The Gifts of the Gods: Pindar's ThirdPythian

Abstract

Hieron of Syracuse was the most powerful Greek of his day. He was also, and the two facts are not unrelated, the most frequent of Pindar's patrons. A singular feature of the four poems for this Sicilian prince is their obsession with sin and punishment: Tantalus in the FirstOlympian, Typhoeus, Ixion, and Coronis in the first threePythians– all offend divinity and suffer terribly. But even in this company, where glory comes trailing clouds of pain, the ThirdPythianstands out. The other three odes are manifestly epinician and celebrate success, both athletic and military. The SecondPythian, for instance, is a sombre canvas, and a motif of ingratitude dominates the myth. Yet it rings at the outset with praise of Syracuse and of Hieron's victory. The ThirdPythian, by comparison, is not obviously a victory ode.

Uxoricide in Pregnancy: Ancient Greek Domestic Violence in Evolutionary Perspective

“…There are close connections between the killing of Coronis and a variant of the killing of Semele — or Thyone as Pindar calls her ( Currie, 2005 , p. 361; Lyons, 1997 , pp. 93, 126; Robbins, 1990 , p. 314, and n. 35). Burgess (2001) has noted the common theme of sexual jealousy leading to punishment by death in the two stories.…”

The Look of Lyric: Greek Song and the Visual

“…Pindar also composed Olympian 1 and Pythians 1, 2, and 3 for Hieron. On the problematic identification of Pythians 2 and 3, and Pindar's relationship with Hieron see Young (1983); Robbins (1990). 24 On internal references to the external realities of performance in Pindar see Nagy (1990) 94;Carey (2007).…”