Pindar Victory Odes Olympians 2, 7 and 11 Nemean 4 Isthmians 3, 4 and 7 [Paperback]

A presentation by Professor Willcock of seven of Pindar's extant poems celebrating the victories of athletes.The Greek lyric poet Pindar is renowned for poems celebrating athletic victories in the great games of Olympia, Delphi, Corinth and Nemea. Seven extant odes are analyzed with the aid of a commentary that progresses by level of difficulty and pays critical attention to the conventions of the victory ode.The Greek lyric poet Pindar is renowned for poems celebrating athletic victories in the great games of Olympia, Delphi, Corinth and Nemea. Seven extant odes are analyzed with the aid of a commentary that progresses by level of difficulty and pays critical attention to the conventions of the victory ode.The Greek lyric poet Pindar is renowned for his poems celebrating the victories of athletes in the great games of Greece at Olympia, Delphi (the Pythian Games), Corinth (the Isthmian Games) and Nemea. Pindar's victory odes have the reputation of being complex and allusive in their language and reference. In this much-needed commentary on seven of the extant odes, Professor Willcock aims to open up Pindar's poetry to a wider readership by starting with a short and straightforward poem and progressing by level of difficulty to one of the greatest. The book begins with an introduction that includes sections on Pindar's life and on his thought, language and style, but that pays particular attention to the genre of the victory ode and its conventions.Introduction; 1. Greek lyric poetry; 2. Pindar's life and works; 3. The games; 4. The victors; 5. The genre; 6. Pindar's thought; 7. Pindar's style; 8. Pindar's language; 9. Metrical form; 10. The text and scholia; Pindar: Victory Odes: The Eleventh Olympian; The Seventh Isthmian; The Fourth Isthmian; The Third Isthmian; The Fourth Nemean; The Seventh Olympian; The Second Olympian; Commentary; Appendices; Bibliography; Indexes.