Olympian VIII
Mother of contests golden-crowned, O QueenOf truth, Olympia, where from sacrificeDiviners seek the will of Zeus to glean,Who hurls white-flickering lightnings through the skies,To wot if he hath any word of graceFor men whose hearts yearn hotly to attainTo high achievement, and a breathing-spaceFrom toil to gain.
This he vouchsafes to reverent prayer and vow.O Pisan precinct fair with olive-lines,Welcome this victory-procession thou,And the crown-bearing! Bright his glory shinesWhom splendour of thy guerdon shall attend!Ay, diverse boons to diverse men be given,And many paths to happiness ascendBy grace of Heaven.
Timosthenes, to Zeus, who hath in keepingThine house, thee and thy brother DestinyAllotted: He at Nemea honoured thee,And Kronos' Hill saw glory's harvest-reaping,Alkimedon's Olympian victory.Goodly of presence, not by deeds he shamedHis beauty! He, in wrestling-bout victorious,Aegina of far-sweeping oars proclaimedHis home. There Saviour Themis, throned all-gloriousWith Guest-ward Zeus, is most with honour named.
Far-reaching issues, whose decision stillShifteth, with mind unwarped to judge of theseFairly, is hard: yet sure the Immortals' willOrdained this island rampired by the seasTo be for strangers out of every climeA god-reared pillar of strength, land of the free—Oh may the years in this work through all timeToil tirelessly!—
This isle committed unto Dorian handsTo be Heaven's stewards, since, in Aiakus' days,When Phoebus and the Girder of all landsA tower-coronal for Troy would raise,And as their fellow-builder bade him comeTo rear that wall, which should, when wars awoke,Breathe out, when battle brought her day of doom,Wild-billowing smoke.
Scarce was it built, when, with eyes lurid-glaring,Three dragons leapt to scale its ramparts high.Now twain of these fell back, and suddenlyDied, writhing as in impotent despairing:But the third leapt in with fierce battle-cry.That portent Phoebus pondered; then spake he:' Aiakus, where thine hands reared this stone wonder,There breached and taken Pergamus shall be,As this sign sent down by the Lord of Thunder,Zeus, Kronos' Son, revealeth unto me.
This shall thine house accomplish. Troy shall fallStormed by thy son and thy fourth in descent.'So plainly spake the God, and therewithalTo Xanthus and the fleet-horsed Amazons went,And unto Ister speeding fast his car.With golden team the Trident-wielder faresTo Isthmus oversea, and Aiakus farTo Aegina bears.
Thence, to behold his glorious festival,To Corinth's mountain-ridge he bore him on.No praise of song is sweet alike to all:If I retrace all fame Melesias wonThrough boys, no stone at me let envy fling!I sing of honours no less high attainedAt Nemea, and of crowns pankratian singBy his men gained.
To teach is no hard task for him who knoweth;But who unlearned would teach, a fool is he,For wit untrained hath no stability.But this Melesias best of all men showethHow with the strong to strive victoriously,Teacheth what training shall to triumph guideOur champion to repeat the oft-told story,In those great Games, of longed-for victory's pride.Now hath Alkimedon achieved that glory—Melesias' thirtieth triumph published wide!
By God's grace, and by his own prowess heHath vanquished striplings four. Ha! not for him,But them, to steal back home shamefacedlyShrinking from taunting tongues through bypaths dim!His victory hath thrilled his old grandsireWith strength that o'er eld's frailty triumpheth.For he that hath attained his heart's desireForgetteth death.
I must awaken Memory, I wis,To tell the glory of old champions' might,The Blepsiads' conquering sons: the sixth crown thisThat wreathes their brows from those games garland-dight.Yea, their dead fathers have their share therein,When due memorial rites are not forgot.The grace of honour living kinsmen winThe dust hides not.
The song by Hermes' child, Glad-tidings, chantedShall Iphion hear, his bright Olympic fame,And to Kallimachus shall tell the same,The glory Zeus to this old House hath granted.With triumph on triumph may he crown their name,And aye avert affliction's bitter blow!And, for the glory in their lot, may neverGod's jealousy make Nemesis their foe.May he exalt them and their country, everVouchsafing them a life unvexed of woe.
Words in this poem 35
- glean n.
- Cleaning; afterbirth. Holland.
- yearn v. t.
- To pain; to grieve; to vex. [Also earn, ern; probably a corruption of OE. ermen to grieve, AS. ierman, yrman, or geierman, geyrman, fr. earm wretched, poor; akin to D. & G. arm, Icel. armr,]
- hotly adv.
- In a hot or fiery manner; ardently; vehemently; violently; hastily; as, a hotly pursued. [From Hot, a.]
- precinct n.
- The limit or exterior line encompassing a place; a boundary; a confine; limit of jurisdiction or authority; -- often in the plural; as, the precincts of a state. [LL. praecinctum, fr. L. praecingere, praecinctum, to gird about, to encompass; prae before + cingere to gird, surround. See Pre-, and Cincture.]
- splendour n.
- Great brightness; brilliant luster; brilliancy; as, the splendor ot the sun. B. Jonson. [L. fr. splendere to shine: cf. F. splendeur.]
- guerdon n.
- A reward; requital; recompense; -- used in both a good and a bad sense. [OF. guerdon, guerredon, LL. widerdonum (influenced by L. donum gift, cf. Donation ), fr. OHG. widarl; widar again, against (G. wider wieder) + lon reward, G. lo]
- 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,]
- goodly a.
- Pleasant; agreeable; desirable. [OE. godlich, AS. g. See Good, and Like.]
- saviour n.
- One who saves, preserves, or delivers from destruction or danger. [OE. saveour, OF. salveor, F. sauveur, fr. L. salvator to save. See Save, v.]
- themis n.
- The goddess of law and order; the patroness of existing rights.
- 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.]
- 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.]
- unwarped a.
- Not warped; hence, not biased; impartial. [Pref. un- not + warped.]
- fairly adv.
- In a fairmanner; clearly; openly; plainly; fully; distinctly; frankly.
- clime n.
- A climate; a tract or region of the earth. See Climate. [L. clima. See Climate.]
- isle v. t.
- To cause to become an island, or like an island; to surround or encompass; to island.
- dorian a.
- Of or pertaining to the ancient Greeks of Doris; Doric; as, a Dorian fashion.
- phoebus n.
- Apollo; the sun god.
- coronal a.
- Of or pertaining to a corona (in any of the senses). [L. coronalis: cf. F. coronal.]
- bade
- A form of the pat tense of Bid.
- scarce a.
- Not plentiful or abundant; in small quantity in proportion to the demand; not easily to be procured; rare; uncommon. [OE. scars, OF. escars, eschars, LL. scarpsus, for L. excerptus, p. p. of excerpere to pick out, and hence to contract, to shorten; ex (see Ex-) + carpere. See C]
- lurid a.
- Pale yellow; ghastly pale; wan; gloomy; dismal. [L. luridus.]
- twain a.
- Two;- nearly obsolete in common discourse, but used in poetry and burlesque. [OE. twein, tweien, tweyne, AS. twegen, masc. See Two.]
- despairing a.
- Feeling or expressing despair; hopeless.
- portent n.
- That which portends, or foretoken; esp., that which portends evil; a sign of coming calamity; an omen; a sign. [L. portentum. See Portend.]
- therewithal adv.
- Over and above; besides; moreover. Daniel.
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- oversea a.
- Beyond the sea; foreign.
- retrace v. t.
- To trace back, as a line. [Pref. re- + trace: cf. F. retracer. Cf. Retract.]
- thirtieth a.
- Next in order after the twenty-ninth; the tenth after the twentieth; -- the ordinal of thirty; as, the thirtieth day of the month. [From Thirty: cf. AS. þritigoedha.]
- 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.]
- grandsire n.
- Specifically, a grandfather; more generally, any ancestor. [OF. grantsire. See Grand, and Sire.]
- frailty n.
- The condition quality of being frail, physically, mentally, or morally, frailness; infirmity; weakness of resolution; liableness to be deceived or seduced. [OE. frelete, freilte, OF. fraileté, fr. L. fragilitas. See Frail, a., and cf. Fragility.]
- dight v. t.
- To prepare; to put in order; hence, to dress, or put on; to array; to adorn. [OF. dihten, AS. dihtan to dictate, command, dispose, arrange, fr. L. dictare to say often, dictate, order; cf. G. dichten to write poetry, fr. L. dictare. See D]
- nemesis n.
- The goddess of retribution or vengeance; hence, retributive justice personified; divine vengeance. [L., fr. gr. Nomad.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Olympian VIII 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 VIII, in The Odes of Pindar (1922), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/pindar-odes/olympian-8.html, id L29131.
Form and metre
Olympian VIII is 104 lines in 12 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is ABABCDCD, complete in 8 of its 12 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%).
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 ABABCDCD queenA · sacrificeB · gleanA · skiesB · graceC · attainD · spaceC · gainD
- 2 ABABCDCD vowA · linesB · thouA · shinesB · attendC · givenD · ascendC · heavenD
- 3 A--A-BCBCB keepingA · destiny · thee · reapingA · victory · shamedB · victoriousC · proclaimedB · gloriousC · namedB
- 4 ABABCDCD stillA · theseB · willA · seasB · climeC · freeD · timeC · tirelesslyD
- 5 ABABCDCD handsA · daysB · landsA · raiseB · comeC · awokeD · doomC · smokeD
- 6 AB-ABCDCDC glaringA · highB · suddenly · despairingA · cryB · heC · wonderD · beC · thunderD · meC
- 7 ABABCDCD fallA · descentB · therewithalA · wentB · carC · faresD · farC · bearsD
- 8 ABABCDCD festivalA · onB · allA · wonB · flingC · attainedD · singC · gainedD
- 9 A--A-BCBCB knowethA · he · stability · showethA · victoriously · guideB · storyC · prideB · gloryC · wideB
- 10 ABABCDCD heA · himB · shamefacedlyA · dimB · grandsireC · triumphethD · desireC · deathD
- 11 ABABCDCD wisA · mightB · thisA · dightB · thereinC · forgotD · winC · notD
- 12 ABBABCDCDC chantedA · fameB · sameB · grantedA · nameB · blowC · neverD · foeC · everD · woeC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Mother of contests golden-crowned, O Queen | 10 | /˘·/˘/˘··· |
| Of truth, Olympia, where from sacrifice | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| Diviners seek the will of Zeus to glean, | 10 | ·········· |
| Who hurls white-flickering lightnings through the skies, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| To wot if he hath any word of grace | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| For men whose hearts yearn hotly to attain | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| To high achievement, and a breathing-space | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| From toil to gain. | 4 | ···· |
| This he vouchsafes to reverent prayer and vow. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| O Pisan precinct fair with olive-lines, | 10 | ···/···/˘· |
| Welcome this victory-procession thou, | 10 | /˘·/˘˘˘/˘· |
| And the crown-bearing! Bright his glory shines | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Whom splendour of thy guerdon shall attend! | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| Ay, diverse boons to diverse men be given, | 11 | ·˘/··˘/··/˘ |
| And many paths to happiness ascend | 10 | ·/˘··/˘˘˘/ |
| By grace of Heaven. | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Timosthenes, to Zeus, who hath in keeping | 10 | ········/˘ |
| Thine house, thee and thy brother Destiny | 10 | ·····/˘/˘˘ |
| Allotted: He at Nemea honoured thee, | 10 | ˘/˘····/˘· |
| And Kronos' Hill saw glory's harvest-reaping, | 11 | ·/˘··/˘/˘/˘ |
| Alkimedon's Olympian victory. | 11 | ····˘/˘˘/˘˘ |
| Goodly of presence, not by deeds he shamed | 10 | /˘·/˘····· |
| His beauty! He, in wrestling-bout victorious, | 11 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/˘ |
| Aegina of far-sweeping oars proclaimed | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| His home. There Saviour Themis, throned all-glorious | 11 | ···/˘/˘··/˘ |
| With Guest-ward Zeus, is most with honour named. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Far-reaching issues, whose decision still | 10 | ·/˘/˘·˘/˘· |
| Shifteth, with mind unwarped to judge of these | 10 | /˘··˘/···· |
| Fairly, is hard: yet sure the Immortals' will | 11 | /˘·····˘/˘· |
| Ordained this island rampired by the seas | 10 | ˘/·/˘····· |
| To be for strangers out of every clime | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| A god-reared pillar of strength, land of the free— | 11 | ···/˘······ |
| Oh may the years in this work through all time | 10 | ·········· |
| Toil tirelessly!— | 4 | ·/˘˘ |
| This isle committed unto Dorian hands | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| To be Heaven's stewards, since, in Aiakus' days, | 11 | ··/˘/˘····· |
| When Phoebus and the Girder of all lands | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| A tower-coronal for Troy would raise, | 10 | ·/˘/˘˘···· |
| And as their fellow-builder bade him come | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| To rear that wall, which should, when wars awoke, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Breathe out, when battle brought her day of doom, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Wild-billowing smoke. | 5 | ·/˘˘· |
| Scarce was it built, when, with eyes lurid-glaring, | 11 | ·······/˘/˘ |
| Three dragons leapt to scale its ramparts high. | 10 | ·/˘····/·· |
| Now twain of these fell back, and suddenly | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| Died, writhing as in impotent despairing: | 11 | ·/˘··/˘˘˘/˘ |
| But the third leapt in with fierce battle-cry. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| That portent Phoebus pondered; then spake he: | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘··· |
| ' Aiakus, where thine hands reared this stone wonder, | 10 | ········/˘ |
| There breached and taken Pergamus shall be, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| As this sign sent down by the Lord of Thunder, | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Zeus, Kronos' Son, revealeth unto me. | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘··· |
| This shall thine house accomplish. Troy shall fall | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| Stormed by thy son and thy fourth in descent.' | 10 | ········˘/ |
| So plainly spake the God, and therewithal | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| To Xanthus and the fleet-horsed Amazons went, | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| And unto Ister speeding fast his car. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| With golden team the Trident-wielder fares | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘· |
| To Isthmus oversea, and Aiakus far | 10 | ·/˘·˘/···· |
| To Aegina bears. | 5 | ····· |
| Thence, to behold his glorious festival, | 11 | ··˘/·/˘˘/˘˘ |
| To Corinth's mountain-ridge he bore him on. | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| No praise of song is sweet alike to all: | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| If I retrace all fame Melesias won | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| Through boys, no stone at me let envy fling! | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| I sing of honours no less high attained | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| At Nemea, and of crowns pankratian sing | 10 | ·········· |
| By his men gained. | 4 | ···· |
| To teach is no hard task for him who knoweth; | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| But who unlearned would teach, a fool is he, | 11 | ··˘/˘······ |
| For wit untrained hath no stability. | 10 | ··˘/··˘/˘˘ |
| But this Melesias best of all men showeth | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| How with the strong to strive victoriously, | 10 | ·········· |
| Teacheth what training shall to triumph guide | 10 | /˘·/˘··/˘· |
| Our champion to repeat the oft-told story, | 11 | //˘·˘/···/˘ |
| In those great Games, of longed-for victory's pride. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Now hath Alkimedon achieved that glory— | 11 | ······˘/·/˘ |
| Melesias' thirtieth triumph published wide! | 10 | ···/˘/˘/˘· |
| By God's grace, and by his own prowess he | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Hath vanquished striplings four. Ha! not for him, | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| But them, to steal back home shamefacedly | 11 | ··········· |
| Shrinking from taunting tongues through bypaths dim! | 10 | /˘·/˘····· |
| His victory hath thrilled his old grandsire | 10 | ·/˘˘····/˘ |
| With strength that o'er eld's frailty triumpheth. | 10 | ·····/˘/˘˘ |
| For he that hath attained his heart's desire | 11 | ····˘/··˘/˘ |
| Forgetteth death. | 4 | ˘/˘· |
| I must awaken Memory, I wis, | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘˘·· |
| To tell the glory of old champions' might, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| The Blepsiads' conquering sons: the sixth crown this | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| That wreathes their brows from those games garland-dight. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Yea, their dead fathers have their share therein, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| When due memorial rites are not forgot. | 10 | ··˘/˘···˘/ |
| The grace of honour living kinsmen win | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| The dust hides not. | 4 | ···· |
| The song by Hermes' child, Glad-tidings, chanted | 11 | ···/˘··/˘/˘ |
| Shall Iphion hear, his bright Olympic fame, | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| And to Kallimachus shall tell the same, | 10 | ·········· |
| The glory Zeus to this old House hath granted. | 11 | ·/˘······/˘ |
| With triumph on triumph may he crown their name, | 11 | ·/˘·/˘····· |
| And aye avert affliction's bitter blow! | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘/˘· |
| And, for the glory in their lot, may never | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| God's jealousy make Nemesis their foe. | 10 | ·/˘˘·/˘˘·· |
| May he exalt them and their country, ever | 11 | ··˘/···/˘/˘ |
| Vouchsafing them a life unvexed of woe. | 10 | ·········· |
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