Nemean XI
O Hestia, child of Rhea, who hast city-halls in ward,Sister of Zeus most high and Hera throned beside her lord,To thy bower welcome Aristagoras with gracious mien;His feres to approach thy gleaming sceptre welcome graciously,Who keep in safety Tenedos the while they honour thee.
Thee oft as chief of Goddesses with spilt wine reverence they,And oft with reek of sacrifice, while peal out lyre and lay.At Guest-ward Zeus' unfailing feast is worshipped Justice' Queen;So with fair fame and heart unvext may AristagorasOn to the consummation of his twelve-months' office pass.
His sire Agesilas I count as blest as man may beFor wondrous goodly form and fearless inborn constancy.Yet, though a man have wealth and all-surpassing comeliness,Though he show might pre-eminent in athletes' conflict-stress,Let him bethink him—mortal limbs his raiment doth array,And the last vesture he shall don will be the grave-mound's clay.
Yet that his fellow-burghers' praise acclaim his deeds is meet.Well may we grace his name in song whose strains ring honey-sweet;For glorious victories six and ten the peoples dwelling nighCrowned Aristagoras and his clan, a clan of peerless fame,With wreaths for wrestling and the strife Pankratian proud of name.
Yet ah, his parents' faint-heart fears their stalwart son restrained,That Pytho's and Olympia's crowns were unessayed, ungained;Else, by the Great Oath's sanctity I swear that sure am I,To Castaly and Kronos' tree-girt hill had he but gone,He had returned with triumph-crowns from rival champions won,
When he had kept the fifth-year feast ordained of Herakles,And bound his hair with wreaths that gleamed with light of victories.But among mortals one is from his blessings' height down-thrustBy empty-thoughted self-conceit: through overmuch mistrustOf his own strength another letteth slip the honour due,Because a timorous spirit caught his hand and backward drew.
To old Peisander's Spartan blood hath Aristagoras claim,Well may ye trow: from Amyklae he with Orestes came,And hither led Aeolian ranks in brazen battle-gear.His mother's brother Melanippus' blood with his, we know,Was by Ismenus blent. The might of days of long ago
Will in alternate generations bring strong men to birth,As harvests spring not every year from tilth of this dark earth,Nor are our fruit-trees wont as year sweeps round by circling yearTo bear in wealth unvarying fruit from odour-breathing flowers,But rest each second year. And so this mortal race of ours
By Destiny's breeze is driven. Comes from Zeus no guiding sign;Yet we embark on many a venturous emprise: yea, we pineFor exploits many: yea, enthralled by hope insatiate areOur natures. But Fate's tides from man's foreknowledge roll afar.In quest of gain heed measure due. The madness of desireFor unattainable ambitions hotter burns than fire.
Words in this poem 24
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- sceptre n.
- A staff or baton borne by a sovereign, as a ceremonial badge or emblem of authority; a royal mace. [F. sceptre, L. sceptrum, from Gr. shaft. See Shaft, and cf. Scape a stem, shaft.]
- graciously adv.
- In a gracious manner; courteously; benignantly.
- honour n.
- Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
- reek n.
- A rick. B. Jonson.
- peal v. i.
- To appeal. Spencer.
- consummation n.
- The act of consummating, or the state of being consummated; completed; completion; perfection; termination; end (as of the world or of life). [L. consummatio.]
- sire n.
- A lord, master, or other person in authority. See Sir. [F. sire, originally, an older person. See Sir.]
- wondrous adv.
- In a wonderful or surprising manner or degree; wonderfully. [OE. wonders, adv. (later also adj.). See Wonder, n., and cf. -wards.]
- goodly a.
- Pleasant; agreeable; desirable. [OE. godlich, AS. g. See Good, and Like.]
- wealth n.
- Weal; welfare; prosperity; good. [OE. welthe, from wele; cf. D. weelde luxury. See Weal prosperity.]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- acclaim v. i.
- To shout applause.
- glorious a.
- Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
- strife n.
- The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
- stalwart a.
- Brave; bold; strong; redoubted; daring; vehement; violent. [OE. stalworth, AS. stælwyrth serviceable, probably originally, good at stealing, or worth stealing or taking, and afterwards extended to other causes of estimat]
- girt v. t.
- To gird; to encircle; to invest by means of a girdle; to measure the girth of; as, to girt a tree. [From Girt, n., cf. Girth, v.]
- trow v. i.
- To believe; to trust; to think or suppose. [OE. trowen, AS.treówan to trust, believe, fr. treów trust, treówe true, faithful. See True.]
- blent p. p.
- Blinded. Also (Chaucer), 3d sing. pres. Blindeth.
- tilth n.
- The state of being tilled, or prepared for a crop; culture; as, land is good tilth. [AS. til, fr. tilian to till. See Till to cultivate.]
- venturous a.
- Daring; bold; hardy; fearless; venturesome; adveturous; as, a venturous soldier. [Aphetic form of OE. aventurous. See Adventurous, Venture, n.]
- emprise n.
- An enterprise; endeavor; adventure. [OF. emprise, fr. emprendre to undertake; pref. em- (L. in) + F. prendre to take, L. prehendere, prendere; prae before + a verb akin to E. get. See Get, and cf. ]
- insatiate a.
- Insatiable; as, insatiate thirst. [L. insatiatus.]
- afar adv.
- At, to, or from a great distance; far away; -- often used with from preceding, or off following; as, he was seen from afar; I saw him afar off. [Pref. a-.(for on or of) + far.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Nemean XI is in the public domain. This text is taken from Pindar in English Verse, Internet Archive, the Arthur S. Way translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Pindar, Nemean XI, in The Odes of Pindar (1922), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/pindar-odes/nemean-11.html, id L29160.
Form and metre
Nemean XI is 48 lines in 9 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 50% of the lines. The metre is iambic heptameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%).
See other poems in rhyming couplets, other poems in iambic heptameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 AAB-C wardA · lordA · mienB · graciously · theeC
- 2 DDB-- theyD · layD · queenB · aristagoras · pass
- 3 C---EE beC · constancy · comeliness · stress · arrayE · clayE
- 4 FFGHH meetF · sweetF · nighG · fameH · nameH
- 5 IIG-- restrainedI · ungainedI · iG · gone · won
- 6 --JJKK herakles · victories · thrustJ · mistrustJ · dueK · drewK
- 7 LLMNN claimL · cameL · gearM · knowN · agoN
- 8 OOMPP birthO · earthO · yearM · flowersP · oursP
- 9 QQRRSS signQ · pineQ · areR · afarR · desireS · fireS
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic heptameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| O Hestia, child of Rhea, who hast city-halls in ward, | 14 | ·/˘··/˘··/˘··· |
| Sister of Zeus most high and Hera throned beside her lord, | 14 | /˘·····/˘·˘/·· |
| To thy bower welcome Aristagoras with gracious mien; | 14 | ··//˘······/˘· |
| His feres to approach thy gleaming sceptre welcome graciously, | 15 | ···˘/·/˘/˘/˘/˘˘ |
| Who keep in safety Tenedos the while they honour thee. | 14 | ···/˘······/˘· |
| Thee oft as chief of Goddesses with spilt wine reverence they, | 14 | ·····/˘···/˘˘· |
| And oft with reek of sacrifice, while peal out lyre and lay. | 14 | ·····/˘······· |
| At Guest-ward Zeus' unfailing feast is worshipped Justice' Queen; | 14 | ····˘/˘··/˘/˘· |
| So with fair fame and heart unvext may Aristagoras | 14 | ·············· |
| On to the consummation of his twelve-months' office pass. | 14 | ····˘/˘····/˘· |
| His sire Agesilas I count as blest as man may be | 14 | ·/············ |
| For wondrous goodly form and fearless inborn constancy. | 14 | ·/˘/˘··/˘/·/˘˘ |
| Yet, though a man have wealth and all-surpassing comeliness, | 14 | ········˘/˘/˘˘ |
| Though he show might pre-eminent in athletes' conflict-stress, | 14 | ·····/˘˘·/·/˘· |
| Let him bethink him—mortal limbs his raiment doth array, | 14 | ··˘/·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| And the last vesture he shall don will be the grave-mound's clay. | 14 | ···/˘········· |
| Yet that his fellow-burghers' praise acclaim his deeds is meet. | 14 | ···/˘···˘/···· |
| Well may we grace his name in song whose strains ring honey-sweet; | 14 | ···········/˘· |
| For glorious victories six and ten the peoples dwelling nigh | 14 | ·/˘/˘····/˘/˘· |
| Crowned Aristagoras and his clan, a clan of peerless fame, | 15 | ············/˘· |
| With wreaths for wrestling and the strife Pankratian proud of name. | 14 | ···/˘········· |
| Yet ah, his parents' faint-heart fears their stalwart son restrained, | 14 | ···/˘····/˘·˘/ |
| That Pytho's and Olympia's crowns were unessayed, ungained; | 14 | ····˘/˘˘······ |
| Else, by the Great Oath's sanctity I swear that sure am I, | 14 | ·····/˘˘······ |
| To Castaly and Kronos' tree-girt hill had he but gone, | 14 | ·····/˘······· |
| He had returned with triumph-crowns from rival champions won, | 14 | ··˘/·/˘··/˘/˘· |
| When he had kept the fifth-year feast ordained of Herakles, | 14 | ········˘/˘··· |
| And bound his hair with wreaths that gleamed with light of victories. | 14 | ···········/˘˘ |
| But among mortals one is from his blessings' height down-thrust | 14 | ···/˘····/˘··· |
| By empty-thoughted self-conceit: through overmuch mistrust | 14 | ·/˘/˘·˘/·/˘˘˘/ |
| Of his own strength another letteth slip the honour due, | 14 | ····˘/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Because a timorous spirit caught his hand and backward drew. | 14 | ···/˘˘/····/˘· |
| To old Peisander's Spartan blood hath Aristagoras claim, | 15 | ·····/˘········ |
| Well may ye trow: from Amyklae he with Orestes came, | 13 | ·········˘/˘· |
| And hither led Aeolian ranks in brazen battle-gear. | 13 | ·/˘·····/˘/˘· |
| His mother's brother Melanippus' blood with his, we know, | 14 | ·/˘/˘········· |
| Was by Ismenus blent. The might of days of long ago | 14 | ············˘/ |
| Will in alternate generations bring strong men to birth, | 14 | ··/˘˘·˘/˘····· |
| As harvests spring not every year from tilth of this dark earth, | 14 | ·/˘··/˘······· |
| Nor are our fruit-trees wont as year sweeps round by circling year | 14 | ··/········/˘· |
| To bear in wealth unvarying fruit from odour-breathing flowers, | 15 | ·········/˘/˘/˘ |
| But rest each second year. And so this mortal race of ours | 15 | ···/˘····/˘··/˘ |
| By Destiny's breeze is driven. Comes from Zeus no guiding sign; | 14 | ·/˘˘··/····/˘· |
| Yet we embark on many a venturous emprise: yea, we pine | 15 | ··˘/·/·/˘˘˘/··· |
| For exploits many: yea, enthralled by hope insatiate are | 14 | ·/·/·˘/··˘/˘˘· |
| Our natures. But Fate's tides from man's foreknowledge roll afar. | 14 | //˘·····˘/˘·˘/ |
| In quest of gain heed measure due. The madness of desire | 15 | ·····/˘··/˘·˘/˘ |
| For unattainable ambitions hotter burns than fire. | 15 | ··˘/˘˘˘/˘/˘··/˘ |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.