Nemean II
As the sons of Homer, the singers of deftly-woven lays,Ever begin their chants with a prelude in Zeus's praise,So in the Grove whose glory is chanted in every nationThis hero-athlete hath laid his achievements' first foundationWhere in Nemean Zeus's name are bestowed the victor's bays.
And if She, who unswerving hath guided his feet, even Destiny,On the path by his forefathers trodden, hath given this man to beA glory to mighty Athens, he surely is fated victorious,This son of Timonous, often to pluck the flower most gloriousOf the Isthmian Games, and at Pytho to win the victory;
For 'tis meet that Orion's rising should follow exceeding nighTo the Pleiad Maids of the Mountain. Few can with Salamis vieAs a nurse of warriors mighty: yea, Hector in Troy's war-leaguerHeard Aias' challenge; and thee shall thy prowess contest-eagerIn the fivefold grapple, O Timodemus, glorify.
Acharnae, as tell old legends, for hero-sons is renowned;And in all that pertaineth to contests pre-eminent still hath been foundThis Timodemus' House: in Parnassus imperial-seatedHave they won four victory-wreaths, strong champions aye undefeated.Yea, also in royal Pelops' mountain-folds were they crowned
Eight times by the sons of Corinth; in Nemea withal did they gainSeven triumph-wreaths; and at home, where Olympian Zeus's faneLooks down on the contest, garlands whose number passeth the telling.Let Timodemus, O citizens, hear your acclaim upswellingHailing his home-return! Now upraise ye the sweet-ringing strain.
Words in this poem
- nemean a.
- Of or pertaining to Nemea, in Argolis, where the ancient Greeks celebrated games, and Hercules killed a lion.
- 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.]
- pleiad n.
- One of the Pleiades.
- 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,]
- prowess n.
- Distinguished bravery; valor; especially, military bravery and skill; gallantry; intrepidity; fearlessness. Chaucer. Sir P. Sidney. [OF. proece, proesce, F. prouesse. See Prow, a.]
- fivefold a.
- In fives; consisting of five in one; five repeated; quintuple.
- glorify v. t.
- To make glorious by bestowing glory upon; to confer honor and distinction upon; to elevate to power or happiness, or to celestial glory. [F. glorifier, L. glorificare; gloria glory + - ficare (in comp.) to make. See -fy.]
- parnassus n.
- A mountain in Greece, sacred to Apollo and the Muses, and famous for a temple of Apollo and for the Castalian spring. Grass of Parnassus. (Bot.) See under Grass, and Parnassia.
- withal adv.
- With this; with that. [With + all.]
- fane n.
- A temple; a place consecrated to religion; a church. [L. fanum a place dedicated to some deity, a sanctuary, fr. fari to speak. See Fame.]
- acclaim v. i.
- To shout applause.
- upraise v. t.
- To raise; to lift up.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Nemean II 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 II, in The Odes of Pindar (1922), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/pindar-odes/nemean-2.html, id L29151.
Form and metre
Nemean II is 25 lines in 5 stanzas of 5 lines each. The rhyme scheme is AABBA, complete in 4 of its 5 stanzas; the stanza is the Limerick.
See other limericks.
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 AABBA laysA · praiseA · nationB · foundationB · baysA
- 2 --AA- destiny · be · victoriousA · gloriousA · victory
- 3 AABBA nighA · vieA · leaguerB · eagerB · glorifyA
- 4 AABBA renownedA · foundA · seatedB · undefeatedB · crownedA
- 5 AABBA gainA · faneA · tellingB · upswellingB · strainA
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. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| As the sons of Homer, the singers of deftly-woven lays, | 15 | ····/˘·/˘·/˘/˘· |
| Ever begin their chants with a prelude in Zeus's praise, | 13 | /˘/····/··/˘· |
| So in the Grove whose glory is chanted in every nation | 15 | ·····/˘·/˘·/˘/˘ |
| This hero-athlete hath laid his achievements' first foundation | 15 | ·/˘/····˘/˘·˘/˘ |
| Where in Nemean Zeus's name are bestowed the victor's bays. | 14 | ··/˘/˘··˘/·/˘· |
| And if She, who unswerving hath guided his feet, even Destiny, | 15 | ····˘/˘·/˘··//˘ |
| On the path by his forefathers trodden, hath given this man to be | 16 | ·····/·˘/˘·/···· |
| A glory to mighty Athens, he surely is fated victorious, | 17 | ·/˘·/˘/˘·/˘·/˘˘/˘ |
| This son of Timonous, often to pluck the flower most glorious | 15 | ······/˘···/·/˘ |
| Of the Isthmian Games, and at Pytho to win the victory; | 15 | ··/˘˘········/˘ |
| For 'tis meet that Orion's rising should follow exceeding nigh | 16 | ····˘/˘/˘·/˘˘/˘· |
| To the Pleiad Maids of the Mountain. Few can with Salamis vie | 16 | ··/˘···/˘···˘/˘· |
| As a nurse of warriors mighty: yea, Hector in Troy's war-leaguer | 16 | ····/˘/˘·/˘···/˘ |
| Heard Aias' challenge; and thee shall thy prowess contest-eager | 14 | ··/˘····/˘/˘/˘ |
| In the fivefold grapple, O Timodemus, glorify. | 14 | ··/·/˘·····/˘· |
| Acharnae, as tell old legends, for hero-sons is renowned; | 14 | ·····/˘·/˘··˘/ |
| And in all that pertaineth to contests pre-eminent still hath been found | 17 | ····˘/˘·˘/·/˘···· |
| This Timodemus' House: in Parnassus imperial-seated | 15 | ········/˘˘/˘/˘ |
| Have they won four victory-wreaths, strong champions aye undefeated. | 15 | ····/˘··/˘··˘/˘ |
| Yea, also in royal Pelops' mountain-folds were they crowned | 14 | ·/˘·/˘··/˘···· |
| Eight times by the sons of Corinth; in Nemea withal did they gain | 16 | ······/˘···˘/··· |
| Seven triumph-wreaths; and at home, where Olympian Zeus's fane | 14 | //˘·····˘/˘/˘· |
| Looks down on the contest, garlands whose number passeth the telling. | 16 | ····/˘/˘·/˘/˘·/˘ |
| Let Timodemus, O citizens, hear your acclaim upswelling | 15 | ······/˘··˘/··· |
| Hailing his home-return! Now upraise ye the sweet-ringing strain. | 15 | /˘··˘/·˘/···/˘· |
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