Bacchylides ode 13 annotation

Bacchylides ode 13 Annotation and analysis:

Work Cited: For all annotations, except “Pankration”, I used the Textbook Greek

Lyric translated by Andrew M. Miller

1. Lines 46-57
1. In these lines Bacchylides compares Pankration to Herakles’ battle with the Nemean lion in order to convey its difficulty.
2. Perseus’ son: Herakles
3. Savage Lion: One of Herakles’ twelve labors was to kill the Nemean lion, which was terrorizing the town. He strangled it with his bare hands
4. Pankration: an event at the games. It combined wrestling and boxing, in fact the name means “all force”. Source:http://ancientolympics.arts.kuleuven.be/eng/TC007cEN.html
2. Lines 58-76
1. Bacchylides talks about the lasting fame of victors, both in their lifetime and after. He then writes how Pytheas has achieved fame similar to those mentioned in the previous lines due to his victory in pankration.
2. Son of Lampon: Pytheas, the man for whom the ode is written. He won the Pankration event.
3. You have come home: His home town was Aigina
3. Lines 77-103
1. Bacchylides traces the lineage of Achilles and Ajax, starting with Aigina, which also happens to be the town where Pytheas is from.
2. Aigina: Name of island, but also name of nymph on the island. Her father is Asopos, the river god.
3. Son of Kronos: Zeus
4. Your son: addressing Aigina about her son Aiakos, whom she had with Zeus
5. Endeïs: wife of Aiakos
6. Peleus and Telamon: sons of Endeïs and Aiakos.
7. Achilles: Son of Peleus and the sea goddess Thetis. He fought and died in the Trojan war.
8. Eriboia’s high-spirited son: Eriboia was the wife of Telamon, the son referenced here is Ajax.
4. Lines 104-109
1. Ajax is defending the Greek’s boats from the attaching Trojans.
2. Ajax: A Greek warrior who fought in the Trojan War. He is considered one of the best warriors on the Greek side.
3. Hektor: A Trojan warrior in the Trojan war. He is the son of Priam, and he was considered the best warrior on the Trojan side.
5. Lines 110-113
1. Achilles has stopped fighting, which caused the Trojans to attack the boats.
2. Peleus’ son: Achilles
3. Dardanians: another name for the Trojans
6. Lines 114-120
1. Bacchylides explains how the Trojans previously had not left their city walls because
2. Achilles and the Greeks were very dangerous.
3. Ilion: another name for Troy
7. Lines 121-145
1. Achilles had stopped fighting because he was mad at Agamemnon for taking Briseis from him.
2. Violet-crowned Nereid’s son: Achilles
3. Briseïs: A young woman, who was given to Achilles as a war prize. Agamemnon took her away at Troy, and this angered Achilles.
4. Laomedon: King of Troy and Priam’s father. He asked Poseidon and Apollo to build the city walls of Troy.
8. Lines 146-167
1. The Trojans attack the ships. Hektor leads the charge, but Achilles comes back to fight and kills many Trojans.
2. Danans: the greeks
3. Ares: The god of war, and the son of Zeus and Hera
4. Apollo: son of Zeus
5. Loxias: another name for Apollo
6. Lykia: A region in the southwestern part of Asia minor.
7. God-built city: Troy
8. Skamandros: A river of Troy
9. Aikos descendants: Achilles, who killed many Trojans once he decided to start fighting again.
9. Lines 168-189
1. Bacchylides talks about how the glory of the warriors and how Pytheas has achieved a similar glory.
10. Lines 190-231
1. Bacchylides talks about Pytheas’ victory, and how he ought to be praised. He invokes the muses to help him write well, and thanks Lampon for his hospitality. He also writes how the poem will preserve Pytheas’ fame.
2. Menandros: The man who trained Pytheas.
3. Alephos’ stream: The site of the Olympic games
4. Athena: goddess of warfare and handicrafts. She is also a daughter of Zeus.
5. Muses: goddesses of poetry and song.
6. Kleio: one of the muses

Analysis:

This Epinikia follows the ring structure that was mentioned in class. The story begins with Ajax defending the Greek ships, and then Bacchylides writes how the Trojans are attacking because Achilles is not there. The inner most story explains how the Trojans have been inside their city until this point. Then working back out form the inner story, Bacchylides explains why Achilles is angry, and ends with the battle that takes place near the ships. Also, the story is bookended by Bacchylides writing about the ability of the poem and the poet to preserve the fame of a victor or a hero. The ode also contains similar hallmarks of other odes; Bacchylides invokes the muses’ help in writing the poem, mentions where Pytheas is from, and mentions Pytheas’ father, Lampon. The poet connects the narrative to Pytheas’ victory by writing about the idea of enduring glory and fame achieved through great works. For Ajax, his great work was fighting in battle, and for Pytheas it was winning the Pankration.