Pindar and the Olympian Ode
In general, sports are competitive physical activities that may be individual, group, team, or a combination. The idea of sports is to improve physical abilities as well as to provide entertainment to both participants and observers (spectators). One of the longest and most famous traditions in sports was, in fact, the Ancient Olympic Games of Greece. These games were not just sporting events for the Greeks, but were religious and athletic festivals held every four years in Olympia -- the site of a temple to their chief God, Zeus. These games were competitions among the several city-states in Ancient Greece, and were so ingrained into their society that any wars or conflicts or even legal disputes between any of the region's participating were put on hold during these Games.
In Ancient Greek society, sports were not just entertainment. The idea of the professional athlete did not exist, but the idea that developing one's body and mind to become both a better person and a tribute to the Gods was ingrained within society. Of course, only men who were citizens could compete, and the games were reserved only for Greeks. The games were organized in such a way that sporting events, ritual sacrifices and artistic entertainment like poetry, plays and dance, were all part of the celebration. So ingrained was the four-year event that the cycle became part of Greek measurement -- or a cycle known as the PanHellenic Games (all of Greece), and included the Pythian, Nemean and Isthmian Games. Interestingly, once the Roman Empire began to exert more influence in Greece, the importance of the Olympic Games declined, and once Christianity was part of Rome's official doctrine, the games were eliminated along with a number of Greek temples because they were seen as celebrations of paganism.
One of the ways in which the Ancient Greeks passed on their views of morality, spirituality and common sense was through literary devices like plays and poems. Pindar, for instance, was a Greek lyric poet that composed a number of odes to celebrate victories...
Pindar actually wrote fourteen Olympian Odes, but instead of just retelling the events of the games and the names of the participants, Pindar used the odes to comment on several aspects of society. The poems are complex and rather difficult to read because the assume that the reader already has a complete understanding of Greek mythology, place names, geography, history, and popular culture (for the time).
In many ways, Pindar's Olympian Ode uses very florid language to describe events, much as if it were a song.
Water is preeminent and gold, like a fire burning in the night, outshines all possessions that magnify men's pride. But if, my soul, you year 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).
Reading this several times shows that Pindar is telling us that water is common, but gold is like fire that increases people's emotions (and likely ability to brag about their accomplishments). The imagery of a star shining through the atmosphere (ethers) that is brighter than the sun (which might be impossible) shows the importance of the games above all else in Greek society. Water is necessary for life, gold is sought after, and fire protects humans from the cold or beasts -- but none of these things that are seemingly important are as important as the Olympian contests.
Throughout the first Ode, Pindar has several levels of stories to tell the reader -- stories we can assume that are like individual moral plays within the poem. The reader is introduced to the chief God Zeus as a way to show that the very top God was concerned about the hero (the victor, or Hieron).
While confusing, another central theme of the Ode is the story of Pelops who was the son of Tantalus who fed his son Pelops to guests -- instead of cannibalization, however, Pindar retells the story that Pelops disappears because he is carried off by Poseidon, which is interesting in this poem because it…
