Bacchylides Ode 13 is an epinikia,
or victory ode written in honor of Pytheas who won the pankration. The
pankration is a punishing boxing/wrestling match.
·
Ant. 2
o Discusses
Herakles, descendant of Perseus, and his victory over the Nemean lion. It was
one of his 12 labors
o Comparison
to Pytheas’ victory and his own skills with his hand
·
Ep. 2 & Str. 3
o “the
flowers of glory-laden Victory have caused golden fame to flourish in the sight
of many”
§
Many men have had a victory and the fame that
comes with it
§
Line 67- Pytheas is among those men
o Victory
of the pankration was at Nemea, which further explains the comparison of
Herakles and Pytheas and their victories
o Lines
75-76: his victory in the pankration is mentioned
·
Ant. 3
o Zeus
himself honors Pytheas in this victory
o Girls
sing of his victory
·
Ep. 3
o Transition
to Aiakos and Endeïs who bore Telamon and Peleus, father of Achilles
·
Str. 4, Ant. 4
o Achilles
and Ajax in the battle of Troy- two best warriors according to the Iliad
§
Ajax defending the Greek ships against Hektor’s
onslaught
§
Achilles’ anger (over his loss of Briseis)
o Achilles
refusal to battle heartened the Dardanians (Trojans) making them braver in
battle
o Describes
the Trojan fear of Achilles and their courage in his absence
·
Ep. 4
o Compares
Achilles’ presence on the battle field as “the sea that blooms in darkness”
§
“the north wind rends the hearts of men amid the
waves, coming upon them with the fall of night” Achilles falls upon his enemies
tossing them like waves, bringing death to them (the fall of night)
·
Str. 5
o Trojan
hope and courage upon hearing Achilles’ withdrawal from battle
o Laomedon’s
walls
§
The walls of troy
§
Laomedon= Priam’s father
·
Ant. 5- Str. 6
o Loxias,
lord of Lykia
§
Epithets for Apollo
o Urged
on by the gods
§
Apollo and Ares
o Hope
of the Trojans
§
But it was predestined that they would beat the
Greeks back against their ships
·
Ant. 6
o Excellence
§
Honors the Trojans (island of Aiakos)
·
Ep. 6
o Back
to Pytheas and his victory
o Parallel
drawn between Pytheas’ victory and the victory of the Trojans at the Greek
ships
o Assisted
by Menandros and Athena
§
Greeks are always assisted by the gods who give
them honor and glory
·
Str. 7- Ep. 7
o Everyone
must give Pytheas praise for his skill, unless they are jealous
o Truth
and time, conquer all
§
Things are made public to everyone
§
Pytheas’ accomplishments are meant to be known
by everyone
o Conveyance
of Pytheas’ accomplishments entrusted to Bacchylides and the Muses
§
Meant to honor his family and their hospitality
§
Fame will be given to Pytheas because of
Bacchylides’ ode to him
Pretty much nailed it here, so the best I can push you toward is to now see how the poem comes together in its main gestures. How are all the pieces put together? In addition, if you want to go over missed class materials from last week, shoot me an email so we can talk Pindar.
ReplyDelete