Psaumis' Mule Victory and the Prosperity of Kamarina — Pindar, Olympian Odes 5.1–5.24, Greek & English

ὑψηλᾶν ἀρετᾶν καὶ στεφάνων ἄωτον γλυκὺν

The sweet bloom of lofty virtues and of crowns at Olympia, and of the tireless-footed mule-chariot,

τῶν Οὐλυμπίᾳ, Ὠκεανοῦ θύγατερ, καρδίᾳ γελανεῖ

O daughter of Ocean, with a cheerful heart,

ἀκαμαντόποδός τʼ ἀπήνας δέκευ¹ Ψαύμιός τε δῶρα·

and the gifts of Psaumis, receive.

ὃς τὰν σὰν πόλιν αὔξων, Καμάρινα, λαοτρόφον

He, magnifying your city, Camarina, nourisher of the people,

βωμοὺς ἓξ διδύμους ἐγέραιρεν ἑορταῖς θεῶν μεγίσταις

honored six double altars at the greatest festivals of the gods

ὑπὸ βουθυσίαις² ἀέθλων τε πεμπαμέροις ἁμίλλαις,

with sacrifices of oxen and five-day contests of games,

ἵπποις ἡμιόνοις τε μοναμπυκίᾳ τε. τὶν δὲ κῦδος ἁβρόν

with horses, mules, and single-horse races. And to you, splendid glory,

νικάσαις³ ἀνέθηκε, καὶ ὃν πατέρʼ Ἄκρωνʼ ἐκάρυξε καὶ τὰν νέοικον ἕδραν.

having conquered, he dedicated, and caused his father Acron and his newly-inhabited seat to be proclaimed.

ἵκων δʼ Οἰνομάου καὶ Πέλοπος παρʼ εὐηράτων

And coming from the lovely

σταθμῶν, ὦ πολιάοχε Παλλάς, ἀείδει μὲν ἄλσος ἁγνὸν

dwellings of Oenomaus and Pelops, O Pallas, guardian of the city, he sings of your holy grove,

τὸ τεόν, ποταμόν τε Ὤανιν, ἐγχωρίαν τε λίμναν,

and the river Oanis, and the local lake,

καὶ σεμνοὺς ὀχετούς, Ἵππαρις οἷσιν ἄρδει στρατόν,

and the majestic channels with which Hipparis waters the people,

κολλᾷ τε σταδίων θαλάμων ταχέως ὑψίγυιον ἄλσος,

and quickly glues together a high-limbed forest of standing chambers,

ἀπʼ ἀμαχανίας ἄγων ἐς φάος τόνδε δᾶμον ἀστῶν·

leading this populace of citizens from helplessness into light.

αἰεὶ δʼ ἀμφʼ ἀρεταῖσι πόνος δαπάνα τε μάρναται πρὸς ἔργον

But always, concerning virtues, toil and expense strive towards an enterprise

κινδύνῳ κεκαλυμμένον· ἠῢ δʼ ἔχοντες σοφοὶ καὶ πολίταις ἔδοξαν⁴ ἔμμεν.

shrouded in danger. And those who fare well are deemed wise even by their citizens.

Σωτὴρ ὑψινεφὲς Ζεῦ, Κρόνιόν τε ναίων λόφον

Savior Zeus of the high clouds, who inhabit the Cronian hill

τιμῶν τʼ Ἀλφεὸν εὐρὺ ῥέοντʼ Ἰδαῖόν τε σεμνὸν ἄντρον,

and honor the wide-flowing Alpheus and the holy Idaean cave,

ἱκέτας σέθεν ἔρχομαι Λυδίοις ἀπύων ἐν αὐλοῖς,

I come as your suppliant, calling out on Lydian flutes,

αἰτήσων⁵ πόλιν εὐανορίαισι τάνδε κλυταῖς

asking to adorn this city with glorious

δαιδάλλειν, σέ τʼ, Ὀλυμπιόνικε, Ποσειδανίαισιν ἵπποις

manly virtues, and that you, Olympic victor, delighting in Poseidonian horses,

ἐπιτερπόμενον φέρειν γῆρας εὔθυμον ἐς τελευτάν,

may bear a cheerful old age to a happy end,

υἱῶν, Ψαῦμι, παρισταμένων. ὑγίεντα δʼ εἴ τις ὄλβον ἄρδει,

with your sons, Psaumis, standing beside you. And if anyone waters sound prosperity,

ἐξαρκέων κτεάτεσσι καὶ εὐλογίαν προστιθείς, μὴ ματεύσῃ θεὸς γενέσθαι.

being content with his possessions and adding good fame thereto, let him not seek to become a god.

Syntax notes5 items

5.3δέκευ
The direct objects of the imperative verb δέκευ are the accusatives ἄωτον and δῶρα. The word ἀπήνας is genitive singular (Doric for ἀπήνης, "mule-chariot"), not accusative plural, and is coordinated with ἀρετᾶν and στεφάνων to modify ἄωτον ("the bloom of lofty virtues, of crowns, and of the mule-chariot").
5.6ὑπὸ βουθυσίαις
The preposition ὑπό with the dative here denotes attendant circumstances ("accompanied by, amidst").
5.8νικάσαις
Doric aorist active participle, nominative masculine singular of νικάω (equivalent to Attic νικήσας), agreeing with the subject of the sentence (Psaumis).
5.16ἔδοξαν
Gnomic aorist of δοκέω, expressing a general truth or maxim, and is best translated as a present state ("are deemed/seem").
5.20αἰτήσων
The future participle of purpose αἰτήσων governs two infinitive clauses: 1) δαιδάλλειν (with πόλιν as object), and 2) φέρειν. The accusative pronoun σέ serves as the subject accusative of the second infinitive φέρειν.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22)urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0033.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:5.1-5.24