Pindar's First Pythian Ode
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| + | [[Pindar|Pindar's]] '''''First Pythian Ode''''' is an [[ancient Greek]] [[epinicion]] praising [[Hiero I of Syracuse| Hiero of Syracuse]] for a victory in the [[Pythian Games]]. The poem's occasion is Hiero's victory in the chariot race of 470 BC, corresponding to the foundation of the city of [[Aetna (city)|Aetna]] which is also praised by the poet. | ||
| - | The '''Pythia''' was the priestess at the Temple of [[Apollo]] at [[Delphi]], located on the slopes of [[Mount Parnassus]]. The Pythia was widely credited for her [[prophecy|prophecies]] inspired by Apollo, giving her a prominence unusual for a woman in male-dominated [[ancient Greece]]. The '''Delphic oracle''' was established in the [[8th century BC]]. The last recorded response was given in 393 AD, when the emperor [[Theodosius I]] ordered pagan temples to cease operation. During this period the Delphic Oracle was the most prestigious and authoritative oracle in the Greek world. | + | ==Works Cited== |
| - | The oracle is one of the best-documented religious institutions of the classical Greek world. Writers who mention the oracle include [[Herodotus]], [[Thucydides]], [[Euripides]], [[Sophocles]], [[Plato]], [[Aristotle]], [[Pindar]], [[Aeschylus]], [[Xenophon]], [[Diodorus]], [[Diogenes]], [[Strabo]], [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [[Plutarch]], [[Livy]], [[Justin]], [[Ovid]], [[Marcus Annaeus Lucanus|Lucan]], [[Julian the Apostate|Julian]], and [[Clement of Alexandria]]. | + | *Fearn, D. (2017) ''Pindar's Eyes'' (Oxford) |
| - | + | *Nisetich, F. (1980) ''Pindar's Victory Songs'' (Baltimore) | |
| - | The name 'Pythia' derived from Pytho, which in myth was the original name of Delphi. The Greeks derived this place-name from the verb ''pythein'' (πύθειν, "to rot"), used of the decomposition of the body of the monstrous serpent [[Python (mythology)|Python]] after she was slain by Apollo. | + | *Race, W. (1997) ''Pindar:'' Olympian Odes. Pythian Odes (Cambridge, MA) |
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| - | One common view has been that the Pythia delivered oracles in a frenzied state induced by vapors rising from a chasm in the rock, and that she spoke gibberish which priests reshaped into the enigmatic prophecies preserved in Greek literature. | + | |
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| - | This picture has been challenged by scholars such as [[Joseph Fontenrose]] and Lisa Maurizio, who argue that the ancient sources uniformly represent the Pythia speaking intelligibly, and giving prophecies in her own voice. Recent geological investigations have shown that gas emissions from a geologic chasm in the earth could have inspired the Delphic Oracle to "connect with the divine." Some researchers suggest the possibility that [[ethylene]] gas caused the Pythia's state of inspiration. However, Lehoux argues that ethylene is "impossible" and benzene "crucially underdetermined". Others argue instead that [[methane]] might have been the gas emitted from the chasm, or [[CO2|CO<sub>2</sub>]] and [[Hydrogen sulfide|H<sub>2</sub>S]], arguing that the chasm itself might have been a seismic ground rupture. | + | |
| - | ==See also== | + | |
| - | *[[Pindar's First Pythian Ode]] | + | |
| - | *[[List of oracular statements from Delphi]] | + | |
| - | *[[Theia mania]], a concept used to describe the Pythia's divine inspiration in Plato's [[Phaedrus (dialogue)|Phaedrus]]. | + | |
| - | *The [[Apollonian and Dionysian]], concept of human [[Dualism|dichotomy]]. | + | |
| - | *[[Delphi method]], a structured communication technique, unrelated to the Oracle of Delphi. | + | |
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Pindar's First Pythian Ode is an ancient Greek epinicion praising Hiero of Syracuse for a victory in the Pythian Games. The poem's occasion is Hiero's victory in the chariot race of 470 BC, corresponding to the foundation of the city of Aetna which is also praised by the poet.
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Works Cited
- Fearn, D. (2017) Pindar's Eyes (Oxford)
- Nisetich, F. (1980) Pindar's Victory Songs (Baltimore)
- Race, W. (1997) Pindar: Olympian Odes. Pythian Odes (Cambridge, MA)
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