File management concepts and applications

¶ … Pindar's Olympian

History tells us that at the core of the ideal citizen in Ancient Greece was a combination of intellectual understanding (philosophy, science, etc.) and the manner in which the individual could better his mind and body through athletic competition. In some city-states the intellectual was predominant (Athens), in others the physical nature of endurance, strength and competition (Sparta). Contests in sport were not just organized to improve the health of the body, however, and rather than team sports it was more the idea of the individual against his own record and other individuals. In fact, the Greeks believed that their passion for athletics was one of the distinguishing factors that made them unique and special, and non-Greeks were rarely if ever allowed to compete in formal games.

In Greek society, lyric poetry served many different needs. Of course it was to extol the virtue of heroes, to use language as art, and to exemplify societal goals. Experts believe the poems were "sung," and it is clear upon reading them that the author expected the audience to already know societal traditions, place names, heroes, and geographical locations that evoked imagery without over explaining (e.g. when by the stream of Alpheos, justice in Sicily, etc.). However, lyric poetry also provided a way for historical tradition to be carried from generation to generation and most especially to illustrate the values of society during Greece's Classical Period. Pindar's Olympian was composed to celebrate Greek games -- but the poem is much more than a simple recounting of athletic prowess. Instead, we can see that it tells us much about the problems of the day (the rulers and their relationship with others), fate and predestination (the relationship with the Gods), and the way that sport was quite different from modern sport in that it was simply an all-encompassing part of daily life and ritual:

… to celebrate great games, look no further, for another star shining through the deserted ether, brighter than the sun, or for a contest mightier than Olympia (Turn 1, lines 5-10).

To celebrate athletic victory and athletic participation, Pindar honors the method of training, of tradition, and of the dedication and talent it took to be an Olympian athlete: If ever the watchlords of Olympos honored a man, this was Tantalos. But he could not digest his great bliss…(Stand 2, lines 52-8). The story's theme, though, once the ode is read several ties, seems to focus on the myth of Pelops, King of Pisa and Son of Tantalus. Pindar tells us that Tantalus violates tradition by serving up his dismembered son Pelops to the Gods, which seems similar to the Biblical story of Abraham. The idea is that the sacrifice necessary to appease the Gods is also the sacrifice, in many ways, that the athlete endures by shunning comfort in order to focus on training -- the ultimate sacrifice of giving up one's flesh and blood in a metaphorical way that one gives up the external in order to excel at sports.

Regarding Greek society, the idea of the Olympic competitions pitted city against city and were almost rabid in competitiveness. A victory, either individual or as city's group of individuals, was one of the highest achievements one could attain in Ancient Greece. To win demonstrated to the world, and to the Gods, that the winner had the personal characteristics (self-discipline, skill, guile, dedication, and cleverness) to succeed. When the victor returned to his own city, he was given a celebration, but also now had more responsibility in living up to the tradition and ideals of a winner: But the victor, for the rest of his life, enjoys days of contentment, as far as contest can assure them. A single day's blessing is the highest good a mortal knows" (Turn 4, lines 97-8; Counterturn 4, lines 99-100).

From a stylistic point-of-view, Pindar is difficult to read. It might be more poetic or musical in the original language, but the style is so eloquent and so filled with references to other times, places and stories, one feels that to really understand what is happening in the poem, one must look up terms, place names and stories continually. Yet there are also phrases that resonate with the professional athlete of modern times: Great danger does not come upon the spineless man, and yet, if we must die, why squat in the shadows…. As for me, I will undertake this exploit, and I beseech you: let me achieve it (Stand 3, Lines 81-4).