Ode 13

In class we spoke about the key components that all victory odes address. These components include a cursory description of the victor ( his name, lineage, and birthplace), a mention of which task he won, both a call upon the muses to help the poet immortalize the victor and recognition of what the muses and Gods have already done. Bacchylides includes these classic components, but he also adds a few more of his own. 

In Ode 13, Bacchylides uses parallel story lines to further emphasize the heroic efforts of the victor and to impart a moral story to the listener. Within these parallel stories, he sometimes employs a ring like structure, which sets up the moral lesson and emphasizes by ultimately returning to it. Breaking down the poem into its components, I’ll analyze the methods Bacchylides uses in his Epinikia.

The beginning lines of the poem serve almost as a title. It identifies Pytheas as the victor, son of Lampon as the lineage, Aigina as his home, and Pankration as the event won. In Ant. 2, Bacchylides begins his first parallel story line. It tells the story of Hercules and his triumphant slaughter of a mythical lion.  Bacchylides emphasizes the difficulty of Heracles’s task by describing the “savage lion’s neck”, and “unapproachable bulk”. However, he also emphasizes Heracles strength and cunning, for Heracles must employ “Stratagems of every kind”. In this parallel, Heracles signifies Pytheas, and the lion, the opponents and Olympic game itself. The Pankration is a blend of wrestling and boxing with few rules. Similar to Heracles, the event victor would employ cunning and strength to defeat his opponent.  

            At the end of Ant. 2, Bacchylides introduces a topic switch. Here, he returns to describing Pytheas. He does so, however, by recognizing the Gods and their part in Pytheas’s victory. He explains that the flowers awarded to the victors were placed in the temple of Zeus, and thus, even after death “there remains renown undying for a thing well done as their unfailing portion”. He continues praising the Gods by establishing that not only Zeus played a part in the victory, but also the muse Nemea, “ who has given great honor, showing forth this victory in view of all the Greeks like a bright torch”. Within each reference to the Gods, the author includes light and flower imagery. He explains a “golden-laden victory”, “golden flame”, “ bright torch”, “wreaths of flowers in bloom”, “flowering hills”, “and wreathed in crimson and local reeds”. Both light and flowers symbolize celestial power. Shining down from the heavens, light and warmth heat homes and grow crops. The ancient Greeks believed that the God Apollo controlled the sun’s light. Therefore, light only shone upon man if the God Apollo granted it. Thus, it came to signify the God’s favor. Furthermore, specific flowers represented specific deities. A crown of laurel, for example may be placed at Apollo’s alter. Therefore, to wear a crown of Laurel, has a deeply religious, and ceremonial subtext.

            To begin Str. 4, Bacchylides switches to his next parallel story: the Trojan War.  In this retelling, he emphasizes the Achilles, using a concentric ring poetic structure.  During the war Agamemnon promised Achilles the beautiful Briseis as a war prize, but he soon reneged his word. Enraged, Achilles temporarily withdrew from battle, which leads to the Trojan attack of Grecian ships.  Ajax, a valiant greek solider, defends the ships. Eventually, Achilles rejoins the battle and the Greeks win the war. He presents the story, however, a little out of order, so that he can both maintain and emphasize Achilles as the subject. With such emphasis, Achilles more strongly resonates with the reader. Bacchylides constructs the ring by beginning the story as Ajax having to defend the Greek ships because Achilles, who previously warded off the Trojans, became angry at agamemnon and withdrew from the war. His withdrawal heartened the Trojans, who had previously kept themselves safe hidden behind walls. He then works his way backward to through the same story. This a-b-c-b'-a' structure comprises the concentric ring.  Bacchylides uses this metaphor embedded within the ring strucutre, again, to relate to Pytheas’s struggle to win the Pankration. Like the Trojans, the opponents fought nobly, but eventually they could not stand up to true excellence. For excellence “ does not grow dim with hiding, but … does honor to the glory-laden”. 

In Ep. 6, the author transitions back to speaking directly about Pytheas. In this section, however, Bacchylides develops a moral lesson. He urges the reader to not only glorify the victor, but also his trainer, Menandros. He warns the reader that unless he becomes “overmastered by envy and its reckless speech he must give praise to a man of such skill”. The author warns the both the reader and the victor to remain humble. The athlete could not have gained such success without the advice of a sage coach. If Pytheas denies this fact, the author warns that “the ill’ disposed, intemperate, of tongue dwindle and fade away from sight.” The public remembers t hose who lie as liars, rather than victors of the Olympic games. By stating this he cleverly hints that the father remember him. Poetry allowed poets to weave others into the Grecian social fabric. A successful poem, assured that it’s subject’s fame would continue posthumously. Therefore, just as the coach helped Pytheas win the game, Bacchylides helps the son live forever in immortality.