¶ … 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...
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…
