Olympian XIV
O ye who your lot by Kephisus have found,Ye who dwell in the land where the swift horse races,O bright Orchomenus' queens, ye GracesWho compass the ancient Minyans roundWith your guardian arms, O song-renowned,Now hearken my prayer! By your bounty all pleasure,All sweet things on menfolk descend in full measure,All wisdom, all beauty, all fame with its splendour.'Tis with help that the Graces, the worshipful, renderThat the Gods' own dancings and feastings be holden;Yea, these be dispensers of all things in Heaven.By the side of the Lord of the bow all-golden,Pythian Apollo, be thrones to them given;The Olympian Sire are they ever adoring,And his majesty's fountain for aye outpouring.
O Daughters of Zeus of the Gods most high,Euphrosyne lover of song, and Aglaia,And thou who dost joy in the chant, Thalia,Hearken ye now to our suppliant cry!Look down as our triumphing troop sweeps by,As onward with lightsome foot it is pacingThe victor's fortune of happiness gracing.I come hither the praise of Asopichus singing,In Lydian measure my chant outringing,For that now is the Minyan House victoriousBy your grace at Olympia. Fly, Echo, tellingUnto old Kleodamus the tidings gloriousThat shall brighten Persephone's dark-walled dwelling,How his son in the Vale far-famous in storyHath enwreathed his tresses with garlands of glory.
Words in this poem
- dwell v. i.
- To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
- bounty n.
- Goodness, kindness; virtue; worth. [OE. bounte goodness, kindness, F. bonté, fr. L. bonitas, fr. bonus good, for older duonus; cf. Skr. duvas honor, respect.]
- splendour n.
- Great brightness; brilliant luster; brilliancy; as, the splendor ot the sun. B. Jonson. [L. fr. splendere to shine: cf. F. splendeur.]
- worshipful a.
- Entitled to worship, reverence, or high respect; claiming respect; worthy of honor; -- often used as a term of respect, sometimes ironically.
- sire n.
- A lord, master, or other person in authority. See Sir. [F. sire, originally, an older person. See Sir.]
- suppliant a.
- Asking earnestly and submissively; entreating; beseeching; supplicating. [F., p.pr. of supplier to entreat, L. supplicare. See Supplicate, and cf. Supplicant.]
- triumphing a.
- Having or celebrating a triumph; victorious; triumphant.
- lightsome a.
- Having light; lighted; not dark or gloomy; bright.
- minyan n.
- A quorum, or number necessary, for conducting public worship.
- 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.]
- 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,]
- brighten v. t.
- To make bright or brighter; to make to shine; to increase the luster of; to give a brighter hue to.
- vale n.
- A tract of low ground, or of land between hills; a valley. [OE. val, F. val, L. vallis; perhaps akin to Gr. Avalanche, Vail to lower, Valley.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Olympian XIV 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, Olympian XIV, in The Odes of Pindar (1922), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/pindar-odes/olympian-14.html, id L29137.
Form and metre
Olympian XIV is 30 lines in 2 stanzas of 15 lines each. It is in rhyming couplets, 60% of the lines. The metre is anapaestic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 73%).
See other poems in rhyming couplets, other poems in anapaestic tetrameter.
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 ABBAACCDDE-E-FF foundA · racesB · gracesB · roundA · renownedA · pleasureC · measureC · splendourD · renderD · holdenE · heaven · goldenE · given · adoringF · outpouringF
- 2 A--AABBCCDEDEFF highA · aglaia · thalia · cryA · byA · pacingB · gracingB · singingC · outringingC · victoriousD · tellingE · gloriousD · dwellingE · storyF · gloryF
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 anapaestic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| O ye who your lot by Kephisus have found, | 11 | ··········· |
| Ye who dwell in the land where the swift horse races, | 12 | ··········/˘ |
| O bright Orchomenus' queens, ye Graces | 10 | ········/˘ |
| Who compass the ancient Minyans round | 9 | ·/˘·/˘··· |
| With your guardian arms, O song-renowned, | 11 | ··/˘˘···˘/˘ |
| Now hearken my prayer! By your bounty all pleasure, | 12 | ·/˘····/˘·/˘ |
| All sweet things on menfolk descend in full measure, | 12 | ······˘/··/˘ |
| All wisdom, all beauty, all fame with its splendour. | 12 | ·/˘·/˘····/˘ |
| 'Tis with help that the Graces, the worshipful, render | 13 | ·····/˘·/˘˘/˘ |
| That the Gods' own dancings and feastings be holden; | 12 | ····/˘·/˘·/˘ |
| Yea, these be dispensers of all things in Heaven. | 12 | ···˘/˘····/˘ |
| By the side of the Lord of the bow all-golden, | 12 | ··········/˘ |
| Pythian Apollo, be thrones to them given; | 12 | /˘˘˘/˘····/˘ |
| The Olympian Sire are they ever adoring, | 13 | ·˘/˘˘/··/˘˘/˘ |
| And his majesty's fountain for aye outpouring. | 12 | ··/˘˘/˘···/˘ |
| O Daughters of Zeus of the Gods most high, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Euphrosyne lover of song, and Aglaia, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And thou who dost joy in the chant, Thalia, | 10 | ········/˘ |
| Hearken ye now to our suppliant cry! | 11 | /˘···/˘/˘˘· |
| Look down as our triumphing troop sweeps by, | 11 | ···/˘/˘˘··· |
| As onward with lightsome foot it is pacing | 11 | ·/˘·/˘···/˘ |
| The victor's fortune of happiness gracing. | 11 | ·/˘/˘·/˘˘/˘ |
| I come hither the praise of Asopichus singing, | 13 | ··/˘·······/˘ |
| In Lydian measure my chant outringing, | 11 | ·/˘˘/˘····· |
| For that now is the Minyan House victorious | 12 | ·····˘/·˘/˘˘ |
| By your grace at Olympia. Fly, Echo, telling | 13 | ····˘/˘˘·/˘/˘ |
| Unto old Kleodamus the tidings glorious | 12 | ·······/˘/˘˘ |
| That shall brighten Persephone's dark-walled dwelling, | 12 | ··/˘·····˘/˘ |
| How his son in the Vale far-famous in story | 12 | ·······/˘·/˘ |
| Hath enwreathed his tresses with garlands of glory. | 12 | ····/˘·/˘·/˘ |
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.