Heracles and Pindar

M. P. Nieto Hernandez

Heracles and PindarIn: Mètis. Anthropologie des mondes grecs anciens. Volume 8, n°1-2, 1993. pp. 75-102.

RésuméHéraclès and Pindar (pp. 75-102)Héraclès est, sans doute, le caractère héroïque préféré par Pindare. La cause de cette préférence peut être trouvée dans lesdivers traits que ces deux figures partagent, ce qui débouche sur une identification de Pindare avec Héraclès. Une premièrepartie de ce travail cherche à reconstruire l'image d'Héraclès que Pindare présente dans son œuvre. La seconde développe leparallélisme entre cette image du héros et certains traits qui définissent la poétique de Pindare. De ce parallélisme il s'ensuit quecette identification entre le poète et le héros repose sur deux points essentiels: tout d'abord la quête de l'immortalité, atteinte parHéraclès à la fin de sa carrière héroïque et que Pindare conquiert avec ses poèmes; mais également la contradiction, la duplicité,qui sont l'essence même de ces deux personnages.

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Hernandez M. P. Nieto. Heracles and Pindar. In: Mètis. Anthropologie des mondes grecs anciens. Volume 8, n°1-2, 1993. pp.75-102.

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For Luis Gil

HERACLES AND PINDAR*

0. Introduction

0.1. As is well known, every divine or heroic figure, and every mythical thème, exhibits noteworthy différences depending on the author, the occasion, the epoch, and even the genre to which the text that incorporâtes them belongs. Héraclès is not the same in the Homeric works and in Roman times; neither is the hero we find in Pindar identical with the one presented by Euripides. In spite of this, the figure has maintained through the âges and throughout the works of différent authors a basic unity which enables us to recognize it in ail its variants1.

* I express my gratitude to the DGGIT of the Spanish MEC for finançai support of the project PB 90-0530, of which this paper is a part. I also express my gratitude to my friends Viorica Patea and David Konstan, who helped me with the English translation of this paper, originally written in Spanish.

The Greek text is cited from the OCT édition by CM. Bowra. English translations of Pindar's works are those of L.R. Farnell (The Works of Pindar. Translated with literary and critical commentaries, London 1930, 2 vol.) and R. Lattimore (The Odes of Pindar, Chicago 1968, 7threpr.); they are indicated after the text in the abbreviated form Tarn.' or 'Latt.'.

1. See the review by N.J. Richardson, of W. Burkert, Structure and History in Greek Mythology and Ritual, Berkeley-Los Angeles-London, 1979, in Classical Review, 31, 1981, pp. 62-64, esp. p. 64: "What matters surely is notso much 'the myth of Oedipus' or 'the Héraclès thème', but rather (for example) the individual plays of Sophocles and Euripides which hâve charged thèse mythical figures with such potential significance for later générations". See also the interesting remarks of A. Brelich, Gli eroi greci. Un problema storico-reiigioso, Roma, 1958, p. 310 on this issue; the conclusion at which he arrives is that the organic structure is very old, and that the individual figures are mère concrète manifestations of this pattern: "Non soltanto, dunque, tra una 'figura' eroica e l'altra, ma perfino tra l'una e Paîtra formulazione délia medesima figura vi possono esser differenze".

76 M. P. NIETO HERNÂNDEZ

0.2. The mythological richness of Pindar's works is well known. And it is a cliché to say that among ail the mythological figures with whom he deals, Héraclès, the Greek hero par excellence, holds an outstanding position. Apart from the gods (among which Pindar also has his own préférences), of ail of his heroes, Héraclès is, beyond ail doubt, his favourite figure2.

In this paper, I shall survey the figure of Héraclès as presented by Pindar in his victory songs, and provide an explanation for the poet's consistent préférence for this hero. This préférence is manifested not only in the poet's récurrent allusions to him, but also, especially , in the qualities he as- cribes to him, in the constant praise he bestows upon the hero, and in the overall enthusiasm he shows when dealing with him. This will lead us, finally, to a séries of questions concerning Pindar's poetics.

0.3. Pindar insistently draws our attention to some of Hericles' gênerai features3:

1. The hero's divine origin: Olympian X.44, Pythian IX. 84 sqq., Nemean 1.36, Nemean X.12 sqq. , Isthmian VII. 5 sqq. This is also referred to indirectly in connection with his descendants: Olympian VII.20 sqq. , etc. , or in connection with Alcmene: Isthmian IV. 55, VI. 30.

2. His suffering and brave character. Nevertheless, Pindar does not report Héraclès' labours in full détail. Of the canonical labours, only the following are mentioned in the surviving odes: the Nemean lion in Isthmian VI. 47-49; the Cerynean Hind in Olympian III. 29; Geryon's cattle in Isthmian 1. 12-13; the Stables of Augias in Olympian X.28 sqq. Pindar also recounts other adventures of Héraclès: the campaign against Troy (Laome- don) in the company of Telamon: Nemean IV. 25 sqq. , Isthmian V.35 sqq. , VI. 27 sqq. ; the fight with Antaeus: Isthmian IV. 56 sqq. , etc.

3. Héraclès' foundation of the Olympian festival: Olympian 1.5-7, II. 2- 4, III. 11-35, VI. 67-68, X.24 sqq. ; Nemean X. 32-33, XI. 27-28.

2. It suffices to check any index of proper names in Pindar. Héraclès is mentioned no less than 35 times (not counting allusions to his offspring), whereas other prominent heroes such as Theseus and Perseus appear in only five passages each. Moreover, the poet calls Héraclès ήρως θεός (Nemean III. 22) and praises him passionately as in Pythian IX. 87: κωφός άνή ρ τις, δς Ήρακλεΐστόμαμή περιβάλλει: "dull and insensateis that man who linketh not his speech to the name of Herakles" (Farn.). Despite the divergen- cies in their interprétations of this figure, the most prominent critics agrée on Pindar's préférence for Héraclès. See, for instance, CM. Bowra, Pindar, Oxford, 1964, pp. 45 sqq.

3. We shall consider only the surviving odes. The fragments contain further allusions to Héraclès, but we shall not take them into account, as they are isolated quotations lacking the necessary background and context.

HERACLES AND PlNDAR 77

4. The "pillars of Héraclès": Olympian III. 43-45, Nemean III. 20-23, Isthmian IV. 11-12.

5. His virtue and unfailingly noble behaviour under any circumstances. Conversely, the poet carefully avoids the most truculent and violent aspects of his character: his excessive appetite, his sexual incontinence (comparable only to that of his father Zeus), his quarrels with the gods, etc4. Pindar omitts both the hero's frightful death and his self-immolation on the pyre on Mount Oeta5.

0.4. Scholars usually account for Pindar's préférence for Héraclès by certain apparent similarities between the hero and the Theban poet. But, in my opinion, the analysis and description of thèse parallels remain on a somewhat superficial level, and this for several reasons: first, because only some of thèse similarities hâve been described so far; secondly, because most of the critics hâve touched only on disparate aspects of the identification between Héraclès and Pindar; and lastly , because a more comprehen- sive approach is very much needed. The analysis of thèse similarities has not proceeded far enough precisely because we still lack a global approach to the issue. Consequently, scholars hâve neglected both the bearing of the poet's identification with the hero on our understanding of Pindar's poetics, and its relevance to Pindar's own conception of himself as a poet. Critics hâve, to be sure, noted some instances of this identification, such as, for example , their common native land (Boeotia) , the panhellenic scope of their careers, or the the hero's rôle as the founder of the Olympic Games,

4. There are only two passages that might contradict this statement: Isthmian IV. 57- 58, where Pindar affirms that the hero is μορφαν βραχύς, ψυχαν δ' άκαμπτος "a man short of stature, but unblenching in spirit" (Farn.), and Olympian IX. 30 sqq., where he narrâtes Héraclès' fight with three gods. In this case, Pindar promptly rebukes himself for what he has just said, and immediately adds (35-38): από μοι λόγον τούτον, στόμα, ρΐψον έπεί τό γε λοιδορήσαι θεούς έχθρα σοφία... ("But my lips, cast this story from us. For to revile the gods is hateful learning", Latt.). The interprétation of both thèse passages is problematic. The former, because βραχύς seems an inappropriate attribute for Héraclès, especially in the works of Pindar (but see infra). The latter, because it is the only évidence we hâve of Héraclès' fight against three divinities and, probably, this mythological event is a Pindaric invention (see, for possible readings and interprétations of this passage, P. A. Bernardini, Mito e attualità nelle odi di Pindaro. La Nemea 4, rOlimpica 7, Rome, 1983, pp. 126 sqq., CM. Bowra op. cit., p. 55 and G. A. Privitera, "II criterio délia pertinenza. Pind. Ol. IX. 35-41", Rivista di Filologia e di Istruzione Classica, 114, 1986, pp. 48-54).

5. In Greek literature this épisode in the life of Héraclès is not found before Sophocles. On the complex problems which this myth poses, see H. A. Shapiro, "Héros theos. The Death and Apotheosis of Héraclès", Classical World, 77, 1983, pp. 7-18.

78 M. P. NIETO HERNANDEZ

a crucial event for the poet of the epinicians. It has also been pointed out, albeit less frequently, that Héraclès is the only hero to attain immortality and to achieve a higher order of existence by his ascent to Olympus. Nevertheless, as I shall try to show, the analogies between them are more numerous and require a deeper investigation, for they are particularly revealing of Pindar's attitude towards poetry.

To begin with, I shall indicate the common traits shared by poet and hero that I hâve noticed in Pindar's works. Then, I shall try to draw the conséquences that dérive from this similarity, that in turn impinge on the Pindaric conception of poetry.

1 . Characteristics shared by Héraclès and Pindar, highlighted by the latter in his poetic works

Before proceeding to examine more concrète aspects of this identification, I should remark at once that both the hero and the poet appear to be defined by a single abstract quality: contradictoriness. In the course of this paper I shall indicate in more détail the nature of the contradictions that in- form the essence of both Héraclès and Pindar.

1.1. The poet is Theban-born and so is Héraclès. The origin of Héraclès and of the mythical stories centered on him is obscure, still under discussion, and too vast to be elucidated within the scope of the présent paper (cf. F. Prinz, A, t. "Herakles", RE, Suppl. XIV, 1974, coll. 130-196 and W. Burkert, "Oriental and Greek Mythology", in J.M. Bremmer (éd.), Interprétations of Greek Mythology, London-Sydney, 1987, pp. 10-40, esp. p. 14 and n. 13, and the latter's criticism of Prinz's conclusions). On the controversial question of Héraclès' birthplace, Thebes and Argos are the two cities most likely to be so designated. The Theban origin of the hero is mentioned by Pindar in several passages: Pythian II. 3, IX. 87-88 (waters of Dirke); Isthmian 1.1 sqq., IV. 57, VII. 5 sqq.; Nemean 1.51, IV. 19 sqq. On the other hand, Argos figures as Héraclès' mother-land just once, inNemea/îX.ll sqq. Still, neither Héraclès nor Pindar can be considered strictly local characters. Indeed, as we mentioned earlier, both hâve a pronounced panhellenic vocation which carries them beyond their native land and continues to develop throughout their respective careers.

1.2. A taste fo adventure, the quest for new worlds, the steadfast pursuit of goals to their ultimate limits and conséquences. Again, this characteristic is évident in the hero as well as in the poet. To accomplish his heroic destiny, Héraclès is compelled to travel to remote lands and to venture on long journeys to the farthest confines of the world -beyond which nobody

HERACLES AND PINDAR 79

can tread- where he places his famous "pillars"6. Similarly, the poet Pindar takes major voyages (we should remember that he even visited Sidly) and becomes, thanks to his réputation and prestige, a panhellenic poet, in demand in diverse régions of the Greek world. Furthermore, in a figurative sensé, reaching the farthest boundary signifies the highest achievement of one's artistic potential, a sphère in which Pindar proves to be a master. He conceives of poetry symbolically as a path to be explored, as a route or way (an image that he frequently employs for the poetic act)7 that leads the poet to the farthest bounds and utmost possibilities. In this connection we may cite the famous image of the eagle, whose soaring flight séparâtes it dramatically from the cackling of the ravens that cannot reach it8. On a différent level, we may cite also the very difficulty of his poetic language, which drives him to explore the paths not previously trodden by others, to launch himself into the unknown, and to search for new possibilities of poetical expression (cf. W. Race, Pindar, Boston, 1986, p. 18)9.

1.3. Every where in his poetry, Pindar praises Héraclès' strength and power. The only exception -as far as I know (cf. CM. Bowra, op. cit. , p. 47)- is the already quoted (cf. supra fn. 4) controversial passage Isthmian IV. 57, in which the hero is said to be βραχύς. Some scholars (v., e.g., G. Norwood, Pindar, Berkeley-Los Angeles, 2nd éd. 1956, p. 175) hâve de- nied that the Unes were composed by Pindar, and interpret them as an in-

6. We shall return later to thèse "pillars of Héraclès", as they possess a wider and deeper meaning.

7. There are many, and impressive, images -as expected in this great creator of imagery- in which poetry is symbolized by a path or a way: Olympian VI. 23-24 (κελεύθω τ' εν καθαρά / βάσομεν όκχον: "let me mount the chariot, drive a clean highway", Latt.); Pythian IV. 247 (μακρά μοι νεϊσθαι κατ' άμαξιτόν: "The high road is long for me to travel" , Latt.), etc. About the images of Pindar in gênerai, v. J. Duchemin, Pindare. Poète et Prophète, Paris, 1955.

8. Olympian 11.86-88; Nemean III. 80 sqq. , V. 21-22. As it well known, thèse allusions and, particularly, the passage in Olympian II, hâve traditionally been interpreted as a covert allusion to Simonides and Bacchylides, Pindar's "rivais". Nevertheless, it is not at ail clear that Pindar had thèse two poets in mind at the time he composed this passage (see T.K. Hubbard, The Pindaric Mind. A Study of Logical Structure in Early Greek Poetry, Leiden, 1986, pp. 149 sqq. and W. Race, op. cit., p. 25).

9. That he was conscious of doing so, is indicated by some passages of his own work, like, for example, Olympian 11.83 sqq. : πολλά μοι υπ' αγκώνος ώκέα βέλη / ένδον έντί φαρέτρας / φωνάεντα συνετοΐσιν ες δέ το παν έρμανέων / χατίζει: "There are many sharp shafts in the quiver under the crook of my arm. They speak to the understanding; most men need interpreters", Lâtt.

M. P. NIETO HERNÂNDEZ

terpolation by one of his disciples. However, Bowra is inclined to ascribe them to Pindar, and he explains that the peculiar circumstances of the composition of this ode -the laudandus was a probably short man-induced Pindar to transgress his usual treatment of Héraclès and endow him with an attribute of this kind. On the contrary , A. Schachter, Cuits ofBoiotia 2. Héraclès to Poséidon, London, 1986, pp. 19-20, argues that Pindar is drawing on the Theban Héraclès, who was most probably short, as evi- denced by the archaelogical remains and corroborated by other literary sources (Paus. 9.27-28). Whatever the explanation, it is important to take into account that this is a unique and isolated exception among the over- whelming number of encomiastic descriptions with which the poet pays tri- bute to the hero, along with his constant praise of his physical and moral strength. Just as he exalts Héraclès' power, Pindar is equally conscious of his own power as a poet. Hère a connection needs to be established between his sensé of superiority ans his perception of the power of the word -and, particularly , of the poetic word- that is manifest in many passages of his works.

It is worth remarking that for the child Héraclès Pindar uses the two sub- stantives: λήμα and δύναμις (Nemean 1.56-57: έκνόμιον λήμά τε και δύνα- μιν "courage and strength surpassing the measure of man", Farn.), while when referring to himself, he employs τόλμα and δύναμις (Olympian IX 83-84: τόλμα δε και άμφιλαφής δύναμις εποιτο "...and may daring and overmastering might be my ministers!", Farn. ; Olympian XIII. 11-13: εχω καλά τε φράσαι, τόλμα τέ μοι ευθεία γλώσσαν ορνύει λέγειν "Ι hâve fair things to say, and straightforward courage urges my lips to speak", Latt.). Not only does Pindar use both for Héraclès and for himself virtually the same nouns to express power and courage, he also displays throughout his work his expressive linguistic strength (see W. Race, op. cit., p. 18).

1.4. We hâve mentioned earlier how insistently Pindar underlines the rôle played by Héraclès as the founder of the Olympian festival, the oldest and most relevant of its kind in ancient Greece . There are various passages that celebrate this feat, but the most prominent scène is the one that narrâtes the way in which Héraclès founded the Olympic Games: Olympian X. 43 sqq. We shall corne back to this passage because of the richness of its Pindaric motifs and meanings.

1.5. The cultivation of άρετά. The broad and contradictory nature of Héraclès' mythical character also exhibits important moral traits. Besides continually insisting on the άρετά of his laudandi, Pindar asserts his own άρετά in the practice of poetry. This leads us to consider both the Pindaric concept of άρετά and Pindar's views on poetry.


First of ail, we may point out that Pindar affirms a fundamental connection between poetry and truth10. Good poets do not use poetry for their own sake or profit, but in order to discover the truth. But Pindar's concept of "truth" (G. άλάθεια) is différent from our modem understanding of the term. It represents, in the first place, as the etymology of the word indi- cates, the négation of λάθα, "forgetfulness". Consequently, as a manifestation of truth, poetry is also, in the last analysis, wisdom.

Let us now examine the concept of άρετά in Pindar. It seems to be defined by the following characteristics:

1. It is an inborn quality: φυα, "by nature": Olympian 11.86: σοφός ό πολλά ειδώς φυα ("Wise is he who hath rich lore by the light of nature", Farn.); Olympian IX. 100: τό δε φυα κράτιστον άπαν ("Best of ail endow- ments is that which cometh to us by nature 's gift", Farn.); Pythian VIII. 44- 45: φυα τό γενναϊον έπιπρέπει εκ πατέρων παισΐ λήμα ("The héritage of valor from their fathers shines through in the son's blood", Latt.); Nemean VII. 54: φυα δ' έκαστος διαφέρομεν βιοταν λαχόντες ("By birth each of us is given his own life to carry. They differ one way and another", Latt.); Olympian XII. 13: άμαχον δε κρύψαι τό συγγενές ήθος ("It is vain striving to hide inborn nature", Latt.). But, at the same time, the fortunate individual who is endowed with this inborn gift has to enhance it through his own efforts because only thus can άρετά truly and directly lead to the σοφία, the ultimate aim of poetry. T.K. Hubbardm op. cit., p. 108, has synthesized this aspect of the Pindaric άρετά: "[it] is a mère potential for sophia, a potentiality which can be enhanced only through nurture, training, exercise, effort", in short, through what Pindar frequently calls πόνος δαπάνα τε: Olympian V.16: αιεί δ' άμφ' άρεταΐσι πόνος δαπάνα τε μάρ- ναται . . . (" Always attendant on valor , work and substance struggle to win" , Latt.); VI. 11: πολλοί δε μέμνανται, καλόν εϊ τι πονηθή ("But if afair deed is wrought with toil, it is long remembered of many a man", Farn.); X.23: άπονον δ' ελαβον χάρμα παϋροι τίνες ("But, without striving, few hâve won joy of victory", Latt.); XI. 4: ει δέ συν πόνφ τις εύ πράσσοι, μελιγάρυες ύμνοι... ("But when with hard toil a man fareth gloriously, then honey-voiced songs...", Farn.); Isthmian 1.41-42: ει δ' άρετά

10. Even though it is a constant thème in Pindar's poetry, we offer some of the most significant passages concerning this topos: Olympian IV. 2 1-22: ου ψεύδει τέγξω λόγο ν ("Ι will not stain my speech with falsehood", Farn.); Nemean 1. 18-18b: πολλών έπέθαν καιρόν ου ψεύδει θαλών ("Ι mount this occasion for manifold praise, nor cast my words in falsehood", Latt.); VII. 23: σοφία δέ κλέπτει παράγοισα μύθοις ("genius persuasive in speech deceivesus", Latt.); 62-63: άγων κλέος έτήτυμοναίνήσω ("... andbring... glory in sincère praise", Latt.).


κατάκειται πασαν οργάν, άμφότερον δαπάναις τε καί πόνοις... ("But if every temper of him is disposée! toward virtue both ways, by outlay and endurance of toil...", Latt.); VI. 10 sqq.: ει γάρ τις ανθρώπων δαπάνα τε χαρείς και πόνω πράσσει θεοδμάτους άρετάς, συν τέ οι δαίμων φυτεύει δόξαν επήρατον... ("If any man, gladly lavishing gold and toil, win to achievement of excellence given of God . . . " , Latt . ) . This notion of effort is ubiquitous in Pindar's works and it can be found at very différent levels of analysis11. Not only are his laudandi always valiant men who hâve performed difficult and hazardous exploits and hâve achieved success after numerous ordeals, but the poet himself also expresses his continuai struggle to prove himself worthy of the craft of a poet, that is, to be loyal to truth, beauty and goodness. Again, we hâve to consider the above mentioned difficulty that critics hâve repeatedly remarked upon in Pindar's poetic language. In our opinion, this difficulty points in the same direction: it is as if the poet were suggesting that beauty and aesthetic pleasure constitute the terminus, the end point of a certain path to perfection, and they demand a tremendous effort in order to be reached. Once again, Héraclès proves to be the most suitable paradigm. Nothing is granted to this hero but his innate excellence or άρετά, which confers on him a natural superiority from the very moment of his conception. But this must be enhanced and developed by his own efforts, and nobody has more expérience of strife and suffering than Héraclès, the hero of "Labours" par excellence12.

2. Besides being an innate quality that exacts effort, Pindaric άρετά appears to be defined by another important trait: service to others13. Pindar's

11. On πόνος and κάματος ν. G. Nagy, Pindar's Homer. The Lyric Possession of an EpicPast, Baltimore-London, 1990, pp. 138-140.

12. Even though there is no full description or exhaustive list of the Labours of Héraclès in Pindar's surviving works, the poet constantly underlines his valiant character and the suffering he had to undergo in order to reach a 'happy end'. See the prédiction of the hero's future, as foreseen by the seer Teiresias, when Héraclès was still a baby in JVe- mean 1.60 sqq.

13. Cf. Olympian XIII. 96-97: Μοΐσαις γαρ άγλαοθρόνοις εκών / Όλιγαιθΐδαισίν τ' έ'βαν επίκουρος ("For Ι came fain helper to the Muses on their thrones of shining, and to the Oligaithidai", Latt.); Pythian III. 109: δαΐμον' ασκήσω κατ' έμαν θεραπεύων μαχα- νάν ("Ι will work out the divinity that is busy within my mind and tend the means that are mine", Latt.); IX. 103-104: έμέ...άοιδανδΐψανάκενόμενον... ("Ι, staunching the thirst of song", Latt.); Isthmian VI. 21: τέθμιόν μοι φαμί σαφέστατον εμμεν / ...ραινέμεν εύλογΐαις ("Ι aver 'lis an ordinance right clear for me, (...), toshedupon youthedewof words of praise", Farn.); Nemean 1.31-32: ουκ εραμαι πολύν έν μεγάρω πλοϋτον κατά-


notion of άρετά is never limited just to its bearers, whether they be his laudandi, the poet himself , or the hero Héraclès14. On the contrary, it is a transitive quality, reaching its highest expression and revealing itself fully in a relationship with others. Pindar's laudandi are always praised as good citizens, fair men, and loyal friends of their friends15. As for the complex personality of Héraclès, his altruism has been repeatedly noticed. Al- though this is a traditional feature of his personality, Pindar has deliber- ately highlighted it in several passages: for example, the toast proposed at the banquet of the hero's close friend Telamon (cf. Nemean 1.62-68); or in Olympian X. 43-59, where Héraclès, worried by the inclement conditions under which the Olympic Games were to be celebrated, proceeded to pro- tect the weary athlètes from the powerful sun by carrying and transplant- ing trees. Many scholars, among them W. Race, op. cit., p. 82, G. Nor- wood, op. cit., p. 230 n. 89 and E.L. Bundy, Studia Pindarica, Berkeley- Los Angeles, 1986, repr.,p. 85 n. 116, hâve remarkedupon Héraclès' condition as a benefactor of humankind. According to Norwood, the only ab- solutely clear passage concerning altruism in Pindar's whole work is the above-mentioned toast, proposed by Héraclès at Telamon's feast.

The poet also considers his poetry to be a kind of service he renders for men's sake, because poetry is a gift of the gods that must be made public, a gift meant to be shared with and enjoyed by citizens, and to bestow glory and famé on deeds that deserve ever-lasting remembrance. Apart from the many passages in which a Muse, the Muses collectively, or the Grâces are invoked as awarders of this gift (see, e.g., Olympian XIV. 5 sqq., Pythian IX. 89a, etc.), Pindar has many other passages in which this same idea is emphasized, as in the outstanding Unes of Isthmian 1.45-46: έπεί κούφα δόσις άνδρί σοφω / αντί μόχθων παντοδαπών έπος εϊποντ' αγαθόν ξυνόν όρθώσαι καλόν ("...for it is a light gift for a man well skilled to find the right word for various labors achieved and build up splendor in ail mens's

κρύψαις εχειν, αλλ1 έόντων εύ τε παθεϊν και άκουσαι φίλονς έςαρκέων (...) εγώ δ' Ήρα- κλέος αντέχομαι. .. ("Ι love not vast wealth darkened deep in the house, but with it there to know good treatment and réputation; to serve friends", Latt.). This last passage con- nects the idea of service with the figure of Héraclès.

14. On Héraclès, we may also quote Pindar's passage at Nemean VII. 96-97: δύνασαι δέ θροτοΐσιν άλκάν / αμαχανιαν δυσδάτων θάμα διδόμεν ("And thou thyself canst grant to mortals in many a pass deliverance from desperate straits", Farn.).

15. Moreover, thèse relations are often circumscribed within the sphère of reciprocal gifts, an important institution in the Pindaric works. V. , for this matter, J. Pôrtulas, "La condition héroïque et le statut religieux de la louange", in Pindare. Entretiens F. Hardt XXXI (O. Reverdin et B. Grange, eds.), Vandœuvres-Genève, 1985, pp. 207-235.

M. P. NIETO HERNÀNDEZ

sight16", Latt.). The gifts received from the gods - according to so pious a mentality as Pindar's -must not be ignored; acting otherwise would constitute an act of ϋβρις.

Anticipating our conclusions, we can say that Héraclès' and Pindar's careers are similar in the sensé that they constitute a kind of progression in άρετά that confers immortality on both of them (see W. Race, op. cit. , p. 85). This feature of Héraclès, as the only hero who becomes part of the Panthéon through struggle, and the fulfillment of his άρετά, has been sig- nalled (cf. supra) as one of the reasons for Pindar's spécial admiration for him. It is in this light, -irrespective of the fact that the Theban Héraclès was short, as Schachter affirms- that we ought to interpret the problematic passage in which Pindar, for the first and last time, dares to say something derogatory about this hero: even if the poet affirms at Isthmian IV. 51 and 57 that Héraclès was physically short (βραχύς) in order to establish a suitable parallel with the ode's laudandus, Melissos (who in ail probability was a short man), he is most surely motivated by the worthy purpose of underlining, once again, the importance of personal effort in the development of one's inborn άρετά through τέχνα. This, in turn, leads us to some further considérations.

3. The realization of άρετά entails a séries of important conséquences. The most outstanding one -from which the rest are derived- is the transcendence of time, the achievement of immortality. For Pindar, the fulfillment of άρετά enables the mortals to attain this most valuable goal of ail. Time is the critical limitation of the human condition and defines the essential différence between men and gods. Thus the practice of άρετά gives men access to the future, an otherwise exclusive privilège of divin- ity17.

16. For this passage, see A. Hurst, "Aspects du temps chez Pindare", en Pindare. Entretiens F. Hardt XXXI (O. Reverdin et B. Grange, eds.), Vandœuvres-Genève, pp. 157-197, p. 194.

17. As an illustration of the way in which Pindar conceives of the gods and their relationship to time, we will quote only some passages that are particularly relevant: Olym- pian XII. 8-9: σύμβολον δ' ου πώ τις έπιχθονΐων / πιστόν άμφΐ πράξιος έσσομένας εύρεν θεόθεν ("Never yet has a man who walks upon earth found from God sure sign of the matter to corne", Latt.); Isthmian III. 19 sqq.: αιών δέ κυλινδομέναις άμέραις αλλ' άλ- λοτ' έξάλλαξεν. άτρωτοι γε μαν παϊδες θεών ("But time, in the turning-over of days, works change for better or worse; the unwounded are God's children", Latt.); VIII. 15: δόλιος γαρ αιών έπ' άνδράσι κρέμαται ("For full of treachery is our span of days impend- ing", Farn.); Olympian X. 52-55: παρέσταν μέν άρα Μοΐραι σχεδόν ο τ' έξελέγχων μόνος άλάθειαν έτήτυμον Χρόνος ("the Fates stood hard by as witnesses, and Father Time who alone testeth the very truth of things", Farn.).


According to the Pindaric viewpoint, poetry , conceived of as the highest realization of excellence, also represents a path to immortality (cf. W. Race, op. cit., p. 68 and P. A. Bernardini, op. cit., p. 164). In short, the combination of φυά (the inborn quality, received from the gods) and τέχνα (skilful craft derived from personal effort) provides a basis for artistic création (see T.K. Hubbard, op. cit., pp. 107 sqq. and Nemean IV. 37-38: σφόδρα δόξομεν / δαίων υπέρτεροι εν φάει καταβαίνειν: "thus shall we show far better than our enemies, and corne down to the trial in bright- ness", Latt.) and enables excellence in every other field: it affects both the athlètes whose victories the poet célébrâtes, and Héraclès, who is, once again, his idéal paradigm.

Of ail Greek heroes, Héraclès is exceptional by virtue of his improvement of his own excellence, his άρετά. For this reason he is able to transcend time, to enter the realm of the gods ("the forever alive"), and to marry Hebe, the flourishing Youth18. Moreover, the figure of Héraclès présents many interesting features that inextricably tie the hero to the notion of time, features that Pindar skilfully exploits in his odes. Ail thèse characteristics hâve been carefully studied by S. Feraboli, "Eracle, le Trachinie e il Calendario", Quaderni Urbinati di Cultura classica 52, 1986, pp. 125-135, esp. p. 135, who observes that in Sophocles' Trachiniae the chronological markers are unusually précise; she accounts for this by the présence of Héraclès in the play. One of the most outstanding and évident bonds between Héraclès and time is to be found in his establishing of the Olympic Games. As is well known, among the Greeks the Olympiads served as a measure of time (see W. Race, op. cit., p. 118). For his part one of Pindar's most beautiful passages is the scène concerning the foundation of the Olympic Games by Héraclès (Olympian X.50 sqq.; cf. also Olym- pian III. 19-20), an event at which, besides Héraclès, only the Moiras and Chronos, or Time, were présent (see the interesting remarks by W. Race,

18. From the perspective of G. Dumézil's Indo-European tripartite ideology, as illus- trated by F. Bader's hypothesis (F. Bader, "De la préhistoire à l'idéologie tripartie: les Travaux d'Héraklès", in R. Bloch (éd.), D'Héraklès à Poséidon. Mythologie et Protohistoire, Genève-Paris, 1985, pp. 9-124), Héraclès passes from the second function to the first. Cf. Nemean 1.60 sqq., X. 17-18; Isthmian IV. 70 sqq. We may mention, by the way, that if, in gênerai, Greek saga does not offer many suitable éléments for comparison with the Indo-European background, the history of Héraclès, so rich in comparative materials, constitutes the exception (v. , e.g. , J. Puhvel, Comparative Mythology, Balti- more-London, 2nd éd. 1987, p. 141: "...An exception is, however, the Herakles cycle, which does contain important comparative material for the study of the Indo-European warrior").


op. cit., p. 118 and Ch. Segal, Pindar's Mythmaking. The Fourth Pythian ode, Princeton, 1986, pp. 97 sqq.).

Concerning this issue we must refer to the "pillars of Héraclès" , and the multiple meanings which Pindar gives to them. He does not confer upon this image an exclusively spatial or local significance ; the pillars do not mark simply the world's géographie end. They represent symbolically the highest degree of excellence, and, in this sensé, Pindar uses them to praise some of his laudandi. But there is still more. Taking their symbolism further, Pindar also exploits them as symbolic boundaries of time, and, in this sensé, he applies them to himself and his poetic création; See Olym- pian III. 42 sqq., esp. 44-45: το πόρσω δ' έστι σοφοΐς αβατον / κάσοφοίς. ου νιν διώξω, κείνος εϊην ("Beyond no wise man can tread; no fool either. I will not venture; a fool were I", Latt.); and, also, Nemean I.V.69-72, a highly symbolic passage in which the pillars of Héraclès are not explicity named, but the poet is obviously referring to them when he says: Γαδείρων τό προς ζόφον ού περατόν ("Into the night beyond Gades you may not pass", Latt.). Whoever is able to reach this point and go further enters, like Héraclès, the sacred time of the gods, i.e., the non-time, and becomes immortal (cf. W. Mullen, "Herakles in Pindar", in AA.VV., Herakles. Passage ofthe Hero through 1,000 Years of Classical Art, New Rochelle-N. York, pp. 29-33, esp. p. 30 and P. A. Bernardini, op. cit., p. 116, who underlines the plural meanings that the "pillars of Héraclès" hâve in Pindar's poetry). For those who are mère mortals, immortality is accessible by means of a good and lasting réputation, the κλέος αφθιτον. But this glory cannot be obtained through the performance of grand feats alone , because , as Pindar emphasizes , in spite of their importance , ail such exploits lack permanence so long as they are not sung by a poet. With the passage of time, they are lost in forgetfulness, they sink into nothingness; see Olympian IV. 11-12: δέξαι Χαρίτων θ' εκατι τόνδε κώμον, χρονιώ- τατων φάος εύρισθενέων άρεταν: "., .in the name ofthe Grâces accept this song of Olympic victory , light at long last from the wide strength of valor" , Latt. ; Pythian III. 114-1 15: ά δ' άρετα κλειναΐς άοιδαΐς χρονιά τελέθει: "In the glory of poetry achievement of men blossoms long", Latt.; Nemean IV. 6 sqq.: ρήμα δ' έργμάτων χρονιώτερον βιοτεύει: "And speech hath a longer life than deeds", Farn.; VIL 13: και μεγάλαι γαρ άλκαί σκότον πολύν ϋμνων εχοντι δεόμεναι: "even high strength, lacking song, goes down into the great darkness", Latt. ; VII.20: εγώ δε πλέον' ελπομαι λόγον Όδυσσέος ή πάθαν δια τόν άδυεπή γενέσθ' "Ομηρον: "But Ι trow that the famé of Odysseus passeth the measure of his suffering because of sweet- voiced Homer", Farn. ; etc.


1 . 6 . In addition to being a benef actor of humanity , Héraclès also has the characteristics of a civilizing hero. He takes part in the battle led by Zeus and the other Olympians against the Giants, and in his mythic cycle we find several of the éléments proper to the civilizing heroes, such as, for instance, a fight with monstrous animais (a typically heroic motif; cf. A. Bre- lich, op. cit., p. 75). In thisway, Héraclès collaborâtes with his father Zeus and the new divine génération in the task of establishing a new cosmic order, governed by harmony and justice. Through his labours and battles he participâtes in the création of a κόσμος, an ordered world, that supplants a former χάος. In this connection, we shall indicate a few significant passages. For example at Nemean 1.63 sqq. , when the seer Teiresias foresees the hero's future, the monsters Héraclès fights with are denomi- nated as άϊδροδΐκας, i.e., "ignorant of justice". In this same passage, we are also informed about Héraclès' rôle in the battle of the Olympic gods against the Giants (vv. 67-68, also mentioned at Nemean VII. 90), in which the hero aids the new génération of gods . Evidently , as many scholars hâve already noticed(see, for example, Farnell, op. cit., I,p. 162,echoedbyW. Race, op. cit. , p. 83), Pindar is employing this mythic épisode as a parallel to the battles of Chromius -the winner celebrated in this ode- against the Carthaginians and the Etruscans. But, in addition, in the Vth century , this battle of Héraclès against the Giants had already become a cliché mirror- ing the battles of the Greeks against the Barbarians (see Farnell, loc. cit. , and F. Vian, La Guerre des Géants. Le mythe avant l'époque hellénistique, Paris, 1952, p. 288). Also the battle against Antaeus19, a monster characterized at îsthmian IV. 57 sqq. as an ogre, should be interpreted along the same lines, since the monster's brute force is countered by the hero's use of μήτις cf. P. A. Bernardini, op. cit., p. 57)20.

We could say more about the civilizing features of the hero. Not only is Héraclès "the master of animais", as he has been justly called (cf. W. Bur- kert, Structure andHistoryin Greek Mythology and Ritual, Berkeley-Los Angeles-London, 1979, pp. 78 sqq. and Greek Religion, Engl. trans. , Oxford, 1985, p. 209), but on many occasions in his earthly career he also ap-

19. A Lybian Giant, the son of Poséidon and Ge, who decorated Poseidon's temple with the skulls of foreigners.

20. A certain component of μήτις was already présent in the personality of Héraclès before its treatment by Pindar. See, on this matter, M. Detienne-J.P. Vernant, Métis. Las artimanas de la inteligencia, (Span. trans. of the 2nd. fr. éd., Paris 1978), Madrid, 1988, pp. 34, 41-42, 102 fn. 8 and 104-105. Ch. Segal, op. cit., pp. 26 sqq. remarks that the présence of μήτις in the personality of Pindar's heroes is important for the understanding of Pindaric poetics.

M. P. NlETO HERNÂNDEZ

pears as "the lord of waters" (see F. Bader op. cit., p. 49). His dominion over this élément, and over its various manifestations -seas, rivers, marshes, etc.- is demonstrated at several important moments of his life. We may recall that water and, even more so man's control of water, is a civilizing élément of the first order. Hence, the victor of Héraclès over the Lernian Hydra (an aquatic monster who inhabited the swamps of Lerna) has usually been interpreted as the struggle of civilizing forces against primitive and wild ones, as it figures the transformation of marshes into farmlands. This is, in fact, a contemporary allegorical interprétation, according to which the Hydra stands for the swamps, useless for the cultivation of land and the source of malarial infection, while Héraclès' victory over the monster symbolizes the draining of the marshes to the benefit of the peasants (see F. Bader, op. cit. , p. 24). Water also plays an important rôle in Heracles's "labour" of cleaning the Augean stables. To perform his task in the short period of time he was allowed, he alters the course of the rivers Alphaeus and Peneus, and exhibits, once again, his dominion over this élément. His power over water is revealed once more in his fréquent sea voyages, and it is not by accident that he placed his famous pillars at the outermost limit of the then known sea. And, finally, water is not just a civilizing élément, but also, more generally, a sign of birth, of the beginning of life: in short, an essential créative principle21.

Pindar, the poet, aware of the prominent function of water in the overall pattern of action of this hero, introduces an impressive number of références to this élément in ail the passages that deal with Héraclès. Moreover, he does it not directly but by indirection, in the veiled manner proper to the oblique style of what we might call "the Pindaric mood".

We may focus first on Pindar's version of Zeus' begetting of Héraclès. As is well known, in the most common version of this mythical event, Zeus assumes the shape of Alcmene's absent husband, Amphitruo, and de- ceives the faîthful wife, who consents to having sexual intercourse with him (cf. Nemean X.15 sqq.). But Pindar also présents another, différent

21. In fact, not only does civilization start from water, but so does life itself, as Thaïes affirmed. The symbolism of water as a sign of re birth into a new life, or another form of existence is so well known and so widespread that there is no need to provide further examples. We limit ourse Ives to recalling -simply to give another example of the con- tinuity of this image- that, even nowadays, it still is an essential élément in baptismal or initiatory rites. On the gênerai meaning of water, v. M. Ninck, Die Bedeutung des Was- sers im Kult und Leben der Alten. Philologus Suppl. 14.2, Darmstadt 1921 (3rd éd., 1967) and, more concretely, for primordial waters, J. Rudhardt, Le Thème de l'eau primordiale dans la mythologie grecque, Bern, 1971.


version of this incident, in which Zeus imprégnâtes Alcmene by means of a "golden snow" (Isthmian VII. 5 sqq. ή χρυσω μεσονύκτιον νεΐφοντα δε- ξαμένα, τον φέρτατον θεών, "Or when, by midnight, you welcomed the mightiest of gods in the gold snowfall.. .", Latt.). This constitutes a curious syncretism with the myth of another hero, Perseus, and the golden rain that, according to tradition, Zeus shed on the imprisoned Danae. As Ch. Segal, op. cit., p. 113 has correctly observed, the présence of gold in Pin- dar repeatedly marks the encounter of a mortal with a deity . Furthermore, it also signais the bare présence of the divine , of absolute "otherness" , and of those orders that do not lie within human catégories. Thus, for instance, we find the présence of gold at the beginning of the description of the Is- lands of the Blessed, in Olympian 11.72: άνθεμα χρυσού φλέγει..., or, again, in the passage in which Pindar narrâtes Athena's birth. When the goddess emergedfrom Zeus' head, he, the fatherof gods andmen, sent- according to Pindar- a similar golden snow: Olympian VIL 34 ένθα ποτέ βρέχε θεών βασιλεύς ό μέγας χρυσέαις νιφάδεσσι πόλιν22 ("Where once the high king of the gods drenched their city in a gold snowfall . . . " , Latt . ) .

In another Pindaric passage of utmost importance water is again associated with Héraclès. The lines narrate the beginning or origin of the Olympic Games and their création by Héraclès (cf. Olympian X.24 sqq.). (A fuller treatment of this scène is to be found infra).

Like Héraclès, Pindar is also conscious that, through his works, he is creating a new reality, a whole world, a κόσμος. And, what is more, both of them are commissioned to accomplish their tasks: Héraclès is under the orders of Eurystheus, and Pindar under those of his various patrons. Both

22. We remark how in both of thèse cases -conception of Héraclès and birth of Athene-, water marks, again, a créative act, the primordial moment of something (v. fn. 21 supra). Those Pindaric expressions in which snow is closely related to important stages in Zeus' relationship to certain of his children, evoke the Homeric passage that recounts Sarpedon's death (///ad XVI. 459-460): αίματόεσσας δέ ψιάδας κατέχευεν εραζε παϊδα φίλον τιμών. There are similarities and différences between thèse lines and Pin- dar's passages. In both cases (Homer, Pindar), Zeus produces a spécial phenomenon at a décisive moment in the life of one of his children; but whereas in Pindar we find a golden snowfall signaling the birth or origin, in Homer we find bloody drops that fall on to earth in honour of Sarpedon's death. Finally, we also hâve to point out that thèse golden snowfalls combine gold and water, two éléments that frequently appear together in Pin- dar's poetry; and, moreover, they regularly do so in highly wrought passages, like the famous priamel at the beginning of the Olympian 1.1: "Αριστον μεν ΰδωρ, ό δέ χρυσός..., or the almost exact répétition of the same idea in the closing verses of Olympian III. 42: ει δ' αριστεύει μέν ϋδωρ, κτεάνων δέ χρυσός αιδοιέστατος... (V. also, for the passage Olympian VII. 34, A. Hurst, op. cit., p. 173).

90 M. P. NIETO HERNÀNDEZ

of them also are -and they know it- superior to those whom they serve: Héraclès is much more valiant and stronger than his cousin, and Pindar, in his works, repeatedly affirms his own superiority in comparison to his laudandi. He often stresses the fact that without his songs ail their exploits are doomed to oblivion. Only the poet makes them immortal. And, finally, the hero, like the poet, performs his tasks alone, unaided by any- body. As is well known, solitude is a typical characteristic of heroic life. Eurystheus does not accept the exploits that Héraclès has performed with the help of his nephew Iolaus. As for Pindar, he repeatedly emphasizes his solitude , using the poetic "I" instead of the expected "we" , required by the tradition of choral song. This point has been -and still is- one of the most problematic issues in Pindaric criticism. This is not the appropiate occasion to discuss this controversy, but we may briefly mention the possibility that Pindar's sensé of his solitude as a poet might be another clue to the Pindaric use of the first person singular (cf. infra fn. 36).

1.7. Finally, poet and hero also share another similarity: their ties to the traditional value System. Pindar genuinely adhères to the ideals advocated by the aristocracy from, at least, the end of the VlIIth century onwards. Furthermore, Pindar maintains this attitude in a historical and social moment in which thèse values are in décline and survive chiefly within the bastions of the Dorian aristocracies. The ties that bind the figure of Héraclès to the Dorian world are well known: the Dorians recognized in him their mythical ancestor, and this is another relevant factor in the poet's identification with the hero. We may recall that, whatever the actual origins of the Héraclès myth may be, the hero was considered a prototype of the Dorian man. Pindar, in turn, never conceals his sympathy for the Dorian aristocracy nor his répugnance for the Athenian democracy; see, for example, Pythian X. 71-72: εν δ' άγαθοΐσι κεινται/πατρώϊαι κεδναί πολιών κυβερ- νασΐες ("The rule of states in noble hands by ancestral right is trusty and sure", Farn.). Moreover, choral lyric, the genre that Pindar cultivated was closer to the Dorian world than to any other Greek area because of its background, its literary language and its characteristic features.

Pindar's solidarity with a set of values already outmoded in his own day constitutes one of the most obvious and remarkable contradictions between him and his âge. And, probably, his defence of traditional values accounts for the distinctly moral treatment that mythical figures receive in his works. He thus counters the criticism then in vogue of traditional re- ligiosity, formulated in différent Greek circles and destined to become more and more pervasive and outspoken during his lifetime.

Pindar's choice of Héraclès as his favourite hero is thus fully understand-


able. His mythic story provides the best paradigm of the άρετα φυα and his life and behaviour fully illustrate the validity of this concept. For this reason, too, Pindar frequently stresses the divine birth of the hero and his exceptional innate qualities. In our opinion, this is an essential key to understanding the myth in Nemean I, which recounts the victory of the baby Héraclès , while still in his cradle , ο ver the'snakes sent by Hera who , driven by jealousy, tries to put an end to the life of Zeus' illegitimate son. The child, who has not yet developed his capacities through effort, de- monstrates a inborn superiority, displaying a powerful energy that easily kills the monsters, to the astonishment of his parents and the other attendants who witness the scène.

2. The identification Pindar-Heracles: an image of Pindaric poetics

Pindar's identification with Héraclès does not operate so much in terms of concrète human individuals as it does on the level of the rôles they play in their lives: the former, as a poet; the latter, as a hero. The identification thus functions between Pindar the poet and Héraclès the hero. We can easily grasp some of the gênerai characteristics of Pindar's poetry : for Pindar, poetry is a way, a path to the realization of one's άρετά, a means of personal growth. As we noted earlier, the identification of the poet with his hero concerns essentially the way in which Pindar thinks of himself as a poet, and has deeper implications than those explored so far by scholars. For this reason, in this second part, we shall consider various aspects of Pindar's conception of his poetic craft, in order to examine its impact on his artistic création of the hero Héraclès, as the most striking paradigm of the fulfilment of άρετά. This will lead us to a séries of paradoxes, contradictions or polarities which the poet -as well as the hero- is compelled to live out.

2.1. The heroic choice. This is a characteristic feature of the heroic personality, and it has been repeatedly emphasized. The notion is already présent in the Iliad. Achilles consciously opts for a short life and death in Troy after having slain Hektor, because that will bring him imperishable glory. Consequently, he rejects a peaceful and secure but médiocre life amidst the sheltered environment of his f amily -together with his father and son- back in his native Thessaly23.

23. V. Iliad IX. 412-413: εί μέν κ' αύθι μένων Τρώων πόλιν άμφιμάχωμαι / ώλετο μεν μοι νόστος, άτάρ κλέος αφθιτον εσται. Cf. also Thetis' prédictions concerning her son's


The heroic choice must hâve appeared quite early in the Heraclean cycle, as on several occasions Héraclès is compelled to choose between good and evil, and he becomes a paradigm of those who make the décision they ought to make, even if the chosen path is arduous and beset with difficulties. The thème was developed by one of the most prominent men of the Athenian Enlightment, Prodicus of Ceos, in a speech that was to become quite popular in his time and was quoted very often by later authors. He pictured "Héraclès at the crossroad", and confronted the hero with the choice between two différent paths (cf. Xenophon, Memorabilia. II. 1.21- 34) : the one , easy and accessible , leading to mediocrity , or even to evil ; the other, steep and almost impassable, leading, on the contrary, to the highest good and to the fullness of glory. In this respect, Pindar identifies himself once more with the hero. Everywhere in his work he shows that his particular way of understanding poetry involves a conscious act of will, as is his choice of a spécifie set of values: he illustrâtes this conception when he compares himself to the poets whose craft stems from discipline and training and not from φυά; he illustrâtes it again when he sets his own poetic stature against that of others; and he reaffirms it once more when he consciously underlines the difficulties that his créative works présent, which "for common people require interpreters" (Olympian 11.84), etc.

2.2. Poetry is truth. The poet has the duty of expressing the truth which cornes from the gods and his (poetic) word is veracious. The poet everywhere décries falsehood: the contrast truth/falsehood (άλάθεια- ψεϋδος) is a constant in Pindaric poetics (see T.K. Hubbard, op. cit., pp. 100-101). But, in principle, his concept of άλάθεια is not opposed or polarized to ψευδός, but to λάθα, forge tfulness, as M. Détienne, Les

short destiny (Mad 1.416: ...έπεί νύ τοι αίσα μίνυνθά περ, "for the Iife allotted to you is short, not long at ail"), his horse Xanthos (Iliad XIX. 409: αλλά τοι έγγύθεν ήμαρ όλέ- θριον, "but you are already fated to die"), etc.. Thèse prédictions of Achilles' destiny constitute one of the most important thèmes of the poem, especially if we consider it as an Achilleis or poem of Achilles. With this choice, Achilles fulfills his heroic vocation (v. Iliad XXII. 393: ήράμεθα μέγα κΰδος· έπέφνομεν Έκτορα δΐον), just as Hektor does when he disregards his wife's supplications. She warns him that he is in danger of losing his Iife in war because of his courage (Iliad VI. 407). Also Hektor's parents at Iliad XXII. 38 sqq. and 82 sqq. implore him not to leave the city and confront Achilles, as they fear that he will die. Nevertheless, the Trojan warrior does not listen to this advice. He claims that his own condition prompts him to do it, because he has been trained to shine as a hero and to confront danger and not flee like a coward (according to the définition, now classical, of E.R. Dodds, The Greeks and the Irrational, Berkeley, 1951, this is another illustration of the power of shame experienced before the community).


maîtres de vérité dans la Grèce archaïque, Paris, 1967, demostrated several years ago24. Consequently, poetry is truth for Pindar, but his concept of truth differs from our présent understanding of it. Seen as an opposite of λάθα, truth is that which has the power to transmit and keep alive our memory of the past and to rescue it from oblitération (we hâve already seen how poetry confers perdurability on men's achievements, cf. supra p. 12). The good poet, the authentic one, receives his inspiration from the gods: for this reason he knows the truth. And due to this direct contact that the genuine poet has with the gods , he has access to the realm of non-time , to the sacred sphère of immortality. Thus, not only does he rescue the most prominent exploits of men from forgetfulness, but through the performance of his artistic créations he is also capable of projecting facts from the past into the future, and in so doing he transcends the boundaries that are usually unsurmountable for men. He insists that the exploits performed by the winners of his odes will be known in future times only through his songs. Because of his capacity to transcend time, to penetrate into the future, we can affirm that the true poet also is a prophet (see Ch. Segal, op. cit. , pp. 47 and 148- 149)25. Furthermore, on several occasions, Pindar employs prophecy as a metaphor for poetry, as argued by T.K. Hubbard (op. cit., p. 54 fn. 120), who in turn draws on J. Duchemin's famous treatise, Pindare, poète et prophète, Paris, 1955, the very title of which posits the poet's condition as prophet26. Only one of Pindar's heroic characters possesses this prophétie gift and this is, as expected, Héraclès. In the well- known scène of the hero's toast in the house of his friend Telamon -an incident previous to their departure, in the company of Peleus, for the Tro- jan campaign against Laomedon (Isthmian VI. 51 sqq.)-, Héraclès inter- prets an omen sent by Zeus , and proves himself a reliable interpréter of the

24. V., for the concept of truth in archaic poetry, Th. Cole, "Archaic Truth", Quaderni Urbinati di Cultura classica, 42, 1983, pp. 7-28.

25. V. also A. Hurst, op. cit. , p. 195: "Responsable de transmettre une vision juste de l'ordre du monde, Pindare voit une relation directe entre cette situation et le pouvoir dont il s'enorgueillit, pouvoir qui lui permet de rompre avec le temps. On peut discerner dans ce rapprochement un trait qui apparente la parole poétique de Pindare à la parole oraculaire".

26. From this saine perspective, in the myth of Héraclès in Nemean I, the figure of the seer Teiresias, who foresees the glorious future of the child Héraclès, has been interpreted as an image of Pindar (v. P.W. Rosé, "The Myth of Pindar's First Nemean: Sportsmen, Poetry, and Paideia", Harvard Studies in Classical Philology, 78, 1974, pp. 145-175, esp. pp. 171-172 and Ch. Segal, "Time and the Hero: the Myth of Nemean I", Rheinisches Muséum, 117, 1974, pp. 29-39, esp. pp. 38-39).


future (ατε μάντις άνήρ): Telamon's son will be valiant and courageous, and will add great glory to his father's name27. Thus the power of prophecy points, one more time, to the similarity between Pindar and Héraclès.

But poetry , like language in gênerai, can also be employed in the service of falsehood or deceit28. Nevertheless, in this respect too, Pindar 's concepts differ from ours, since for him, deceit, artifice, etc., are not always invariably evil, but, on the contrary, prove to be as indispensable an élément to artistic achievement, as they are to heroic fulfillment. Thus, in the last analysis, the problem of truth versus falsehood is not posed in ethical terms, as we may be inclined to approach it nowadays. Deceit is basically everything that falsifies the essential aim of poetry, which résides in rescu- ing from forgetfulness, in transmiting or projecting great men's deeds into the future. Hence, a kind of poetry that lacks φυά, the necessary innate quality , or that is not enhanced by the required τέχνα, cannot reach its aim of άλάθεια, that is, it does not defeat oblivion and cannot, consequently, tresspass the limits of time (cf. infra, 2.5).

2.3. Poetry is création . When poetry is truth , when it is authentic , it constitutes a créative power of the first rank, which transforms χάος into κόσμος. We hâve already called attention to the créative strength in Pindaric poetry. Now we shall examine it in détail. In his works, Pindar, like every true poet, not only créâtes his own poetic universe, but, moreover, he also acts as a creator of new words, a "wordfinder" , as he explicitly wishes to be (εί'ην εύρησιεπής άναγεΐσαθι πρόσφορος εν Μοισαν δίφρω, Olympian IX. 80-8 1)29. His ability and his créative strength émerge as an enormous créative power to name reality. In the same way, in his odes, Héraclès is

27. This son of the friend of Herackles, Telamon, will be Telamonian Ajax, one of the most outstanding heroes of the Greek army during the second and most famous Greek expédition against Troy: the Trojan war.

28. Cf. M. Détienne, op. cit., p. 77: "le 'maître de vérité' est aussi un maître de tromperie".

29. We translate εύρησιεπής by "wordfinder", because, even though ευρίσκω can also be rendered by "to invent", "to find" seems to be more accurate in the context of Pindaric poetry. Probably, this translation is closer to the poet's purpose of creating this composed noun. "Finding", not "inventing" is quite a common expérience among great artists. Picasso, for example, affirmed: "I do not seek; I find". We can also recall Federico Garcia Lorca's words in 1936 about Luis Cernuda: ..."No habrâ escritor en Espana, de la clase que sea, si realmente es escritor, manejador de palabras, que no quede admirado del encanto y refinamiento con que Luis Cernuda une los vocablos para crear un mundo poético propio" (my underlining). And, of course, Lorca was not inspiring himself in Pindar when he uttered this wonderful "manejador de palabras".


endowed with the ability to give a name to that which did not hâve one (see Ch. Segal, op. cit. , p. 99). Thus, the scène at Olympian X.43 sqq. in which Pindar narrâtes Heracles's founding of the Olympic Games also attests to a créative act of this kind. The hero gives a name to a land which was nameless before: καί πάγον Κρόνου προσεφθέγξατο· πρόσθε γαρ νώνυμος, ...βρέχετο πολλά νιφάδι. "And he called the hill by Kronos' name; for of aforetime (se. 'before this act of foundation'), (...) it was nameless (νώνυμος), drenched with many a snow-shower" (Farn.). We could add much more about the power of naming as a means of possessing and dominating reality, and as a manifestation of men's créative power. It suffices to recall, for instance, Juliet's remarks on the power of names in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet (Act II, scène II, vv. 33 sqq.) or the last words of U. Eco's The Name of the Rosé ("stat rosa pristina nomine, nomina nuda habemus").

In this sensé, Pindar created a significant number of images to illustrate the idea of création, production and the génération of new realities. This newly created reality can be embodied variously in a person or a whole race, city or institution as, for example, in the above-mentioned foundation of the Olympic Games by Héraclès (see Ch. Segal, op. cit., pp. 104 sqq. for myths of création in Pindar, and poetry as a cosmos). Further- more, Pindar applies to this créative power which he desires for himself (τόλμα καί άμφιλαφής δύναμις εποιτο Olympian IX. 83) the same terms he employs for the description of the extraordinary behaviour of the child Héraclès in Nemean 1.56-57 (έκνόμιον λήμά τε και δύναμιν...).

But there is still more. The study of this créative power common to hero and poet brings us back to the élément of water. As we said before, water is a primordial symbol of origins, that marks in gênerai beginnings and acts of birth and création. In the famous scène of the création of the Olympic Games, Heracles's act of giving a name is associated with the symbolic présence of water. As we hâve mentioned previously, this élément is closely related to the thème of Héraclès. Water is ubiquitous in it and it appears in every possible form: marshes, rivers, seas, etc. In the scène of the Olympic Games, water is présent in the snow that covers the hill that is being named by the hero30.

2.4. The bow and the arrows. To refer to music, poetry and choral dance, Pindar employs a rich imagery, among which the bow and arrows hâve a prominent rôle. They recur in many passages of his victory-songs

30. V. Segal, op. cit. , p. 98, who, in his very interesting commentary to this scène of Olympian X, relates the snow on the hill of Chronos to the fact that it had no name.

-96 M. P. NIETO HERNÂNDEZ

(cf. Olympian 1.111; 11.83-91; IX. 5-12; Pythian 1.12; Nemean 111.65; VI. 27; Istmianll.3; V.46-48; cf. T.K. Hubbard, op. cit., p. 152 fn. 78), and they are the emblematic weapons which traditionally accompanied the plastic représentions of the hero Héraclès.

2.5. The perdurability of poetry: its transcendence of time. Poetryisnot only a créative force: the poetic création defeats time, it posseses above ail an everlasting dimension. The transcendence ot time, a motive so central to the Héraclès myth, equally informs Pindar's conception of poetry31. It has been frequently suggested that Pindar's words may hâve inspired the Ho- ratian exegi monumentum aère perennius (cf. W. Race, op. cit., p. 87). And this is understandable, because Pindar frequently uses architectural or sculptural images in order to establish an analogy between thèse arts and poetry (see T.K. Hubbard, op. cit. , p. 83 fn. 36). Naturally, this analogy ratifies the superiority of poetry. Pindar shows that poetic works last longer because the wind has no power against them, etc. See Olympian VI. 1-4: Χρυσέας ύποστάσαντες εύτειχεϊ προθύρω θαλάμου κιόνας ώς ότε θαητόν μέγαρον πάξομεν αρχομένου δ' έργου πρόσωπον χρή θέμεν τηλαυγές. "Like architects of a sumptuous palace, who set the golden columns under the portico wall, we shall build. The forehead of every work begun must shine from afar", Latt.; Pythian III. 113-114: έξ έπέων κελαδεννών, τέκτονες οία σοφοί/άρμοσαν: "the sounding words that smiths of song in their wisdom built to beauty", Latt.; Pythian V. 48-49: λόγων φερτάτων μναμήϊ': "mémorial words of noblest poesy", Farn., Nemean V.l-5, etc.

Hence every Pindaric ode "places the moment of the victory into the perspective of eternal things..." (Ch. Segal, op. cit., p. 118). And this at- tempt to set the victory of his laudandi -that is, a concrète, historical fact, and, for this reason, timebound- within the perspective of the everlasting and eternal things , is realized by means of the myths , which provide a time- less frame.

In this way , Pindar créâtes a différent order of existence (as we hâve already mentioned, the poet is also the creator of a cosmos), in which a complète intégration of the political, aesthetic and cosmic order takes place.

31. V.A. Hurst, op. cit., p. 194: "En plus d'un point, le parallèle du poète et du dieu passe par l'usage qu'ils font du temps: l'un et l'autre peuvent le condenser, Fun et l'autre peuvent y échapper: la divinité de par son immortalité, le poète par le biais des écarts chronologiques et des abrègements qui lui permettent d'affirmer sa maîtrise sur cette dimension du réel, mais aussi, plus banalement, du fait que le poème lui-même constitue une victoire sur le passage du temps (Isthmian VII. 17)".


Moreover, the poet uses this new order to ratify the aristocratie social values of the winner's social class and présents the laudandfs victories within this mythical frame, as an extension of the heroic deeds of those kings and princes of the myth whom the aristocratie families claimed as their ancestors.

2.6. Ύβρις and καιρός. But, atthesametime, invirtueof the reversibil- ity and changeability inhérent in human events -of which Pindar was very conscious- the poet understands the ambiguous condition of the winner. He knows fully well that fortune can take an unexpected turn and that this possibility entails many risks for those who excel (cf. Ch. Segal op. cit. , pp. 126-127 and 132); see, for example, Pythian III. 104-106: άλλοτε δ' άλ- λοϊαι πνοαί/ύψιπεταν άνεμων, όλβος ουκ ες μακρόν ανδρών ερχεται/σώς: "The winds that corne down from heaven blow diversely at diverse times; and a man's blissn remaineth no long time haie and whole..." (Farn.). Hence, he exhorts his laudandi to remain faithful to moral values and to beware above ail of ύβρις; otherwise they will provoke the hostility of the gods. As a poet, Pindar himself abides by the same instructions he gives to his laudandi. On many occasions he exhorts himself to obey the rules of poetry that his moral conception of art perceives as imperative. Thus, for instance, in several passages he cautions himself not to speak disrespect- fully of the gods (cf. Olympian IX. 37-38: έπεί τό γε λοιδορήσαι θεούς/ έχθρα σοφία: "For to revile the gods is hateful learning", Latt.). On the contrary, given the enormous distance between gods and human beings (Isthmian V.14: μη μάτευε Ζευς γενέσθαι: "Strive not to become Zeus", Latt., etc.), he exhorts himself to respect them and sing their excellence (Olympian 1.35: εστί δ' άνδρί φάμεν έοικός άμφι δαιμόνων καλά: "It is better for a man to speak well of the gods", Latt. Also 52-53: έμοί δ1 άπορα γαστρίμαργον μακάρων τίν' ειπείν άφίσταμαν άκέρδεια λέλογχεν θαμινά κακαγόρους: "But 'tis hard for me to charge foui gluttony to one of the Blessed Ones. I abhor the thought. 'Tis often seen that little gain befal- leth evil-speakers", Farn. Also, Isthmian III. 1-5, etc.). The poet also invites himself not to lose a sensé of measure (cf. G. Norwood, op. cit., p. 167). In the important passage Nemean VII. 68 sqq., the poet makes remarkable statements concerning his own art: μαθών δέ τις άνερεΐ, ει παρ μέλος έρχομαι ψάγιον όαρον έννέπων. Εύξένιδα πάτραθε Σώγενες, άπο- μνύω μη τέρμα πρόβας άκονθ' ώτε χαλκοπάραον όρσαι θοαν γλώσσαν, (...) εα με· νικώντΐ γε χάριν, ει τι πέραν άερθεις άνέκραγον, ου τραχύς ειμί καταθέμεν: "let a man think, then say if I go out of key, if my words are crooked. Sogenes, descended of Euxenos, I swear I hâve not overstepped the line, to cast my speech in speed (. . .) If for the victor's sake I hâve raised


my voice too high, I am not too stubborn to set it aright", Latt.)· In other passages, Pindar reflects on his own prolixity and he often requires of himself that he adjust his art to the imperative rules of his craft (τεθμός): cf. Nemean IV. 33-34: τα μακρά δ' έξενέπειν έρύκει με τεθμός/ώραΐ τ' έπειγόμεναι ("But from telling the long story (...) the law (of poesy) re- straineth me, and the urgency of the flying hours", Farn.); Isthmian 1.60 sqq.: πάντα δ' έξειπεΐν, (...) αφαιρείται βραχύ μέτρον έχων ύμνος ("But a hymn of short measure debarreth me from telling the full taie", Farn.); Pythian IV. 247-248: μακρά μοι νεϊσθαι κατ' αμαξιτό ν ώρα γαρ συνάπτει · καί τινα/οϊμον ϊσαμι θραχύν ("The high road is long for me to travel, and time closes. I know a short path", Latt.)32, etc. He also wonders if he is acting in accordance with καιρός, a term that acquires a multitude of meanings in Pindar's works and is difficult to interpret and translate on more than one occasion. It is usually translated by "right moment", "opportune time", "occasion", "right measure, balance", etc33. See, for instance, Nemean 1. 18-18b: πολλών έπέβαν καιρόν ού ψεύδει θαλών ("Ι mount this occasion for manifold praise, nor cast my words in falsehood", Latt.).

The disregard of any of thèse poetic imperatives could endanger the achievement of the άρετά and plunge the poetic order back into primitive disorder and obscurity (cf. Ch. Segal, op. cit., pp. 133 and 189). In addition to considering Héraclès the prototype of idéal behaviour, in whose praise one can never be excessive, Pindar also introduces several négative examples of flawed conduct, as in the case of Neoptolemus or Ajax (see Ch. Segal, op. cit., p. 133), or Orestes in the épisode recounted at Nemean IX (see W. Race, op. cit. , pp. 101-105). In comparison to thèse characters prone to excess and without self-control, Héraclès, with his constancy and respectful conduct, achieves the full realization of his άρετά. For this reason, he outlasts any other hero and goes beyond the insurmountable barriers of time and death. As the culmination of his career he achieves apotheosis and receives Hebe for wife.

2.7. Pindaric polarities and contradictions. We hâve seen, so far, that Pindar oscillâtes between forgetfulness and permanence, between falsehood and authenticity; between the time of gods and the time of men; between the conception of the poet as prophet and the poet as craftsman, the poet inspired by the Muses (see Pôrtulas, op. cit., pp. 230-232) and the

32. On the passage of time and its fleeting condition that urges the poet to be brief, v. A. Hurst, op. cit., pp. 177-179.

33. But see also the commentary of G. A. Privitera ("Tre note alla prima Nemea (vv. 18, 37, 64)", Hermès 103, 1975, pp. 285-292) on NI. 18 (p. 286).


poet commissioned and paid by a patron. Pindar's Héraclès also partakes of thèse dynamic polarities: although he has been endowed with extraordinary gifts by the gods, he is, at the same time, subjected to his inferior and is doomed to pain and suffering throughout his earthly life. In sum, we hâve seen how Pindar oscillâtes between the traditional concept of the άρετά as something innate and permanent (φυα), and the requirement to enhance this άρετά by discipline (i.e. , through heroic fulfilment in the case of Héraclès, through poetry seen as τέχνα in that of Pindar, and through effort and training in the case of his laudandi).

3. Conclusion

Ail this, finally , leads us to a crucial issue concerning Pindaric poetics. The poet finds himself in a historical moment in which he is compelled to deal with two différent kinds of poetics: the poetics of the sacred poet, inspired and protected by the gods of an inherited tradition we might call oral and propounding a set of values in which Pindar believes, and a new poetics born from a new way of composing and creating poetry, based on writing, which permits a more calculated process of composition to the détriment of pure inspiration. The poet inspired by the gods, who receives his songs from the Muse, the oral poet in the manner of blind Homer, whose text is inextricably tied to his person and over which he exerts an absolute hold34, is already in décline at this historical moment. That inspiration or "divine révélation" which is produced by nature, φυα, is now being displaced by a new way of understanding poetry much closer to τέχνα, to the artistic artifice which can be acquired through discipline and training. In addition to this, Pindar lives in a historié moment in which Greek society is experienc- ing a gênerai secularization taking place throughout the Vth century (see W. Race, op. cit. , p. 24 and J. Pôrtulas, op. cit. , p. 231). Moreover, a poet whose work is to be performed by a chorus has a certain detachment versus his own text that differs essentially from the oral poet's immédiate relation to his artistic création35.

34. See the récent remark: by O. Taplin on this score (Homeric Soundings. The Shap- ing of The Iliad, Oxford, 1992, p. 37): "On the other hand, it is important to remember that the oral poet would never hâve been able to put the poem behind him, to pack it up and send it off for publication; it will hâve stayed with him ail his life, constantly nagging for improvement".

35. Cf. n. 34. On whether Pindar's odes weremeant for a chorus or for a solo voice, see M.R. Lefkowitz, who has recently collected in one volume (First-person Fictions. Pin-


To sum up, thèse polarities or contradictions between which Pindar oscillâtes are probably due, as Ch. Segal (op. cit. , pp. 153 sqq.) has pointed out, to the conflict between thèse two différent kinds of poetics: that of orality and that of literacy36. Besides the interest that the clash of two différent poetics can présent by itself , this central polarity constitutes another similarity between the hero Héraclès and Pindar. Héraclès not only possesses a very rich personality which makes him one of the most complex and contradictory figures of Greek mythology, but he also carries with him, from his origin onwards, the sign of duality and contradiction. Zeus, indeed, according to the traditional taie, begets this child in the guise of Alcmene's husband; on the other hand, the child has a twin brother (Iphicles) who will become his counterpart, representing human weakness37, etc. And, in our opinion, it is precisely this dual and contradictory character that makes Héraclès Pindar 's favourite figure, as he exemplifies virtually ail those aspects that are essential to Pindar's poetic task: though be- gotten by Zeus, he is a mortal; destined to be a powerful king, he is

dar's Poetic '/', Oxford, 1991) the papers that she previously published on this issue. As is well known, she suggests that it is wrong to suppose a choral production for the entirety of Pindar's epinicia. On the contrary, she explains Pindar's use of the poetical "I" as a sign that Pindar's poems were composed for one singer and not for a chorus. This point of view has also been defended by M. Heath, "Receiving the κώμος", American Journal of Philology, 109, 1988, pp. 180-195. For the opposite "choralist" position, see A. Hurst, op. cit., p. 166, and, especially, A. Burnett, "Performing Pindar's Odes", Classical Philology, 84, 1989, pp. 283-293 and C. Carey, "The performance of the victory ode", American Journal of Philology, 110, 1989, pp. 545-566. A récent and helpful survey of this question is to be found in J.M. Bremmer ("Pindar's paradoxical εγώ and a récent controversy about the performance of his epinicia", in S.R. Slings (éd.), The Poet's Tin Ar- chaic Greek Lyric, Amsterdam, 1990, pp. 41-57), who inclines to the view that thèse odes were performed by a chorus.

36. Ch. Segal expresses the distinction using Derrida's terms pneumatological and grammatological. For a récent and gênerai survey of the problems concerning orality and literacy, see R. Thomas, Literacy and Orality in Ancient Greece, Cambridge, 1922, esp. pp. 113 sqq., for poetry and Pindar.

37. In this mythical cycle, the brother's rôle is not performed by Iphicles, but by his son Iolaus, that is Héraclès' nephew. The functions and attributes of each member of such couples are extremely interesting. We find twin brothers in important Indoeuropean myths and also outside this domain (for instance, Esau and Iacob in the biblical story). The best known twins in Greek mythology are, of course, the Dioscuroi, but we may also mention Romulus and Remus among the Romans, the Armenian twins Sanasar and Balthasar, etc.. See, for ail thèse couples, F. Bader (op. cit., pp. 25 sqq.), and cf. C. Lévy-Strauss (Mito y significado, Span. trans. of the Engl. text, Toronto 1978; Madrid, 1987, pp. 47 sqq.) for the mythical significance of twins in other cultures.


nevertheless compelled to obey and serve his cousin Eurystheus, clearly inferior to him in ail respects. But, due to his behaviour, he transforms this necessity to serve Eurystheus into a way of improving his own excellence. Similarly, Pindar's works, that are created on commission, are a vehicle of his own immortality as an artist, which surpasses that of his laudandi38. Heracles's innate talents do not save him from the most arduous tasks. He also knows defeat (for instance, when he fights against Augeas and the Moliones, his nephews: Olympian X.30. Cf. also Olympian X. 15-16, against Kyknos, the son of Ares and Pirecne, who forced the hero to flee) and he is deceived in spite of the fact that he himself also possesses -in addition to his physical strength- that cunning intelligence or μήτις which enables him to lie (for example, in the épisode with Atlas at the "Garden of the Hesperides", which does not occur in the extant works of Pindar). Nevertheless, like Pindar -who also had his share of misfortune, vexation and slander engendered by other's envy- Héraclès permanently chooses the difficult and valiant way that enhances his άρετά. Like Héraclès, Pindar eschews the paths trodden by the crowd. We cannot accept that Pindar ignored the new and fashionable trends of his time, although he consciously and willingly rejected them. Alone, he folio wed his own path of excellence (Ch. Segal, op. cit. , p. 164). And just as he avoids transgressing the poetic principles which we hâve elicited so far, so too he refuses to treat what he considered to be négative aspects of his favourite hero, Héraclès.

So far we hâve made several références to the "pillars of Héraclès" as one of the most outstanding symbols in Pindar's works, due to the range of their plural meanings. In the identification Pindar-Heracles, the linéament of which we hâve tried to describe in this paper, the "pillars" probably constitute the high-point. The two pillars symbolize the non plus ultra, the world's end, beyond which it is impossible to go (cf. D. Steiner, The Crown of Song. Metaphor in Pindar, London, 1986, p. 124). Pindar, by practicing a double poetics -that of "orality" and that of "literacy"-, reaches an acme that constitutes at the same time a terminus. This is the reason why he had no direct followers, why the genre which he cultivated -the choral lyric- perished with him.

Finally, ail this may be encapsulated in one essential fact: the search for

38. Pindar is aware of this: not only does he repeatedly insist that, without his poems, the exploits of his laudandi are worthless, but he also wants his works to hâve the largest audience possible; v. Isthmian 11.45-46: ...μηδέ τους ύμνους· έπεΐ τοι ούκ έλινύσοντας αυτούς έργασάμαν, ...nor silence yet thèse songs. I did not make them that they might rest in sleep" (Latt.).


immortality is the engine which motivâtes the hero as well as Pindar. Hence, each of them, in his respective field, is closely associated with the idea of time and, what is more important, both achieve dominion over it. The hero, through his foundation of the Olympic Games and, particularly, through his final apotheosis, comes to control and overcome the temporal- ity of mortals. This quality did not escape Pindar's keen and shrewd wit. As a poet, he was conscious that his art -poetry and choral dance- consti- tuted a discourse that, inasmuch as it was rhythm, unfolded in time. The good poet must know how to control this élément, time. Nevertheless Pindar also knew that his art was not doomed -as opposed to the oral poet's art and the mode of extemporary composition- to disappear, but that, thanks to τέχνα, to human artifice, to writing, his work would préserve its integrity through the âges and that it would achieve a lasting permanence. By means of the written word the poet also transcends time. Pindar was conscious of this. Hence, his limitless pride.

(Université de Salamanca) M. P. NIETO HERNÂNDEZ

Heracles and Pindar

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