Olympian

Pindar

Pindar. Arnson Svarlien, Diane, translator. Created for the Perseus Project, 1990.

  1. and strangers came to him from Argos and Thebes, from Arcadia and Pisa, But among the settlers he chiefly honored the son of Actor
  2. and Aegina, Menoetius, whose son went with the Atreidae to the plain of Teuthras, and stood alone beside Achilles, when Telephus turned to flight the mighty Danaans, and attacked their ships beside the sea, to reveal to a man of understanding
  3. the powerful mind of Patroclus. From that time forward, the son of Thetis exhorted him in deadly war
  4. never to post himself far from his own man-subduing spear.
  5. May I be a suitable finder of words as I move onward in the Muses’ chariot; may boldness and all-embracing power attend me. Because of his friendship with my people and his excellence, I went to honor the Isthmian crowning of Lampromachus, when both he and Epharmostus were victors
  6. on a single day. And then there were two other joyous victories at the gates of Corinth, and others won by Epharmostus in the vale of Nemea ; and at Argos he won glory in a contest of men, and as a boy at Athens, And at Marathon, when he was barred from competing with the beardless youths,
  7. how he endured the contest for silver cups among the older men! Having subdued those men by the trick of quickly shifting balance without falling, with what a roar of applause did he pass through the ring, in his prime, and handsome, and having accomplished the finest deeds.
  8. Again, among the Parrhasian people he was marvellous to look at, at the festival of Lycaean Zeus, and when at Pellana he carried off as his prize a warm remedy against chilly winds. The tomb of Iolaus bears witness for him, and also Eleusis by the sea, for his splendid achievements.
  9. That which is inborn is always the best; but many men strive to win glory with excellence that comes from training. Anything in which a god has no part is none the worse for being quelled in silence. For some roads
  10. lead farther than others, and a single occupation will not nourish us all. The paths to skill are steep; but, while offering this prize of song, boldly shout aloud
  11. that this man, by the blessing of the gods, was born with deftness of hand and litheness of limb, and with valor in his eyes; and at the banquet of Aias son of Oileus he laid his victorious garland on the altar.
  1. Read me the name of the Olympic victor, the son of Archestratus, where it has been written in my mind. For I owed him a sweet song, and I have forgotten. But come, Muse, you and the daughter of Zeus, unforgetting Truth: with the hand that puts things right,
  2. keep from me the blame for lying, for wronging my friend.
  3. Approaching from far away, the future has arrived and made me ashamed of my deep debt. Still, payment with interest has a way of dissolving the bitter reproach of men.
  4. Now, just as the flowing wave overwhelms the rolling pebble, so shall I pay my account in full, in gratitude and friendship.
  5. For unswerving Exactitude rules the city of the Western Locrians, and Calliope is important to them, and bronze-armored Ares.
  6. Battle with Cycnus set back even Heracles, strong and violent; let Hagesidamus, victorious as a boxer at Olympia, offer thanks to Ilas, just as Patroclus did to Achilles.
  7. With the help of a god, one man can sharpen another who is born for excellence, and encourage him to tremendous achievement.
  8. Without toil only a few have attained joy, a light of life above all labors. The laws of Zeus urge me to sing of that extraordinary contest-place which Heracles founded by the ancient tomb of Pelops
  9. with its six altars, after he killed Cteatus, the flawless son of Poseidon