Olympian IV
Zeus, hurler of thunderbolts tireless-winging,Most Highest, returneth thy Feast-tide fairTo send me to wed with the lyre subtle-ringingMy song: of the chiefest of all Games singingTo the victor's triumph my witness I bear.Yea, the hearts of the good are with joy ever leapingWhen friends a harvest of triumph are reaping.O Kronos' Son, whose dominion is o'erEtna, the wind-scourged burden laidOn Typho the demon of heads five-score,Receive thou this revel-procession arrayedFor a victory won by the Graces' aid.
For its chant is a record for ever abidingOf wide-prevailing achievement's renown,On-ushering olive-crowned Psaumis, as ridingHis chariot he hasteth, aglow for dividingHis fame with his own Camarina-town.May our prayers be graciously heard in heavenAs we supplicate blessings yet to be givenUnto him who is strenuous ever to trainThe steed, who with wide arms welcomes the guest,The pure-hearted patriot who strives to attainPeace—truth do I speak from an unfeigned breast!Of man is the trial the one proof-test.
By such trial it was that Klymenus' sonSilenced the Lemnian women's tauntingWho mocked at his tresses grey;For the footrace in armour of bronze he won.To Hypsipyle then with no vain vaunting,As he passed to be crowned, did he say:' Lo there, my fleetness of foot have ye seen!And mine hands be as strong, and mine heart as keen.Ay, and not seldom silver-hoaryShow the tresses of young men, long ere the storyHath been told of their life's spring-day.'
Words in this poem
- hurler n.
- One who hurls, or plays at hurling.
- chiefest a.
- First or foremost; chief; principal. [Superl. of Chief.]
- etna n.
- A kind of small, portable, cooking apparatus for which heat is furnished by a spirit lamp.
- aglow adv.
- In a glow; glowing; as, cheeks aglow; the landscape all aglow. [Pref. a- + glow.]
- graciously adv.
- In a gracious manner; courteously; benignantly.
- strenuous a.
- Eagerly pressing or urgent; zealous; ardent; earnest; bold; valiant; intrepid; as, a strenuous advocate for national rights; a strenuous reformer; a strenuous defender of his country.
- 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.]
- unfeigned a.
- Not feigned; not counterfeit; not hypocritical; real; sincere; genuine; as, unfeigned piety; unfeigned love to man.
- lemnian a.
- Of or pertaining to the isle of Lemnos. Lemnian bole, Lemnian earth, an aluminous earth of a grayish yellow color; sphragide; -- formerly sold as medicine, having astringent properties.
- armour n.
- Defensive arms for the body; any clothing or covering worn to protect one's person in battle. [OE. armure, fr. F. armure, OF. armeure, fr. L. armatura. See Armature.]
- fleetness n.
- Swiftness; rapidity; velocity; celerity; speed; as, the fleetness of a horse or of time.
- hoary a.
- White or whitish."The hoary willows."
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Olympian IV 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 IV, in The Odes of Pindar (1922), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/pindar-odes/olympian-4.html, id L29127.
Form and metre
Olympian IV is 35 lines in 3 stanzas. The metre is anapaestic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 77%).
See 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 ABAABCC-D-DD wingingA · fairB · ringingA · singingA · bearB · leapingC · reapingC · o'er · laidD · score · arrayedD · aidD
- 2 ABAABBBCDCDD abidingA · renownB · ridingA · dividingA · townB · heavenB · givenB · trainC · guestD · attainC · breastD · testD
- 3 ABCABCDDEEC sonA · tauntingB · greyC · wonA · vauntingB · sayC · seenD · keenD · hoaryE · storyE · dayC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Zeus, hurler of thunderbolts tireless-winging, | 11 | ·/˘·/˘·/˘/˘ |
| Most Highest, returneth thy Feast-tide fair | 10 | ·/˘˘/˘···· |
| To send me to wed with the lyre subtle-ringing | 12 | ········/˘/˘ |
| My song: of the chiefest of all Games singing | 11 | ····/˘···/˘ |
| To the victor's triumph my witness I bear. | 11 | ··/˘/˘·/˘·· |
| Yea, the hearts of the good are with joy ever leaping | 12 | ·········//˘ |
| When friends a harvest of triumph are reaping. | 11 | ···/˘·/˘·/˘ |
| O Kronos' Son, whose dominion is o'er | 10 | ·/˘··˘/˘·· |
| Etna, the wind-scourged burden laid | 9 | /˘···˘/˘· |
| On Typho the demon of heads five-score, | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| Receive thou this revel-procession arrayed | 11 | ˘/··/˘˘/˘˘/ |
| For a victory won by the Graces' aid. | 10 | ··/˘···/˘· |
| For its chant is a record for ever abiding | 12 | ·····˘/·/˘/˘ |
| Of wide-prevailing achievement's renown, | 10 | ··˘/˘˘/˘˘/ |
| On-ushering olive-crowned Psaumis, as riding | 11 | ·/˘/˘····/˘ |
| His chariot he hasteth, aglow for dividing | 12 | ·/˘·/˘˘/·˘/˘ |
| His fame with his own Camarina-town. | 10 | ·········· |
| May our prayers be graciously heard in heaven | 11 | ·/··/˘˘··/˘ |
| As we supplicate blessings yet to be given | 11 | ··/˘˘/˘···/ |
| Unto him who is strenuous ever to train | 10 | ·····/˘/·· |
| The steed, who with wide arms welcomes the guest, | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| The pure-hearted patriot who strives to attain | 11 | ··/˘/˘···˘/ |
| Peace—truth do I speak from an unfeigned breast! | 10 | ·······˘/· |
| Of man is the trial the one proof-test. | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| By such trial it was that Klymenus' son | 11 | ··/˘······· |
| Silenced the Lemnian women's taunting | 10 | /˘·/˘˘/˘/˘ |
| Who mocked at his tresses grey; | 7 | ····/˘· |
| For the footrace in armour of bronze he won. | 11 | ··/··/˘···· |
| To Hypsipyle then with no vain vaunting, | 11 | ··········· |
| As he passed to be crowned, did he say: | 10 | ···˘······ |
| ' Lo there, my fleetness of foot have ye seen! | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And mine hands be as strong, and mine heart as keen. | 11 | ··········· |
| Ay, and not seldom silver-hoary | 9 | ···/˘/˘/˘ |
| Show the tresses of young men, long ere the story | 12 | ··/˘······/˘ |
| Hath been told of their life's spring-day.' | 8 | ········ |
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.