Drawing on an extensive knowledge of the critical history of Olympian One, Professor Gerber here presents a thorough analysis of the language thought, myth, structure, and poetic technique of Pindar's most famous ode. He deals with virtually every word in the poem, elucidating disputed passages, defining Pindar's use of imagery and myth and his structural techniques, and revealing the significance of his statements about the gods, the victor, and his own poetic practice. In doing so he makes a major contribution to Pindaric studies, aiding an understanding of this ode in particular, and of the poet's other works in general.

The Greek poet Pindar (c. 518-428 BC) composed victory odes for winners in the ancient Games, including the Olympics. The Odes contain versions of some of the best known Greek myths and are also a valuable source for Greek religion and ethics. Verity's lucid translations are complemented by insights into competition, myth, and meaning. - ;'we can speak of no greater contest than Olympia' The Greek poet Pindar (c. 518-428 BC) composed victory odes for winners in the ancient Games, including the Olympics. He celebrated the victories of athletes competing in foot races, horse races, boxing, wrestling, all-in fighting and the pentathlon, and his Odes are fascinating not only for their poetic qualities, but for what they tell us about the Games. Pindar praises the victor by comparing him to mythical heroes and the gods, but also reminds the athlete of his human limitations. The Odes contain versions of some of the best known Greek myths, such as Jason and the Argonauts, and Perseus and Medusa, and are a valuable source for Greek religion and ethics. Pindar's startling use of language - striking metaphors, bold syntax, enigmatic expressions - makes reading his poetry a uniquely rewarding experience. Anthony Verity's lucid translations are complemented by an introduction and notes that provide insight into competition, myth, and meaning. -

This volume contains word-for-word commentaries on Pindar's Olympian Odes 3, 7, 12, 14. Emphasis is placed on the explanations of peculiarities of grammar and idiom, but due attention is paid to figures of style and problems of poetic structure. The interpretations proposed by the author - many of them which are new - are documented as fully, but at the same time as concisely, as possible. This documentation, which includes a critical examination of other views, has been made more easily accessible by detailed indexes. The poems discussed do not have special similarities or interrelationships. On the other hand, they may be considered representative of the poet's art. From this point of view, the present selection may serve as an introduction to the study of Pindar's work. Vol. II will contain commentaries on Olympians 1, 10, 11, Nemean 11, and Isthmian 2. A third volume on Pythians 1, 8, 10 is inteded to conclude the series.

The Greek lyric poet Pindar is renowned for his poems celebrating the victories of athletes in the great games of Greece at Olympia, Delphi (the Pythian Games), Corinth (the Isthmian Games) and Nemea. Pindar's victory odes have the reputation of being complex and allusive in their language and reference. In this much-needed commentary on seven of the extant odes, Professor Willcock aims to open up Pindar's poetry to a wider readership by starting with a short and straightforward poem and progressing by level of difficulty to one of the greatest. The book begins with an introduction which includes sections on Pindar's life and on his thought, language and style, but which pays particular attention to the genre of the victory ode and its conventions.

Pindar is one of the greatest Greek poets, but while the metre of half of his poems is easy to grasp, that of the other half has so far remained obscure. Kiichiro Itsumi presents a new account of their metre. He separates the metre into two types and identifies a series of precise entities from which the verses are made, in this way imposing a new clarity and discipline on what had previously seemed a much vaguer process. Itsumi's analyses of individual poems include a discussion ofstanzaic structure, of textual problems, and of particular lines in the stanza and their exploitation within the text. These analyses will be an invaluable resource for serious scholars of Pindar.