Humanitext Reader

Pindar · Olympian Odes §14.1-14.24

Prayer to the Graces and News to the Underworld

Passage 15 of 15 · Greek

Summary

The poet prays to the Graces of Orchomenus, praising them as the source of all mortal joys and achievements, to celebrate Asopichus' Olympian victory. He then bids the nymph Echo travel to the underworld to bring the glorious news of this victory to the victor's deceased father, Cleodamus.

§14.1Καφισίων ὑδάτων §14.2λαχοῖσαι, αἵτε ναίετε καλλίπωλον ἕδραν, §14.3ὦ λιπαρᾶς ἀοίδιμοι βασίλειαι §14.4Χάριτες Ὀρχομενοῦ, παλαιγόνων Μινυᾶν ἐπίσκοποι, §14.5κλῦτʼ, ἐπεὶ εὔχομαι.
You who have been allotted the waters of Cephisus, you who dwell in the home of beautiful horses, O song-renowned queens of fertile Orchomenus, Graces, guardians of the ancient Minyans, hear me, for I pray.
σὺν γὰρ ὔμμιν τὰ τερπνὰ καὶ §14.6τὰ γλυκέʼ ἄνεται πάντα βροτοῖς, §14.7εἰ σοφός, εἰ καλός, εἴ τις ἀγλαὸς ἀνήρ.
For with you, all delightful and sweet things are accomplished for mortals, whether a man is wise, or beautiful, or illustrious.
§14.8οὐδὲ γὰρ θεοὶ σεμνᾶν Χαρίτων ἄτερ §14.9κοιρανέοισιν χοροὺς οὔτε δαῖτας· ἀλλὰ πάντων ταμίαι §14.10ἔργων ἐν οὐρανῷ, χρυσότοξον θέμεναι παρὰ §14.11Πύθιον Ἀπόλλωνα θρόνους, §14.12ἀέναον σέβοντι πατρὸς Ὀλυμπίοιο τιμάν.
For not even the gods arrange dances or banquets without the holy Graces; but as dispensers of all deeds in heaven, having placed their thrones beside Pythian Apollo of the golden bow, they worship the everlasting honor of the Olympian Father.
§14.13ὦ πότνιʼ Ἀγλαΐα §14.14φιλησίμολπέ τʼ Εὐφροσύνα, θεῶν κρατίστου §14.15παῖδες, ἐπακοοῖτε νῦν, Θαλία τε §14.16ἐρασίμολπε, ἰδοῖσα τόνδε κῶμον ἐπʼ εὐμενεῖ τύχᾳ §14.17κοῦφα βιβῶντα·
O revered Aglaia and song-loving Euphrosyne, daughters of the mightiest of gods, hear me now, and you too, Thalia, lover of song, having looked upon this revel-procession stepping lightly with favorable fortune.
Λυδῷ γὰρ Ἀσώπιχον τρόπῳ §14.18ἔν τε μελέταις ἀείδων ἔμολον, §14.19οὕνεκʼ Ὀλυμπιόνικος ἁ Μινυεία §14.20σεῦ ἕκατι.
For in the Lydian mode, singing of Asopichus in careful song, I have come; because the Minyan land is victorious at Olympia thanks to you.
μελανοτειχέα νῦν δόμον §14.21Φερσεφόνας ἔλθʼ, Ἀχοῖ, πατρὶ κλυτὰν φέροισʼ ἀγγελίαν, §14.22Κλεόδαμον ὄφρʼ ἰδοῖσʼ, υἱὸν εἴπῃς ὅτι οἱ νέαν §14.23κόλποις παρʼ εὐδόξοις Πίσας §14.24ἐστεφάνωσε κυδίμων ἀέθλων πτεροῖσι χαίταν.
Go now to the dark-walled house of Persephone, Echo, carrying to his father the glorious message, so that when you see Cleodamus, you may tell him that his son, by the famous valleys of Pisa, has crowned his young hair with the wings of glorious contests.

Notes

  1. 14.2Καφισίων ὑδάτων λαχοῖσαι — Genitive of source or partition. The participle λαχοῖσαι, from the verb λαγχάνω ('to obtain by lot' or 'be allotted'), governs the genitive case (Καφισίων ὑδάτων) to denote the domain allotted to the Graces.
  2. 14.7εἴ τις ἀγλαὸς ἀνήρ — Ellipsis of the copula verb ἐστί in the conditional clauses. It stands in parallel with εἰ σοφός and εἰ καλός, showing the conditions under which mortals achieve all things that are delightful and sweet through the Graces.
  3. 14.10θέμεναι — Aorist active infinitive in the Doric dialect (equivalent to standard θέσθαι, or used in place of the feminine plural participle θειμένας). It functions here either as an adverbial infinitive of result or with a participle-like meaning, modifying the main verb σέβοντι ('they worship').
  4. 14.22υἱὸν εἴπῃς ὅτι — Prolepsis (anticipation). The noun υἱόν ('son'), which logically functions as the subject of the subordinate clause introduced by ὅτι ('that his son has crowned...'), is anticipated in the accusative case as if it were the direct object of the governing verb εἴπῃς ('you may tell').

Cite this passage

Pindar, Olympian Odes §14.1-14.24. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0033.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:14.1-14.24

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.