- Source
- Pindar. The Odes of Pindar. Sandys, John Edwin, editor. London: William Heinemann; Cambridge: Harvard University Press. 1937 (reprint).
- Translation
- AI-generated (gemini-3.5-flash) — machine translation; may contain errors
- Languages
- 日本語 · English · 简体中文 · 한국어
- CTS URN
- urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0033.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:6.52-6.105
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-27
After recounting the birth of the prophet Iamus and the establishment of his oracle, Pindar praises the prosperity of his lineage, declares his own poetic inspiration and mission, and prays for the good fortune of Hagesias and Hieron.
ὣς ἄρα μάνυε. τοὶ δʼ οὔτʼ ὦν ἀκοῦσαι
Thus indeed he spoke. But they declared that they had neither heard
οὔτʼ ἰδεῖν εὔχοντο1 πεμπταῖον γεγενημένον. ἀλλʼ ἐν
nor seen him, though he was five days old. But in fact,
κέκρυπτο γὰρ σχοίνῳ βατιᾷ τʼ ἐν ἀπειράτῳ,
for he had been hidden in a bed of rushes and impenetrable brambles,
ἴων ξανθαῖσι καὶ παμπορφύροις ἀκτῖσι βεβρεγμένος ἁβρὸν
his soft body wet with the yellow and deep-purple rays of pansies.
σῶμα· τὸ καὶ κατεφάμιξεν2 καλεῖσθαί νιν χρόνῳ σύμπαντι μάτηρ
Wherefore his mother declared that he should be called by this immortal name
τοῦτʼ ὄνυμʼ ἀθάνατον. τερπνᾶς δʼ ἐπεὶ χρυσοστεφάνοιο λάβεν
for all time. And when he received the delightful fruit of golden-crowned
καρπὸν Ἥβας, Ἀλφεῷ μέσσῳ καταβὰς ἐκάλεσσε Ποσειδᾶνʼ εὐρυβίαν,
Hebe, going down into the middle of the Alpheus, he called upon wide-ruling Poseidon,
ὃν πρόγονον, καὶ τοξοφόρον Δάλου θεοδμάτας σκοπόν,
his ancestor, and the bow-bearing guardian of god-built Delos,
αἰτέων λαοτρόφον τιμάν τινʼ ἑᾷ κεφαλᾷ,
asking for his own head some people-nourishing honor,
νυκτὸς ὑπαίθριος. ἀντεφθέγξατο δʼ ἀρτιεπὴς
under the open night sky. And there answered him the clear-speaking
πατρία ὄσσα, μετάλλασέν τέ νιν· ὄρσο, τέκος,
voice of his father, and sought him out: “Arise, my child,
δεῦρο πάγκοινον ἐς χώραν ἴμεν φάμας ὄπισθεν.
come hither to a land common to all, following my voice.”
ἵκοντο δʼ ὑψηλοῖο πέτραν ἀλίβατον Κρονίου·
And they came to the steep rock of high Cronius.
ἔνθα οἱ ὤπασε θησαυρὸν δίδυμον
There the god gave him a double treasure
μαντοσύνας, τόκα μὲν φωνὰν ἀκούειν
of prophecy: first, to hear the voice that knows
ψευδέων ἄγνωστον, εὖτʼ ἂν δὲ θρασυμάχανος ἐλθὼν
no falsehoods, and then, when bold-planning
Ἡρακλέης, σεμνὸν θάλος Ἀλκαϊδᾶν, πατρὶ
Heracles, the noble shoot of the Alcaidae, should come to establish for his father
ἑορτάν τε κτίσῃ πλειστόμβροτον τεθμόν τε μέγιστον ἀέθλων,
a festival thronged by men and the greatest law of contests,
Ζηνὸς ἐπʼ ἀκροτάτῳ βωμῷ τότʼ αὖ χρηστήριον θέσθαι κέλευσεν.
he commanded him then to establish an oracle on the topmost altar of Zeus.
ἐξ οὗ πολύκλειτον καθʼ Ἕλλανας γένος Ἰαμιδᾶν.
Since then the race of the Iamidae has been famous throughout Greece.
ὄλβος ἅμʼ ἕσπετο· τιμῶντες δʼ ἀρετὰς
Wealth followed them; and by honoring virtues
ἐς φανερὰν ὁδὸν ἔρχονται. τεκμαίρει
they walk upon a manifest road. Each deed
χρῆμʼ ἕκαστον· μῶμος ἐξ ἄλλων κρέμαται φθονεόντων
proves them; blame from other envious men hangs over
τοῖς, οἷς3 ποτε πρώτοις περὶ δωδέκατον δρόμον
those upon whom, as they first drive around the twelfth lap,
ἐλαυνόντεσσιν αἰδοία ποτιστάξῃ Χάρις εὐκλέα μορφάν.
the august Grace distills a glorious beauty.
εἰ δʼ ἐτύμως ὑπὸ Κυλλάνας ὅροις, Ἁγησία, μάτρωες ἄνδρες
And if truly, Hagesias, beneath the borders of Cyllene, your mother’s kin
ναιετάοντες ἐδώρησαν θεῶν κάρυκα λιταῖς θυσίαις
dwelling there have gifted the herald of the gods with suppliant sacrifices
πολλὰ δὴ πολλαῖσιν Ἑρμᾶν εὐσεβέως, ὃς ἀγῶνας ἔχει μοῖράν τʼ ἀέθλων
many indeed and often, reverently, to Hermes who holds the games and the portion of contests
Ἀρκαδίαν τʼ εὐάνορα τιμᾷ· κεῖνος, ὦ παῖ Σωστράτου,
and honors Arcady, rich in men; he indeed, O son of Sostratus,
σὺν βαρυγδούπῳ πατρὶ κραίνει σέθεν εὐτυχίαν.
together with his loud-thundering father, fulfills your good fortune.
δόξαν ἔχω τινʼ ἐπὶ γλώσσᾳ ἀκόνας λιγυρᾶς,4
I have on my tongue a certain feeling of a clear-toned whetstone,
ἅ μʼ ἐθέλοντα προσέρπει καλλιρόοισι πνοαῖς·
which approaches me, willing, with fair-flowing breaths.
ματρομάτωρ ἐμὰ Στυμφαλίς, εὐανθὴς Μετώπα,
My mother’s mother was of Stymphalus, the fair-blooming Metope,
πλάξιππον ἃ Θήβαν ἔτικτεν, τᾶς ἐρατεινὸν ὕδωρ
who gave birth to horse-driving Thebe, whose delightful water
πίομαι, ἀνδράσιν αἰχματαῖσι πλέκων
I shall drink, as I weave for warrior men
ποικίλον ὕμνον. ὄτρυνον νῦν ἑταίρους,
a varied hymn. Bestir now your companions,
Αἰνέα, πρῶτον μὲν Ἥραν Παρθενίαν κελαδῆσαι,
Aeneas, first to sing of maiden Hera,
γνῶναί τʼ ἔπειτʼ, ἀρχαῖον ὄνειδος ἀλαθέσιν
and then to know if we escape by truthful
λόγοις εἰ φεύγομεν,5 Βοιωτίαν ὗν. ἐσσὶ γὰρ ἄγγελος ὀρθός,
words that ancient reproach, the “Boeotian pig.” For you are a true messenger,
ἠϋκόμων σκυτάλα Μοισᾶν, γλυκὺς κρατὴρ ἀγαφθέγκτων ἀοιδᾶν·
a message-staff of the fair-haired Muses, a sweet mixing-bowl of loud-sounding songs.
εἰπὸν δὲ μεμνᾶσθαι Συρακοσσᾶν τε καὶ Ὀρτυγίας·
And tell them to remember Syracuse and Ortygia,
τὰν Ἱέρων καθαρῷ σκάπτῳ διέπων,
which Hieron rules with a pure sceptre,
ἄρτια μηδόμενος, φοινικόπεζαν
devising fitting things, as he cherishes crimson-footed
ἀμφέπει Δάματρα, λευκίππου τε θυγατρὸς ἑορτάν,
Demeter, and the festival of her daughter of white horses,
καὶ Ζηνὸς Αἰτναίου κράτος. ἁδύλογοι δέ νιν
and the power of Etnaean Zeus. And sweet-speaking
λύραι μολπαί τε γιγνώσκοντι. μὴ θράσσοι χρόνος ὄλβον ἐφέρπων.
lyres and songs know him. May time, as it creeps on, not disturb his prosperity.
σὺν δὲ φιλοφροσύναις εὐηράτοις Ἁγησία δέξαιτο κῶμον
And with lovely friendliness may Hagesias receive the reveling throng
οἴκοθεν οἴκαδʼ ἀπὸ Στυμφαλίων τειχέων ποτινισσόμενον,
returning home from home, from the walls of Stymphalus,
ματέρʼ εὐμήλοιο λείποντʼ Ἀρκαδίας. ἀγαθαὶ δὲ πέλοντʼ ἐν χειμερίᾳ
leaving Arcady, the mother of fine sheep. It is good in a wintry
νυκτὶ θοᾶς ἐκ ναὸς ἀπεσκίμφθαι δύʼ ἄγκυραι. θεὸς
night that two anchors be cast from a swift ship. May a god
τῶν τε κείνων τε κλυτὰν αἶσαν παρέχοι φιλέων.
grant a glorious lot to both of these and those, loving them.
δέσποτα ποντομέδων, εὐθὺν δὲ πλόον καμάτων
O master ruling the sea, grant a straight voyage free
ἐκτὸς ἐόντα δίδοι, χρυσαλακάτοιο πόσις
from hardships, you, the husband of golden-spindled
Ἀμφιτρίτας, ἐμῶν δʼ ὕμνων ἄεξʼ εὐτερπὲς ἄνθος.
Amphitrite, and make the delightful flower of my hymns grow.
- 6.53εὔχοντο
The imperfect of εὔχομαι, which usually means "to pray". Here, taking the infinitives ἀκοῦσαι and ἰδεῖν, it has the declarative force of "asserted", "declared", or "insisted", highlighting the people's stubborn claim that they had neither seen nor heard of the baby.
- 6.56τὸ καὶ κατεφάμιξεν
The neuter relative pronoun τὸ refers to the preceding event (the baby being bathed in the rays of pansies) and functions adverbially ("wherefore" or "as a result of which"), qualifying the verb κατεφάμιξεν (from καταφημίζω, "to declare" or "to predict").
- 6.75τοῖς, οἷς
The dative demonstrative pronoun τοῖς acts as the antecedent to the dative relative pronoun οἷς. They represent the indirect object of the blame (μῶμος) that hangs over those ("upon those who...") who have achieved victory.
- 6.82δόξαν ἔχω τινʼ ἐπὶ γλώσσᾳ ἀκόνας λιγυρᾶς
The phrase δόξαν ἔχω means "I have a certain feeling/impression", with which the genitive ἀκόνας ("whetstone") is constructed. Literally "I have a certain feeling of a clear-sounding whetstone on my tongue", a metaphor expressing the tactile and auditory onset of poetic inspiration.
- 6.89γνῶναι ... εἰ φεύγομεν
The conjunction εἰ, introducing the subordinate clause dependent on the infinitive γνῶναι ("to know" or "to ascertain"), does not mean conditional "if", but introduces an indirect question "whether". Thus, it translates as "to ascertain whether we escape [the reproach]".