Olympian III
Oh Tyndarids, lords of all guest-welcoming,Oh Helen of the tresses beauty-crowned,Take pleasure in my praises, when I singAkragas far-renowned,Chanting her son's Olympian victory,The glory of his tireless-footed team.The Muse hath thrilled me with new harmonyOf wedded song and dance, in revelryWhere Dorian sandals gleam.
Garlands of victory twined in Theron's hairExact of me this debt that Heaven ordainsFor Ainesidamus' son in order fairTo blend the varying strainsOf lyres with voice of flutes and orderingOf chanted words; and Pisa bids proclaimHis glory—Pisa, poesy's well-springWhence, by the Gods inspired, the great songs ringThat give men deathless fame,
Even they about whose hair the silvery-gleamingAdorning of the olive-leaf is laidBy the Aetolian judge's righteous deemingThe victor's brows to shade,According unto Herakles' ancient hest.From Ister's shadowy springs he brought this tree,When fared Amphitryon's son on perilous questAnd gave Olympia's games this fairest, bestTrophy of victory.
His courteous speech that Norland people swayed—The folk who serve Apollo—to bestowTo his true-hearted prayer for Zeus's glade,Whither all Hellenes go,A shadowing tree, a universal boon,A wreath for prowess of the mighty given.When hallowed were Zeus' altars, lo, the MoonOf midmonth flashed her splendour pleniluneFull in the face of Even.
Then for those great Games he ordained for everJust judgment and a Five-year FestivalBy the steep banks of Alpheus' hallowed river.But of fair trees and tallIn Kronian Pelops' glen, that chosen place,His garden-close, was as a desert bare.Him-seemed it lay unscreened beneath the blazeOf scorching Helios' arrow-darting rays.Wherefore he yearned to fare
To Ister's land, where She of the swift horses,Queen Leto's Child, received him graciouslyWhen from the hills and winding watercoursesHe came of Arcady,Sped on Eurystheus' mission forth to find—By his sire's doom, wherefrom is no appeal—The Orthian Wood-queen's golden-antlered hind,Vowed to her by Taÿgete, and signedWith consecration's seal.
And in that chase he looked upon the landThat sheltered lies behind the North-wind cold,And saw its olive-trees. There did he standAnd marvelled to behold,And dearly yearned to enring with those same treesThe goal round which twelve times swift horses strain.Graciously still to these festivitiesHe comes: with him be godlike presences,Even Leda's scions twain.
These charged he with the Great Games' orderingEre hence he passed to heavenly halls afar,The struggle of strong men, the sweep and swingOf the swift-rushing car.' The Emmenids and Theron Fame hath crownedThis day!' my soul constraineth me to cry,' Fame given by Tyndareus' Sons the steed-renowned,Since unto these of all men most they aboundIn hospitality,
With hearts of reverence rendering due measureOf service to the Gods for ever blest.'As water chiefest is, and of all treasureGold is held goodliest,So Glory's pinnacle doth Theron gainBy his high prowess: yea, his fame hath wonTo Herakles' pillars! Farther to attainWise and unwise all fruitlessly should strain,Nor press I vainly on.
Words in this poem 24
- wedded a.
- Joined in wedlock; married.
- dorian a.
- Of or pertaining to the ancient Greeks of Doris; Doric; as, a Dorian fashion.
- ordering n.
- Disposition; distribution; management. South.
- deathless a.
- Not subject to death, destruction, or extinction; immortal; undying; imperishable; as, deathless beings; deathless fame.
- hest n.
- Command; precept; injunction. See Behest. [AS. hs, fr. h to call, bid. See Hight, and cf. Behest.]
- trophy n.
- A sign or memorial of a victory raised on the field of battle, or, in case of a naval victory, on the nearest land. Sometimes trophies were erected in the chief city of the conquered people. [F. trophée (cf. It. & Sp. trofeo), L. tropaeum, trophaeum, Gr. Trope.]
- norland n.
- The land in the north; north country. [Chiefly Poetic]
- swayed a.
- Bent down, and hollow in the back; sway-backed; -- said of a horse.
- folk n.
- In Anglo-Saxon times, the people of a group of townships or villages; a community; a tribe. [AS. folc; akin to D. volk, OS. & OHG. folk, G. volk, Icel. f, Sw. & Dan. folk, Lith. pulkas crowd, and perh. to E. follow.]
- glade n.
- An open passage through a wood; a grassy open or cleared space in a forest. [Prob. of Scand. origin, and akin to glad, a.; cf. also W. golead, goleuad, a lighting, illumination, fr. goleu light, clear, bright, goleu fwlch glade, lit., a ]
- whither adv.
- To what place; -- used interrogatively; as, whither goest thou [OE. whider. AS. hwider; akin to E. where, who; cf. Goth. hvadre whither. See Who, and cf. Hither, Thither.]
- shadowing n.
- Shade, or gradation of light and color; shading. Feltham.
- boon n.
- A prayer or petition. [OE. bone, boin, a petition, fr. Icel. b; akin to Sw. & Dan. b, AS. b, and perh. to E. ban; but influenced by F. bon good, fr. L. bonus. Ban, Bounty.]
- 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.]
- splendour n.
- Great brightness; brilliant luster; brilliancy; as, the splendor ot the sun. B. Jonson. [L. fr. splendere to shine: cf. F. splendeur.]
- plenilune n.
- The full moon. B. Jonson. [L. plenilunium; plenus full + luna the moon.]
- scorching a.
- Burning; parching or shriveling with heat.
- wherefore adv.
- For which reason; so; -- used relatively. [Where + for.]
- graciously adv.
- In a gracious manner; courteously; benignantly.
- twain a.
- Two;- nearly obsolete in common discourse, but used in poetry and burlesque. [OE. twein, tweien, tweyne, AS. twegen, masc. See Two.]
- 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.]
- steed n.
- A horse, especially a spirited horse for state of war; -- used chiefly in poetry or stately prose. [OE. stede, AS. steda a stud-horse, war horse, fr. stod a stud of breeding steeds; akin to G. stute a mare, Icel. stedda, sto, a stud. *163. See Stud of horses.]
- chiefest a.
- First or foremost; chief; principal. [Superl. of Chief.]
- pinnacle n.
- An architectural member, upright, and generally ending in a small spire, -- used to finish a buttress, to constitute a part in a proportion, as where pinnacles flank a gable or spire, and the like. [OE. pinacle, F. pinacle, L. pinnaculum, fr. pinna pinnacle, feather. See Pin a peg.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Olympian III 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 III, in The Odes of Pindar (1922), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/pindar-odes/olympian-3.html, id L29126.
Form and metre
Olympian III is 81 lines in 9 stanzas of 9 lines each. The commonest rhyme scheme is ABABCDCCD, in 3 of the 9 stanzas; the rest vary or could not be confirmed. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%).
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
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 ABAB-C--C welcomingA · crownedB · singA · renownedB · victory · teamC · harmony · revelry · gleamC
- 2 ABABCDCCD hairA · ordainsB · fairA · strainsB · orderingC · proclaimD · springC · ringC · fameD
- 3 ABABC-CC- gleamingA · laidB · deemingA · shadeB · hestC · tree · questC · bestC · victory
- 4 ABABCCCCC swayedA · bestowB · gladeA · goB · boonC · givenC · moonC · pleniluneC · evenC
- 5 -A-A-BCCB ever · festivalA · river · tallA · place · bareB · blazeC · raysC · fareB
- 6 A-A-BCBBC horsesA · graciously · watercoursesA · arcady · findB · appealC · hindB · signedB · sealC
- 7 ABABCDCCD landA · coldB · standA · beholdB · treesC · strainD · festivitiesC · presencesC · twainD
- 8 ABABC-CC- orderingA · afarB · swingA · carB · crownedC · cry · renownedC · aboundC · hospitality
- 9 ABABCDCCD measureA · blestB · treasureA · goodliestB · gainC · wonD · attainC · strainC · onD
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 pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Oh Tyndarids, lords of all guest-welcoming, | 11 | ········/˘˘ |
| Oh Helen of the tresses beauty-crowned, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘· |
| Take pleasure in my praises, when I sing | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Akragas far-renowned, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Chanting her son's Olympian victory, | 11 | /˘··˘/˘˘/˘˘ |
| The glory of his tireless-footed team. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘· |
| The Muse hath thrilled me with new harmony | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| Of wedded song and dance, in revelry | 10 | ·/˘····/˘˘ |
| Where Dorian sandals gleam. | 7 | ·/˘˘/˘· |
| Garlands of victory twined in Theron's hair | 10 | /˘·/˘··/˘· |
| Exact of me this debt that Heaven ordains | 10 | ˘/·····/˘/ |
| For Ainesidamus' son in order fair | 11 | ········/˘· |
| To blend the varying strains | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| Of lyres with voice of flutes and ordering | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| Of chanted words; and Pisa bids proclaim | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| His glory—Pisa, poesy's well-spring | 9 | ·/˘/˘···· |
| Whence, by the Gods inspired, the great songs ring | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| That give men deathless fame, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Even they about whose hair the silvery-gleaming | 11 | /······/˘/˘ |
| Adorning of the olive-leaf is laid | 10 | ˘/˘··/˘··· |
| By the Aetolian judge's righteous deeming | 11 | ·····/˘/˘/˘ |
| The victor's brows to shade, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| According unto Herakles' ancient hest. | 10 | ˘/˘····/˘· |
| From Ister's shadowy springs he brought this tree, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| When fared Amphitryon's son on perilous quest | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| And gave Olympia's games this fairest, best | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| Trophy of victory. | 6 | /˘·/˘˘ |
| His courteous speech that Norland people swayed— | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘· |
| The folk who serve Apollo—to bestow | 10 | ····˘/˘·˘/ |
| To his true-hearted prayer for Zeus's glade, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Whither all Hellenes go, | 6 | /˘·/˘· |
| A shadowing tree, a universal boon, | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘· |
| A wreath for prowess of the mighty given. | 11 | ···/˘··/˘/˘ |
| When hallowed were Zeus' altars, lo, the Moon | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Of midmonth flashed her splendour plenilune | 10 | ·····/˘/˘˘ |
| Full in the face of Even. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Then for those great Games he ordained for ever | 11 | ······˘/·/˘ |
| Just judgment and a Five-year Festival | 10 | ·/˘····/˘˘ |
| By the steep banks of Alpheus' hallowed river. | 11 | ·······/˘/˘ |
| But of fair trees and tall | 6 | ······ |
| In Kronian Pelops' glen, that chosen place, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| His garden-close, was as a desert bare. | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Him-seemed it lay unscreened beneath the blaze | 10 | ·········· |
| Of scorching Helios' arrow-darting rays. | 11 | ·/˘/˘·/˘/˘· |
| Wherefore he yearned to fare | 6 | /˘···· |
| To Ister's land, where She of the swift horses, | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Queen Leto's Child, received him graciously | 10 | ·/˘·˘/·/˘˘ |
| When from the hills and winding watercourses | 11 | ·····/˘···· |
| He came of Arcady, | 6 | ······ |
| Sped on Eurystheus' mission forth to find— | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| By his sire's doom, wherefrom is no appeal— | 11 | ·········˘/ |
| The Orthian Wood-queen's golden-antlered hind, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Vowed to her by Taÿgete, and signed | 10 | ·˘·······˘ |
| With consecration's seal. | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| And in that chase he looked upon the land | 10 | ·········· |
| That sheltered lies behind the North-wind cold, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| And saw its olive-trees. There did he stand | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And marvelled to behold, | 6 | ·˘/·˘/ |
| And dearly yearned to enring with those same trees | 11 | ·/˘··˘/···· |
| The goal round which twelve times swift horses strain. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Graciously still to these festivities | 10 | /˘˘···˘/˘˘ |
| He comes: with him be godlike presences, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘˘ |
| Even Leda's scions twain. | 7 | /˘/˘/˘· |
| These charged he with the Great Games' ordering | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| Ere hence he passed to heavenly halls afar, | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| The struggle of strong men, the sweep and swing | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Of the swift-rushing car. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| ' The Emmenids and Theron Fame hath crowned | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| This day!' my soul constraineth me to cry, | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| ' Fame given by Tyndareus' Sons the steed-renowned, | 11 | ·/·······˘/ |
| Since unto these of all men most they abound | 11 | ·········˘/ |
| In hospitality, | 6 | ··˘/˘˘ |
| With hearts of reverence rendering due measure | 11 | ···/˘/˘˘·/˘ |
| Of service to the Gods for ever blest.' | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| As water chiefest is, and of all treasure | 11 | ·/˘/˘····/˘ |
| Gold is held goodliest, | 5 | ····· |
| So Glory's pinnacle doth Theron gain | 10 | ·/˘/˘˘·/˘· |
| By his high prowess: yea, his fame hath won | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| To Herakles' pillars! Farther to attain | 10 | ···/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Wise and unwise all fruitlessly should strain, | 10 | ··˘/·/˘˘·· |
| Nor press I vainly on. | 6 | ···/˘· |
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