Pindar's poetry, patrons, and festivals : from archaic Greece to the Roman Empire / edited by Simon Hornblower and Catherine Morgan.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Hornblower, Simon.

Morgan, Catherine, 1961-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Pindar--Criticism and interpretation.

Pindar.

Bacchylides--Criticism and interpretation.

Bacchylides.

Laudatory poetry, Greek--History and criticism.

Laudatory poetry, Greek.

Criticism and interpretation.

Physical Description:

xiv, 473 pages : illustrations, maps, plans ; 26 cm

Place of Publication:

Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2007.

Summary:

Pindar's Poetry, Patrons, and Festivals is about the commemoration of athletic victory in Archaic and Classical Greece, and the reception of that heritage in the Hellenistic and Roman worlds. At its heart lies the praise ('epinikian') poetry of the Classical poet Pindar and his near contemporary Bacchylides, composed to celebrate victories at the four great festivals, at Olympia, Delphi, Nemea, and Isthmia. The collection, which originated in an international research seminar held in London in 2002, brings together literary, historical, archaeological, and anthropological specialists to consider issues such as the origin and nature of epinikian poetry, the poets' patrons and the regional significance of victory odes, and the post-Classical reception of Pindar and his contemporaries. After a long thematic introduction covering such topics as Pindar and Greek religion, the book is divided into three sections. Part One is about the Classical festivals, the poetry written for them, the genre, style, and performance of epinikian poetry, and the two competing and complementary media through which victories were commemorated: statues and poems. Part Two examines the various communities which patronized poets: Argos and Corinth, the west (mainly Sicily), Aigina and Thessaly (the Introduction covers two other great 'Pindaric' regions: Cyrenaica and Boiotia). Part Three continues the story into the Hellenistic and Roman periods, considering Hellenistic praise poetry as a bridge between the Classical and Roman worlds, and Roman responses to Greek athletic festivals. In conclusion, the doyenne of British social anthropology, Mary Douglas, looks at ancient games and praise poetry from a modern anthropological perspective.

Contents:

Map: The Mediterranean World of Pindar xv

2 The Origins of the Festivals, especially Delphi and the Pythia / John Davies 47

3 Origins of the Olympics / Stephen Instone 71

4 Pindar, Athletes, and the Early Greek Statue Habit / R. R. R. Smith 83

5 Fame, Memorial, and Choral Poetry: The Origins of Epinikian Poetry-an Historical Study / Rosalind Thomas 141

6 Epinikian Eidography / N. J. Lowe 167

7 Pindar's Poetry as Poetry: A Literary Commentary on Olympian 12 / Michael Silk 177

8 Pindar, Place, and Performance / Christopher Carey 199

9 Debating Patronage: The Cases of Argos and Corinth / Catherine Morgan 213

10 Elite Mobility in the West / Carla M. Antonaccio 265

11 'Dolphins in the Sea' (Isthmian 9.7): Pindar and the Aeginetans / Simon Hornblower 287

12 Thessalian Aristocracy and Society in the Age of Epinikian / Maria Stamatopoulou 309

13 The Entire House is Full of Crowns: Hellenistic Agones and the Commemoration of Victory / Riet van Bremen 345

14 'Kapetoleia Olympia': Roman Emperors and Greek Agones / Tony Spawforth 377

15 Conclusion: The Prestige of the Games / Mary Douglas 391

Index locorum 447.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [409]-445) and indexes.

ISBN:

0199296723

9780199296729

OCLC:

71238475