Agesias, son of Sostratos, was a Syracusan of the noble family of the Iamidai, descendants of Iamos, son of Apollo. The Iamidai were hereditary prophets among the Dorians, hereditary diviners at the great altar of Zeus in Olympia. Early settlers of Italy and Sicily, they retained their connection with Arkadia. Our Agesias, a citizen of Syracuse, was also a citizen of Stymphalos. As a Syracusan he was an active partisan of Hieron, and after the fall of the tyrannis was put to death by the Syracusans. The composition of the ode cannot be earlier than Ol. 76, 1 (476 B.C.), nor later than Ol. 78, 1 (468 B.C.), the earliest and the latest Olympian celebrations that fall within the reign of Hieron. Ol. 77 (472 B.C.) is excluded, because Pindar was at that time in Sicily, and the poem was composed in Greece. Ol. 78, 1 is the date to which the ode is assigned by Böckh. Ζεὺς Αἰτναῖος (v. 96) would seem more appropriate after the founding of Aitna (Ol. 76). The arguments advanced by Leop. Schmidt in support of the same date, such as the character of vv. 58-63, which he regards as a feeble reflection of O. 1.71-85, and the confidential tone in which Hieron is spoken of at the close, do not seem to be cogent. The ode was probably sung at Stymphalos and repeated at Syracuse. One Aineas brought the poem from Thebes to Stymphalos, and directed the performance. We do not know whether he was an assistant of Pindar's or a local poet of the Iamid stock. The verses to which one always comes back in thinking over this poem are these (100, 101): ἀγαθαὶ δὲ πέλοντ᾽ ἐν χειμερίᾳ | νυκτὶ θοᾶς ἐκ ναὸς ἀπεσκίμφθαι δύ᾽ ἄγκυραι. In the second Olympian we have noticed a recurrent three; here there is clearly a recurrent two. Agesias, the hero of the poem, unites in his person Syracusan and Stymphalian. At Olympia he is victor in the games and steward of an oracle (vv. 4, 5). At Syracuse he is συνοικιστής of the city and beloved of the citizens (vv. 6, 7). He is prince and prophet, as Amphiaraos (v. 13) was warrior and prophet, and his victory must be celebrated at Pitana (v. 28), as it must be celebrated at Syracuse (v. 99). His charioteer, Phintis (v. 22), must speed to the banks of the Eurotas, and Pindar's leader, Aineas (v. 88), must conduct the festal song. Agesias's maternal stock was Arkadian; from thence came his prophetic blood — from Euadne, daughter of Poseidon (v. 29), a prophetic god; from Iamos (v. 43), whom Euadne bore to Apollo, a prophetic god. The myth of Iamos (vv. 29-70) shows the value of this double help — the result, a double treasure of prophecy. Prosperity and fame attend the Iamidai. Herakles helped Iamos at Olympia (v. 68); Hermes the Iamidai in Arkadia (v. 79). Thebes and Stymphalos are akin (v. 86), as Herakles, Boeotian hero, and Hermes, Arkadian god, unite to bless the Iamidai. So the song must praise Hera (v. 88), for Arkadia was the home of her virginity, and vindicate Boeotia, home of Herakles (v. 90); must remember Syracuse, and wish the victor a happy reception in one home as he comes from another home — as he comes from Arkadia to Syracuse (v. 99). He has two homes in joy — two anchors in storm. God bless this and that (τῶνδε κείνων τε κλυτὰν αἶσαν παρέχοι φιλέων, v. 102). Nor is the mention of the two anchors idle. May Amphitrite's lord speed Agesias's ship, and prosper the poet's song (v. 104). This is one of the most magnificent of Pindar's poems, full of color, if not so dazzling as the seventh Olympian. The myth of Iamos, the μάντις ancestor of a μάντις, is beautifully told. Profound moral there is none to me discernible. “He that hath gods on either side of his ancestry shall have the gods to right and left, of him for aye,” shows an aristocratic belief in blood (οὐδέ ποτ᾽ ἐκλείψειν γενεάν, v. 51). There is such a ganglion of personal and tribal relations involved in this piece that one is tempted to long historical and antiquarian disquisitions; but if we accept Pindar's statement as to the connection between Thebes and Arkadia, nothing more is necessary to the enjoyment of the ode. The rhythm is Doric (dactylo-epitrite). Of the five triads, the first contains a glorification of the victor, who is compared to Amphiaraos, also a prince and a prophet; the second takes us to Arkadia, and begins the story of Iamos, which is continued in the third and the fourth. The latter half of the fourth prepares the return to Syracuse, which forms the conclusion of the poem.
Strophe 1
χρυσέας: “Golden” for “gilded.” ὑποστάσαντες: O. 8.26: ὑπέστασε ... κίονα δαιμονίαν. θαλάμου: “House,” as O. 5.13.ὡς ὅτε: Without a verb, as P. 11.40; N. 9.16; I. 5 (6), 1. With ὡς ὅτε the verb is in the ind., and not in the Homeric subj. (N. 8.40); therefore supply πάγνυμεν, if anything. The ellipsis was hardly felt.
πάξομεν: On the mood, see O. 2.2. ἀρχομένου δ᾽ ἔργου, κτἑ.: A favorite quotation in modern as in ancient times. The genitive absolute, though not “pawing to get free,” is not used with perfect freedom in P. Hence ἀ. ἔ. is felt to depend on πρόσωπον.
εἰ δ᾽ εἴη, κτἑ.: The ideal conditional (O. 1.108） of a fair dream, too fair to come to pass, and yet it has come to pass. εἴη has no subject, no τις, as might be expected. So N. 9.46. μὲν ... τε: See O. 4.13.
βωμῷ ... μαντείῳ ταμίας: The dative often varies with the genitive so as to produce a chiastic or cross-wise stress, thus emphasizing each element alternately. Here the stress is on ταμίας, while in συνοικιστὴρ τᾶν κλεινᾶν Συρακοσσᾶν it is on Συρακοσσᾶν. Compare Hdt. 7, 5: “ἦν Ξέρξῃ μὲν ἀν εψιός, Δαρείου δ ὲ ἀδελφεῆς παῖς” . Cf. Isai. 3, 13: “ἑταίρα ἦν τῷ βουλομένῳ καὶ οὐ γυνὴ τοῦ ἡμετέρου θείου” . Cf.
μαντείῳ = μαντικῷ. ταμίας = διοικητής (Schol.). The Iamidai had the right of divining by fire.“ νῦν δ᾽ ἐπειδὴ στερρὸν ἤδη τοὐμὸν ἀντικνήμιον
καὶ παλαιῷ Λακρατίδῃ τὸ σκέλος βαρύνεται.
”
συνοικιστήρ: Of course only by hereditary right.
ἐπικύρσαις: Not with ἐν ἱμερταῖς ἀοιδαῖς, but with ἀφθόνων ἀστῶν. Cf. v. 74. Citizens are apt to show envy in such circumstances. Those who count three columns in the πρόθυρον forget Pindar's implicit way. There are four. A. is an Olympian victor, a ταμίας Διός, a συνοικιστήρ of Syracuse, and beloved of his people. The outside columns are personal, the inside are hereditary. ἀστῶν: Both Stymphalians and Syracusans.
Antistrophe 1
ἴστω ... ἔχων: N. 9.45: ἴστω λαχών. πεδίλῳ: O. 3.5. δαιμόνιον πόδ᾽ ἔχων: Cf. Aisch. Ag. 907: “τὸν σὸν πόδ᾽, ὦναξ, Ἰλίου πορθήτορα” . The Greeks drew largely on foot and footgear for their imagery, and yet Aristoph. laughs at χρόνου πόδα (Ran. 100). δ., “blessed of heaven.”Σωστράτου υἱός: Effective suspense. ἀκίνδυνοι ... ἀρ.: On the risk of the chariotrace, see So. El. 745 sqq.; also O. 5.16; P. 5.49, and Introd. to P. 6.
παρ᾽ ἀνδράσιν: “On land.” Hymn. Apoll. 142: νήσους τε καὶ ἀνέρας. N. 5.9: Αἴγιναν, τάν ποτ᾽ εὔανδρόν τε καὶ ναυσικλυτὰν θέσσαντο.
εἴ τι ποναθῇ: The position throws this clause up in opposition to ἀκίνδυνοι. The generic conditional in P. takes the pres. indic. (rarely pres. subj.) or the aor. subj.: ἐάν (ἤν, εἴ κε) does not occur. For the thought, see O. 11 (10), 4.
Ἀγησία, τὶν δέ: Cf. O. 1.36. τίν = σοί. ἑτοῖμος: Cf. P. 6.7: ἑτοῖμος ὕμνων θησαυρός.
ἀπὸ γλώσσας: He flung it off — “roundly,” “freely.” Ἄδραστος: Leader of the Argive host that came to help Polyneikes to his rights, P. 8.51, and elsewhere. Ἀμφιάρηον: Amphiaraos, noblest of the seven against Thebes. N. 9.24: ὁ δ᾽ Ἀμφιάρῃ σχίσσεν κεραυνῷ παμβίᾳ | Ζεὺς τὰν βαθύστερνον χθόνα, κρύψεν δ᾽ ἅμ᾽ ἵπποις. N. 10.8: γαῖα δ᾽ ἐν Θήβαις ὑπέδεκτο κεραυνωθεῖσα Διὸς βέλεσιν.
κατά: With ἔμαρψεν. φαιδίμας ἵππους: White, acc. to Philostr. Imagg. 1, 27. On the gender, see P. 2.8.
Epode 1
ἑπτὰ ... τελεσθέντων: The MS. τελεσθέντων is understood now as “consumed,” now as “composed” in the sense of Lat. compositus. “The corpses of seven pyres,” one pyre for each contingent, not for each leader, as Adrastos escaped death, Amphiaraos disappeared, Polyneikes was buried by his sister. Of the many conjectures, van Herwerden's τε δαισθέντων is the most convincing. Cf. N. 9.25: ἑπτὰ γὰρ δαίσαντο πυραὶ νεογυίους φῶτας, and Eur. Herakl. 914: “πυρὸς φλογὶ σῶμα δαισθείς.” ἐδεσθέντων is one of Bergk's experiments. Christ's text has ἐτασθέντων. The Scholiasts seem to have had before them τε λεχθέντων (so says Moriz Schmidt also), which they understand now as “counted” (καταριθμηθέντων), cf. Il. 3. 188: μετὰ τοῖσιν ἐλέχθην — now as συλλεχθέντων = συλλεγέντων — cf. Ar. Lys. 526; Plat. Legg. 6, 784 A. The former is the more likely. Bergk: τε νησθέντων, from νέω, “pile up.” Ταλαϊονίδας: Mouth-filling patronymic for Ταλαΐδας (Adrastos). Compare ὑπεριονίδης for ὑπερίῳν (Od. 12. 176), Ἰαπετιονίδης for Ἰαπετίδης (Hesiod, O. et D. 54).ὀφθαλμόν: O. 2.11.
ἀμφότερον: A clear Homeric reminiscence. Cf. Il. 3. 179: ἀμφότερον βασιλεύς τ᾽ ἀγαθὸς κρατερός τ᾽ αἰχμητής.
ἀνδρὶ κώμου δεσπότᾳ ... Συρακοσίῳ: The Schol. combines ἀ. Σ. and κ. δ., and this must stand despite the affinity of ἀνδρὶ for δεσπότᾳ.
φιλόνεικος: Bergk writes φιλόνικος from νίκη, as he thinks with Cobet, N. L. 691, that νεῖκος would require φιλονεικής. The passage is referred to by Isokr. 1, 31: ὁμιλητικὸς δ᾽ ἔσει μὴ δύσερις ὢν μηδὲ δυσάρεστος μηδὲ πρὸς πάντας φιλόνικος (so the Urbinas).
μέγαν ὅρκον ὀμόσσαις: P. is a challenging herald. O. 2.101: αὐδάσομαι ἐνόρκιον λόγον ἀλαθεῖ νόῳ.
μελίφθογγοι: So I. 2, 7: μελιφθόγγου Τερψιχόρας. ἐπιτρέψοντι = συμφωνήσουσιν (Gloss), “will approve,” “shall not say me nay” (E. Myers).
Strophe 2
Φίντις = Φίλτις. A Sicilian-Doric name. Compare Phintias in the story of Damon and Phintias (falsely Pythias). ἀλλά: With imper., as O. 1.17 and often. ζεῦξον: P. harnesses his poetic chariot only on grand occasions. O. 9.87; P. 10.65; I. 2, 2; 7 (8), 62. ἤδη: “Straight.” σθένος ἡμιόνων: Compare P. 2.12: σθένος ἵππειον. σθ. is not limited by P. to animals, Fr. II. 1, 4: σθένος Ἡρακλέος. Homer has Il. 13. 248: ς. Ἰδομενῆος, and 18, 486: σθένος Ὠρίωνος. Plato says in sport of Thrasymachos, Phaidr. 267 C.: τὸ τοῦ Χαλκηδονίου σθένος.ᾇ τάχος = ὡς τάχος. ὄφρα: P.'s favorite final particle. κελεύθῳ ἐν καθαρᾷ: For the path of poesy see N. 6.52: πρόσοδοι, 62: ὁδὸν ἁμαξιτόν, I. 2, 33: οὐδὲ προσάντης ἁ κέλευθος γίνεται, I. 3 (4), 19: μυρία πάντᾳ κέλευθος. καθ. “illumined.”
βάσομεν: ὄφρα, as a relative, may take the fut. (Il. 16. 243; Od. 4. 163; 17, 6), and P. has P. 11.9: ὄφρα ... κελαδήσετε, but the “short” subj. is more likely. See O. 1.7.
καὶ γένος: κ., “actually,” “at last,” shows impatience, like ἤδη. ἐξ ἀλλᾶν: “Above (all) others.” ἐξ as Il. 18. 431: ἐμοὶ ἐκ πασέων Κρονίδης Ζεὺς ἄλγε᾽ ἔθηκεν. ἀλλᾶν Dor. fem. pl. = ἄλλων (ἡμιόνων).
στεφάνους: The chariot was wreathed as well as the victor.
πρὸς Πιτάναν: The nymph of the town in Laconia — not the town itself.
Antistrophe 2
ἅ: The myth is often introduced by a relative or equivalent demonstrative, O. 1.25; 3, 13; 8, 31. μιχθεῖσα: P. much prefers the first aor. p. of this verb to the second. Κρονίῳ: See O. 2.13.ϝιόπλοκον: “Black - tressed.” So Bergk for ἰοπλόκαμον (unmetrical) of the best MSS. Cf. P. 1.1: ϝιοπλοκάμων | Μοισᾶν. Allusion to the Ἰ α μίδαι.
παρθενίαν ὠδῖνα: “Fruit of unwedded love.” κόλποις: “With the folds of her robe.” References to change of belting, in the circumstances, are common enough in all literature.
κυρίῳ ἐν μηνί: The decisive month. πέμποισα: See O. 2.23. ἀμφιπόλους: As ἀ. is uniformly fem. in Homer, it may be considered fem. here.
πορσαίνειν δόμεν: So P. 3.45: πόρε Κενταύρῳ διδάξαι, and P. 4.115: τράφειν Χείρωνι δῶκαν. Εἰλατίδᾳ: This son of Elatos was Aipytos, v. 36.
Φαισάνᾳ: In southern Arkadia, on the upper Alpheios. οἰκεῖν: Epexegetic inf.
ὑπ᾽ Ἀπόλλωνι: Compare N. 1.68: βελέων ὑπὸ ῥιπαῖσι, Fr. X. 3, 3: ὑπὸ ζεύγλαις ἀφύκτοις, and esp. I. 7, 45: λύοι κεν χαλινὸν ὑφ᾽ ἥρωϊ παρθενίας.
Epode 2
οὐδ᾽ ἔλαθε ... κλέπτοισα: The aor. ἔλαθε would more naturally take the aor. part., but the neg. is killed by the neg. (οὐκ ἔλαθεν = φανερὰ ἦν). Cf. Il. 17. 676. κλ., “hiding.”ὀξείᾳ μελέτᾳ: As with a bit (ὀξυτέρῳ χαλινῷ, Soph.).
περ᾽: Allowed in P. for περί.
φοινικόκροκον: The passage is characteristically full of color. φ., “crimson.” καταθηκαμένα: P. gives in detail for the daughter what he had only hinted at for the mother.
κάλπιδα: As in Od. 7. 20: παρθενικῇ ἐικυῖα νεήνιδι κάλπιν ἐχούσῃ. λόχμας ὑπὸ κυανέας: The genitive with the notion of overarching. Mommsen reads with A λόχμαις ὑπὸ κυανέαις. For genitive, compare O. 2.91; 13, 111. For λόχμα, P. 4.244: κεῖτο γὰρ λόχμᾳ. κυανέας: The colors are contrasted, dark blue with yellow, cold with warm.
τίκτε = τέξεσθαι ἔμελλε. The imperf. of this verb is in very common use. Sometimes “she was (a) mother” (v. 85), sometimes “she had to bear.” θεόφρονα: Fit word for a future prophet, “upon whom was the spirit of God.” Χρυσοκόμας: O. 7.32. Compare P. 2.16: χρυσοχαῖτα.
Ἐλείθυιαν: Cf. N. 7.1: Ἐλείθυια πάρεδρε Μοιρᾶν βαθυφρόνων. O. 1.26, Κλωθώ is the πάρεδρος of Ἐλείθυια. Μοίρας: P. speaks of Κλωθὼ κασιγνήτας τε, I. 5 (6), 17, and mentions Λάχεσις at the λάχος of Rhodes (O. 7.64), but nowhere calls Ἄτροπος by name.
Strophe 3
ὠδῖνος ... ἐρατᾶς: An oxymoron, like “sweet sorrow.” Compare N. 1.36: σπλάγχνων ὕπο ματέρος αὐτίκα θαητὰν ἐς αἴγλαν παῖς Διὸς | ὠδῖνα φεύγων διδύμῳ σὺν κασιγνήτῳ μόλεν.αὐτίκα: Effective position. The favorites of the gods are sped in childbirth. κνιζομένα: On the savagery of the primipara, see Plat. Theaitet. 151 C: “μὴ ἀγρίαινε ὥσπερ αἱ πρωτοτόκοι περὶ τὰ παιδία” . Fennell, “though sore distressed.”
λεῖπε: The imperf. denotes reluctance, “had to leave,” “felt that she had to leave.” δύο ... δράκοντες: Two also in Eur. Ion, 23. The serpent is notoriously mantic and Apollinic, and occurs everywhere in the history of Greek religion. The δράκοντες are children of Gaia. Notice the rarity of dual nouns in P. γλαυκῶπες: P. 4.249: γλαυκῶπα ποικιλόνωτον ὄφιν. The basilisk eye is proverbial.
ἐθρέψαντο: The affectionate middle, P. 9.20. 95. ἀμεμφεῖ | ἰῷ: An oxymoron contrast to the natural ἰός of the δράκοντες. The honey, which is also mantic, was a miraculous exudation of the serpent's fangs, and so μελισσᾶν is = μελισσαίῳ. ἰῷ is another play on Ἰαμίδαι.
καδόμενοι: As if they were human.
πετραέσσας ... Πυθῶνος: So. O.R. 463: ἁ θεσπιέπεια Δελφὶς πέτρα. ἐλαύνων: “Hasting.”
τὸν ... τέκοι: The opt. for the ind. in Homer is virtually confined to the interrogative sentence. This Pindaric experiment with the relative is due to the interrogative character of εἴρετο, and has few parallels in classic Greek. So. O.R. 1245: “ καλεῖ τὸν Λάιον
μνήμην παλαιῶν σπερμάτων ἔχουσ᾽ ὑφ᾽ ὧν
θάνοι μὲν αὐτός, τὴν δὲ τίκτουσαν λίποι
”. The examples mainly in Herodotos. γεγάκειν: A Doric perfect, such as we find most frequently in the Sicilian dialect. τετελευτακούσας occurs in a Delphic inscription (Curtius).
Antistrophe 3
περὶ θνατῶν: As in Od. 1. 66: ὃς περὶ μὲν νόον ἐστὶ βροτῶν, περὶ δ᾽ ἱρὰ θεοῖσιν | ἀθανάτοισιν ἔδωκε. Bergk reads πέρι with most of the codices.μάνυε: Specialized in prose. Here of prophetic revelations.
εὔχοντο: “Vowed,” “declared.” ἀλλὰ ... γάρ: “But (in vain) for.” See O. 1.55.
σχοίνῳ: So Odysseus, Od. 5. 463: σχοίνῳ ὑπεκλίνθη. ἀπειράτῳ: Bergk writes ἀπειρίτῳ (as Od. 10. 195), “limitless.” The quantity ἀπειρα?́τῳ, “unexplored,” is, to say the least, very problematic (ἀπείρητος, Hom.), but ἀπείρα^τος might be to πεῖρας as πέρατος is to πέρας. “Boundless brake.”
ἴων: The colors assigned to the violet here seem to show that the pansy is meant(viola tricolor), the yellow eye of the violet being too small for the prominence of ξανθαῖσι. ἴον means also “gillyflower.” παμπορφύροις: “Deep purple.” βεβρεγμένος: “Steeped.”
τό: “Therefore.” σῶμα: In Homer only of the dead body. κατεφάμιξεν: She dedicated him to be called. Her calling was a dedication; the nomen was an omen, as often. χρόνῳ σύμπαντι: “For all time,” where ἐς πάντα χρόνον would be coarser, and ἐν παντὶ χρόνῳ would make us lose the intent.
Epode 3
τοῦτ᾽ ὄνυμα: Iamos χρυσοστεφάνοιο ... Ἥβας: So P. 9.118: χρυσοστεφάνου δέ ϝοι Ἥβας | καρπὸν ἀνθήσαντ᾽ ἀποδρέψαι | ἔθελον. A consecrated epithet, Hes. Theog. 17: Ἥβην τε χρυσοστέφανον καλήν τε Διώνην.Ἀλφεῷ μέσσῳ: Dat. of approach. The god of the sea is also god of the river. Besides, Alpheios runs straight to the main. “Mid-Alpheios” (Schol.). Others, “into the middle of the Alpheios.” εὐρυβίαν: P. 2.12.
πρόγονον: v. 29. σκοπόν: Compare P. 3.27: οὐδ᾽ ἔλαθε σκοπόν. θεοδμάτας: Here in its full sense. See O. 3.7.
λαοτρόφον τιμάν: The honor of a ποιμὴν λαῶν. ἑᾷ κεφαλᾷ: Cf. O. 7.67: ἑᾷ κεφαλᾷ ... γέρας.
νυκτὸς ὑπαίθριος: Compare the scene, O. 1.71. ἀρτιεπής: “Clear speaking.” So I. 4 (5), 46. Compare ἀρτίπους, ἀρτίστομος. Not Λοξίας, the riddlesome, this time.
μετάλλασεν: The voice sought him in the dark and (when it found him) said. The commentators have made much difficulty about the highly poetical expression.
πάγκοινον ἐς χώραν: Compare O. 3.17: Διὸς αἴτει πανδόκῳ ἄλσει. π., a prophecy rather than a prolepsis in the usual sense of that word. φάμας ὄπισθεν: “In the track of my voice.”
Strophe 4
ἀλίβατον: An Homeric word (ἠλίβατος) of uncertain meaning. “Steep” might answer here, “brambly” (Goebel) would not. εὐδείελον Κρόνιον (O. 1.111) does not help us.τόκα = τότε.
θρασυμάχανος: Cf. N. 4.62: θρασυμαχάνων τε λεόντων, which shows the survival of the etymological meaning of μηχανή, “might,” “power.”
θάλος: So O. 2.49: Ἀδραστιδᾶν θάλος ἀρωγὸν δόμοις. Ἀλκαϊδᾶν: From Ἀλκαῖος, the father of Amphitryon. We are more familiar with the form Alcides, Ἀλκείδης.
ἐπ᾽ ἀκροτάτῳ βωμῷ: The altar was built of the ashes of the sacrifices, and consisted of two parts; on the upper and lesser the thighs of the victims were burned, and the divination performed, Paus. 5, 13, 9. τότ᾽ αὖ: The contrast to τόκα μέν is put characteristically at the end, not at the beginning of the δέ clause. κέλευσεν: A shift of construction, instead of leaving θέσθαι in apposition with θησαυρόν.
Antistrophe 4
ἐξ οὗ: “Since when,” not a part of the promise. Supply ἐστί as usual, “has been and is.” Some have no stop at Ἰαμιδᾶν, and make γένος depend on ἕσπετο, a rare accusative, on the strength of N. 10.37.τιμῶντες: “Prizing.”
ἐς φανερὰν ὁδόν: Compare v. 23: κελεύθῳ ... καθαρᾷ, and contrast the picture of home-sneaking youths, P. 8.87: κατὰ λαύρας δ᾽ ἐχθρῶν ἀπάοροι πτώσσοντι.
χρῆμ᾽ ἕκαστον: Each action is a proof (thereof). So χρῆμ᾽ ἕκαστον, of achievements, O. 9.112. Others: Action proveth each man. μῶμος: Cf. fr. XI. 42: ποτὶ μῶμον ἔπαινος κίρναται. Blame and praise are inseparable. ἐξ: Of the source. κρέμαται = ἐπικρέμαται (Schol.).
περὶ δωδέκατον δρέμον: See O. 3.33.
ποτιστάξῃ ... μορφάν: Victory transfigures. So the Schol.: οἱ νικῶντες δοκοῦσιν εὐειδεῖς εἶναι. No one who has seen can forget the light of battle even on vulgar faces, and everybody notices the beauty of homely brides. As Iamos is steeped in violet light (v. 55), so Agesias has beauty distilled upon him. ποτιστάξῃ with Bergk for ποτιστάζει. For the generic subj. (without ἄν), see O. 3.13: ᾧ τινι ... βάλῃ.
ὑπὸ Κυλλάνας ὄρους: So Christ, after the Schol., for ὅροις. The genitive in O. 13.111: ταί θ᾽ ὑπ᾽ Αἴτνας ὑψιλόφου καλλίπλουτοι πόλιες. μάτρωες ἄνδρες: The double lineage is insisted on. The maternal stock is one of the two anchors, v. 100.
Epode 4
ἐδώρησαν: The aor. act. occurs also Hes. O. et D. 82. θεῶν κάρυκα: Hermes is often Cyllenius. Od. 24, 1: “Ἑρμῆς δὲ ψυχὰς Κυλλήνιος ἐξεκαλεῖτο.” λιταῖς = λιτανευτικαῖς (Schol.). “Supplicatory.” Compare P. 4.217.ἀγῶνας ἔχει μοῖράν τ᾽ ἀέθλων: On ἐναγώνιος Ἑρμᾶς see P. 2.10; for ἀέθλων ... μοῖρα, I. 3 (4), 10.
εὐάνορα: Applied to the Peloponnesos, O. 1.24; to the Lokrians, O. 10 (11), 109; to Argos, N. 10.36; to the sturdy Acharnians, N. 2.17.
δόξαν ... πνοαϊς: One of the harshest combinations in P., at least to our feeling, but the tongue is freely handled in Greek. It is a bow, I. 4 (5), 47: γλῶσσά μοι τοξεύματ᾽ ἔχει. It is a dart, N. 7.71: ἄκονθ᾽ ὧτε χαλκοπάρᾳον (compare the use of γλωχίν, So. Tr. 681). Being a dart, it can be hammered, P. 1.86: χάλκευε γλῶσσαν, or sharpened, as here. The trainer is a Ναξία ἀκόνα, I. 5 (6), 73, and the poet's tongue is to be edged as the spirit of athletes is edged, O. 10 (11), 22. The word λιγυρᾶς is not used in a bad sense; the Greeks liked piercing sounds, and καλλιρόοισι πνοαῖς shows that in this case, at any rate, the sound of the whetstone was the voice of the Muses. The shrill whetstone that P. feels on his tongue accosts him with sweet breathings, and with a welcome message. γλώσσᾳ: We want the dative and accept the hiatus, as O. 3.30: Ὀρθωσίᾳ ἔγραψεν.
προσέρπει: So with Mommsen and the best MSS. The inferior MSS. have προσέλκει, “draws to,” with ἐθέλοντα as an oxymoron, “which to harmonious breath constraineth me nothing loth” (Myers). We should expect rather some such word as προσείλει (προσειλεῖ), “forces.” καλλιρόοισι πνοαῖς: If προσέλκει is read, κ. π. is the dat. of approach.
ματρομάτωρ ἐμὰ, κτἑ.: Metope, daughter of Ladon, and nymph of a body of water near Stymphalos, was the mother of Thebe by Asopos.
Strophe 5
πλάξιππον Θήβαν: Hes. Scut. 24: Βοιωτοὶ πλήξιπποι. ἔτικτεν: See v. 41. P. 9.18: ὅν ποτε ... Κρείοισ᾽ ἔτικτεν. ἐρατεινὸν ὕδωρ: Much stress is laid everywhere on the waters of Thebes. Compare P. 9.94: κωφὸς ἀνήρ τις, ὃς ... μηδὲ Διρκαίων ὑδάτων ἀὲ μέμναται.πίομαι: A pres. form used everywhere as a fut. except here, where Curtius (Gr. Verb. II^{1}. 290) considers it to have a pres. force.
Αἰνέα: Aineas was P.'s χοροδιδάσκαλος, and was to him what Phintis was to Agesias. It is supposed that Aineas was a Stymphalian relative of Agesias, and a local poet — the proper man for the performance of an ode intended to be sung at Stymphalos. The task Ἥραν Παρθενίαν κελαδῆσαι was to be the work of Aineas himself, to be followed by P.'s ode, which Aineas was to produce, and to find out by its effect whether P. was open to the old sneer against Boeotians. Aineas is a man whom he can trust with the execution of a commission which should silence the cavillers in Stymphalos. Ἥραν Παρθενίαν: A Stymphalian goddess. Hera had three temples there, and three names, παῖς (παρθένος), τελεία, χήρα, Paus. 8, 22, 2.
ἀρχαῖον ὄνειδος ... Βοιωτίαν ὗν: Compare fr. IV. 9: ἦν ὅτε σύας τὸ Βοιώτιον ἔθνος ἔνεπον. The Ὕαντες were old inhabitants of Boeotia. The moral character of the swine was not exactly the same among the Greeks as it is among us and the Semites. Compare Phokyl. 3, 5: ἡ δὲ συὸς βλοσυρῆς οὔτ᾽ ἂν κακὴ οὐδὲ μὲν ἐσθλή. ἀλαθέσιν | λόγοις = ταῖς ἀληθείαις: “In very truth” (after an honest calculation).
φεύγομεν = perf. ἄγγελος ὀρθός: Of the words. He is faithful.
ἠυκόμων σκυτάλα Μοισᾶν: Of the musical and orchestic part. He is retentive. γλυκὺς κρατήρ: Shifting of the metaphor. He adds a charm of his own. See Introductory Essay, p. xli.
Antistrophe 5
εἰπόν: So the best editors with Ailios Dionysios. Ὀρτυγίας: Sacred to Artemis, an Arkadian goddess.φοινικόπεζαν: So called with reference to the color of the ripening grain
Δάματρα: Hieron was an hereditary priest of Demeter and Persephone, who belonged to the Triopian deities, as did Apollo (Hdt. 1, 144), and Demeter and Persephone were much worshipped in Arkadia. λευκίππου: So, especially, when she returns in the spring.
Ζηνὸς Αἰτναίου: Cf. N. 1.6: Ζηνὸς Αἰτναίου χάριν. Aitna was an especial pet of Hieron, who is called Αἰτναῖος in the title of P. 1, Αἰτναῖος ξένος P. 3.69.
λύραι μολπαί τε: P. composed in his honor three Pythians, one Olympian, and fragments of a skolion and a hyporchema remain. γινώσκοντι: So O. 7.83: ὁ ἐν Ἄργει χαλκὸς ἔγνω νιν. θράσσοι = ταράσσοι: So for θραύσοι, with the Schol., Böckh. The fut. opt. cannot be defended. Bergk cites So. O.R. 1274, where ὀψοίαθ᾽ οὐ γνωσοίατο are in oratio obliqua, and represent fut. ind. We should have to read θραύσαι with Hermann, or θραύοι with van Herwerden.
Epode 5
οἴκοθεν οἴκαδ᾽: With a sweet security of transfer (compare Aus Gottes Hand in Gottes Hand). So also O. 7.3: δωρήσεται ... οἴκοθεν οἴκαδε, and, for the opposite, see O. 3.44.ματέρ᾽ Ἀρκαδίας: Stymphalos. Cf. O. 9.22: κλυτὰν Λοκρῶν ἐπαείροντι ματέρ᾽ ἀγλαόδενδρον. The metropolis is not necessarily the oldest town. εὐμήλοιο: Heyne reads εὐμάλοιο. See O. 1.12.
δύ᾽ ἄγκυραι: On either side of the prow (Paley). Starboard and port, not fore and aft. Proverbial. The two homes, with the double line of descent.
τῶνδε: Stymphalians. κείνων τε: Syracusans.
δέσποτα ποντόμεδον: Return to Poseldon, suggested by the ship. With ποντόμεδο_ν, compare P. 3.6. εὐθὺν δέ: On δέ after the voc., see O. 1.36.
δίδοι = δίδου. χρυσαλακάτοιο: “Gold-distaff” is a poetic way of sexing the sea (Böckh).
Ἀμφιτρίτας: Amphitrite has, as her special province, the waves (Od. 3. 91) and the great fishes, κήτεα, Od. 5. 422, and 12, 97. ὕμνων ... ἄνθος: Cf. O. 9.52: ἄνθεα δ᾽ ὕμνων | νεωτέρων.
