Pindar

Richard Stoneman

• Publisher: I.B. Tauris
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN: 9781780761855
• eBook ISBN: 9780857726261
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Philosophy
• Subtopic: Medieval & Early Modern Literary Criticism

The 6th/5th century bce Greek melic (or songwriting) poet Pindar was the most celebrated lyricist of antiquity. His famous victory odes offer a paean to the heroic athlete, and are an attempt to encapsulate, through choral songs of acclamation, the glory of the sportsman's moment of triumph at a variety of Panhellenic festivals including the Olympic Games. His other poems, collected in thirteen books, are largely lost or fragmentary - except for the Paeans - but were devoted to the praise of gods and heroes. Yet Pindar, though still respected, is now considered a difficult poet, and is sometimes dismissed as a reactionary. In this wideranging introduction, Richard Stoneman shows that Pindar's works, even where they seem obscure, follow a logic of their own and reward further study. An unmatched craftsman with words, and witness to a profoundly religious sensibility, he is a poet who takes modern readers to the heart of Greek ideas about the gods, fleeting human achievement and mortality. Theauthor examines questions of performance and genre; patronage; imagery; and reception, from Horace to the twentieth century.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Author Bio
• Endorsements
• Understanding Classics
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Dedication
• Illustrations
• Preface
• I Pindar the Poet
• II Pindar’s Career
• III The Range of Pindar’s Poetry
• IV Athletes and Heroes
• V The Practice of Praise
• VI Telling Stories
• VII Reception
• Glossary
• Abbreviations
• Timeline of Pindar’s Career
• The Odes of Bacchylides
• Festivals, Victors, Events and Myths
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index
• Back cover