Victory

Victory odes, or epinikia, were written and sung in honor of victor at the games who were wealthy enough to afford the commission of a poet. They praised not only the individual’s skill in the games but also their piety and nobility. Most importantly, these poems sought to immortalize both the subject and the author. Two major authors of victory odes were Bacchylides and Pindar. We have a greater understanding of the victory ode from them.

Both Pindar and Bacchylides were commissioned to write about Hieron, the tyrant of Syracuse. His commission of two of the greatest epinikian authors hints at his wealth and status, which was part of the purpose. Furthermore, both authors not only mention his victory at the Olympic games (Bacchylides Ode 5, Pindar Olympian 1) but also delve deeper, discussing more personal things. Pindar discusses the lineage of Hieron, ‘correcting’ the myth behind his ancestor, Tantalus with a more honorable story. Bacchylides writes a parallel story about Heracles, which draws Hieron up to legendary status while also introducing a maxim about the fortune of man.

Most importantly, both authors, though more evident in Pindar, attempt to assert fame on the victors in their odes through their words. This is most evident in Pindar’s Pythian 1, where he states,

“The vaunting glory that trails after mortals alone lays bare the lives of the departed to chroniclers and poets alike” (Lines 93-4)

Here Pindar points out that poets and historians help to immortalize them. One can point at their success in the fact that we read and analyze these poems to this day.