hiero of Syracuse for a victory in the

Pythian Games The Pythian Games ( grc-gre, Πύθια;) were one of the four Panhellenic Games of Ancient Greece. They were held in honour of Apollo at his sanctuary at Delphi every four years, two years after the Olympic Games, and between each Nemean and ...

. The poem's occasion is Hiero's victory in the chariot race of 470 BC, corresponding to the foundation of the city of

Aetna Aetna Inc. () is an American managed health care company that sells traditional and consumer directed health care insurance and related services, such as medical, pharmaceutical, dental, behavioral health, long-term care, and disability plans ...

which is also praised by the poet.

Hiero of Syracuse

Hiero, tyrant of

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States * Syracuse, New York ** East Syracuse, New York ** North Syracuse, New York * Syracuse, Indiana *Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, M ...

, had been the recipient of

Pindar's First Olympian Ode The Greek lyric poet Pindar composed odes to celebrate victories at all four Panhellenic Games. Of his fourteen ''Olympian Odes'', glorifying victors at the Ancient Olympic Games The ancient Olympic Games (Ὀλυμπιακοὶ ἀγῶν� ...

in 476 BC. His victory in the Pythian games comes in the wake of a number of significant military accomplishments: his defeat of the

Carthaginians The Punic people, or western Phoenicians, were a Semitic people in the Western Mediterranean who migrated from Tyre, Phoenicia to North Africa during the Early Iron Age. In modern scholarship, the term ''Punic'' – the Latin equivalent of the ...

at the Battle of Himera and of the

Etruscans The Etruscan civilization () was developed by a people of Etruria in ancient Italy with a common language and culture who formed a federation of city-states. After conquering adjacent lands, its territory covered, at its greatest extent, roug ...

in the naval

Battle of Cumae The Battle of Cumae is the name given to at least two battles between Cumae and the Etruscans: * In 524 BC an invading army of Umbrians, Daunians, Etruscans, and others were defeated by the Greeks of Cumae. * The naval battle in 474 BC was be ...

. Both events are alluded to in the poem. Special attention, however, is afforded to Hiero's foundation of the city of Aetna. He had founded the settlement near

Mount Etna Mount Etna, or simply Etna ( it, Etna or ; scn, Muncibbeḍḍu or ; la, Aetna; grc, Αἴτνα and ), is an active stratovolcano on the east coast of Sicily, Italy, in the Metropolitan City of Catania, between the cities of Messina a ...

for his son

Deinomenes the Younger Deinomenes was the father of Hieron I, Gelo (or Gelon), Thrasyboulos, and Polyzelos. The historian Herodotus writes that his ancestors came from the island of Telos in the Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek: Αιγαίο � ...

to rule and proclaimed himself one of its citizens upon winning the chariot race at

Delphi Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), in ancient times was a sacred precinct that served as the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient classical world. The oracl ...

Typhon

Most of Pindar's victory odes contain a mythical narrative as part of their encomiastic strategy. ''Pythian'' 1 features the story of

Typhon Typhon (; grc, Τυφῶν, Typhôn, ), also Typhoeus (; grc, Τυφωεύς, Typhōeús, label=none), Typhaon ( grc, Τυφάων, Typháōn, label=none) or Typhos ( grc, Τυφώς, Typhṓs, label=none), was a monstrous serpentine giant an ...

, a mythical giant who challenged Zeus' primacy and was consequently buried beneath Mount Etna. The poem envisions his imprisonment as the cause for a

volcanic eruption Several types of volcanic eruptions—during which lava, tephra (ash, lapilli, volcanic bombs and volcanic blocks), and assorted gases are expelled from a volcanic vent or fissure—have been distinguished by volcanologists. These are ...

of Etna, which it then goes on to describe. The eruption constitutes an elaborate

ecphrasis The word ekphrasis, or ecphrasis, comes from the Greek for the written description of a work of art produced as a rhetorical or literary exercise, often used in the adjectival form ekphrastic. It is a vivid, often dramatic, verbal descrip ...

and has been considered by critics to be central to the poem's interpretation.Fearn (2017) 184–9.

References

{{reflist, 20em

Works Cited

*Fearn, D. (2017) ''Pindar's Eyes'' (Oxford) *Nisetich, F. (1980) ''Pindar's Victory Songs'' (Baltimore) *Race, W. (1997) ''Pindar:'' Olympian Odes. Pythian Odes (Cambridge, MA) Panhellenic Games Ancient Olympic Games Ancient Greek poems