The Value of Time in Pindar's Olympian 10Author(s): Gretchen KromerSource: Hermes, 104. Bd., H. 4 (1976), pp. 420-436Published by: Franz Steiner VerlagStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4475980 .Accessed: 08/09/2011 11:27

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THE VALUE OF TIME IN PINDAR'S OLYMPIAN io

Although Pindar says more than most poets about his art and about his role as a poet, no critical work has yet provided an adequate account of his views on the writing of poetry. It would obviously be impossible to encompass such a vast and difficult subject in the space of one short essay. Nevertheless I believe that a detailed reading of Olympian IO, an ode which has been largely neglected by scholars, can contribute to an understanding of Pindar's concep- tion of poetry'.

In one of the best recent works on Pindar Elroy BUNDY (cf. n. i) has shown that the Odes are essentially encomiastic in character and therefore employ the rhetorical conventions associated with this type of poetry. The Odes purport to express sincere and spontaneous praise of great deeds and in many passages (including 0. IO, 97-IO5) Pindar affirms his genuine admilation for the victor. On the other hand, the poet also tells us that his songs are written on a commission basis for victors who in some cases did not physically partici- pate in the Games e. g., P. 5, 23-33. Seen from this point of view a poem is an item in a commercial transaction, WPhoenician merchandise<<, as he says in P. 2, 67. The commercial aspect of Pindar's poetry is stressed at the beginning of 0. IO where the poet is described in the language of business and finance as having reneged on a contract: he has forgotten that he owed the victor as song. Thus a poem is both a sincere expression of admiration freely given and an

1 Most discussions of 0. io have been rather superficial e. g., J. H. FINLEY, Pindar and Aeschylus, Martin Classical Lectures 14, Cambridge, Mass., 1955, II9-120. The basis for a literary treatment is provided by G. NORWOOD, Pindar, Sather Classical Lectures I9, Berkeley, I945, 110-II4, 243-244 nn. 34-42. His interpretation of 11. 9-IO has been overlooked, as far as I know, by all critics except G. VAN N. VILJOEN, Pindaros se tiende en elfde Olympiese odes, Diss. Leiden I955, 50, who is the only scholar to have discussed 0. io in detail. An earlier essay, E. LUBBERT, Dissertatio de Pindari carmine Olympico decimo, Progr. Kiel i88i, deals primarily with the myth. A number of scholars have dealt with the relationship between 0. io and 0. I I. This problem, which is discussed by E. BUNDY, Studia Pindarica I-II, University of California Publications in Classical Philology i8, I-2, Berkeley and Los Angeles, I962, I, originated with the Alexandrian inter- pretation of 0. IO, 9, which was taken as the poet's promise to write a second poem as 'interest' on his debt. Among modern scholars the argument has been inverted, with the future eXA'aoo in 0. II, I4 being taken as a promise to write 0. IO. As BUNDY has shown, both of these theories must be rejected. The word t6xoq in 0. IO, 9 does not indicate that the poet will write a second ode but rather that the present poem will be exceptio nally fine and will fulfilll his obligation 'with interest'. The expression is an exten- sion of the conventional idea that the song is a debt (ZpZo ) owed to the victor (cf. O. 3, 7; P. 8, 33; P. 9, I04). As for the second theory, BUNDY has provided a comprehensive discussion of Pindar's conventional use of the future to refer to the present. Cf. E. THUM- MER, Pindar: Die Isthmischen Gedichte, Heidelberg, I968, i, 87. See also H. ERBSE,

Bemerkungen zu Pindars IO. Olympischer Ode, Silvae: Festschrift fuir Ernst Zinn zum 6o. Geburtstag, Tubingen, I970, 2I -35 (2I -24).

Hermes, 104. Band, Heft 4 (1976) t Franz Steiner Verlag GmbH, Wiesbaden, BRD

The Value of Time in Pindar's Olympian Io 42I

emotionless artifact to be sold or bartered. How does Pindar resolve this apparent contradiction? In Olympian io the poet effects a kind of compromise between the two apparently conflicting aspects of his art. This compromise is metaphorically expressed through the myth, which recounts the founding of the Olympic Games by Herakles. Particularly important both in the myth and in the poem as a whole is the function of time. In fact one of the poem's most prominent themes is that of the relationship between time and poetic truth.

The thematic structure of 0. Io is based on two conceptions of the poet's song and their respective meanings in relation to time. In each case the nature of the song defines the relationship between the poet and the victor, Hagesidamos of Epizephyrian Lokri. In the first triad the song is characterized as a long- unpaid debt and the two men are seen as parties in a business contract. As long as the poet fails to fulfill his obligation to the victor the passage of time is increasingly dangerous to him, for it threatens to turn the neutral business relationship into one of hostility. At the end of the poem, however, the song is seen as an act of love which confers immortality upon its recipient. There it is compared with a son born to childless parents who is loved all the more because his birth has been awaited for a long time. This simile demonstrates that if the poet had failed to pay his debt to the victor the passage of time would have been increasingly threatening to the victor whose, deeds might have 'died childless' and been forgotten in the absence of song.

The two descriptions of the relationship between poet and victor and of the song on which it is based correspond to two types of truth which are contrasted with one another throughout the ode. The idea that the song is part of a business contract may be related to Atrekeia, which is said to 'rule the city of the Lokrians'. Atrekeia, which means >>accuracy( or even >>punctilious- ness<<, is, as MEZGER has said, primarily a businessman's virtue2. The fact that the Lokrians are ruled by this 'goddess' indicates that for them adherence to nomos and to contracts between individuals is a serious matter. Contrasted with Atrekeia is Alatheia upon whom the poet calls in the first part of the poem. In the course of 0. IO Alatheia comes to be identified with a more sub- jective type of truth and is associated with the final description of the song as an act of love. In the third triad, midway between the two descriptions of the song, the account of the setting up of the Olympic Games by Herakles brings about a sort of reconciliation between the two types of truth. The relationship between Atrekeia and Alatheia operates on two levels. In the context of the third triad they are seen as mutually complementary aspects which together constitute a whole event. Within the total structure of the

2 F. MEZGER, Pindars Siegeslieder, Leipzig, I880, 428-429. For Herodotus' use of

WTpexi; in connection with numbers see M. POHLENZ, Herodot: Der Erste Geschichts- schreiber des Abendlandes, Leipzig, I937, 197-I98.

422 GRETCHEN KROMER

poem, however, the two are contrasted with each other in relation to time and one is shown to be superior to the other.

Since the first triad of 0. IO introduces the major thematic elements of the ode it will be discussed in some detail.

Tov 'OXuLt7rLovCXocv 0&y'vo(Y,re [lot

ApXe6a'pd&t)ou 1nXtc, 7t6t cpeV64

&0L& yeyp0C7T0Lv y?uxU y&p OCUJ) txo 6ogpeDOV ?X a. MoZa', &xo& Gi xocat uy&-nTp

AXoct&Loc AL0q, Opaq- Xept

&vr.rtv &?St60pvov.

Read me the words, )>The Olympic victor, son of Archestratos(, where they are written in my heart, for I forgot that I owed him a sweet song. But ward off, o Muse, with rectifying hand, you and Truth, the daughter of Zeus, the reproach of lying which wrongs a friend. (11. i-6)

The lines begin with a reference to certain 'written' words which denote the existence of a contract between the poet and the victors. A contract may be described as a form of private law, for it articulates rules which govem the behavior of the participating individuals. Here the poet has neglected the rules, for he has forgotten that he owed the victor a song. The existence of the contract, as well as the use of the language of debt, implies that the song is part of a commercial transaction: it is worth a certain amount of money4. At the end of the strophe the poet calls upon the Muse and Alatheia, wh , by helping him to compose the song, will bring about the realization of the action prescribed by the contract. If the poet keeps his promise he will be freed from )>the reproach of lying<(, for his pledge will be seen is retrospect to have predicted a real event. It wil become 'true'.

a Quotations from the text are taken from the SNELL-MAHLER edition, Leipzig, 197I. 4 This part of my argument has been influenced by Roland BARTHES' idea of examining

a work of literature in relation to an economic frame of reference. See R. BARTHES, S/Z, Paris, I970, Editions du Seuil, Collection Tel Quel, especially XXXVIII, Les recits- contrats, 95-96: *Voila la question que pose peut-etre tout recit. Contre quoi Ichanger le r6cit? Que 'vaut' le rlcit?t (BARTHES' italics). D. E. GERBER has reminded me that the Lokrians did not use money at this point in their history. In 0. IO, however, the reader encounters not the historical Lokrians but Pindar's characterization of them. Words like

Xpio5. j,9,6q, and 7t)o53tog may not have suggested money to the minds of the historical Lokrians but it is hard to imagine that a Theban poet would not have made this association.

The Value of Time in Pindar's Olympian Io 423

The first line of 0. IO contains the earliest example of the use of the verb aVmyLyVCoxv in the meaning dto read#. The idea of reading a name is funda- mental to one of the poem's main themes. Throughout the ode there is an implied contrast between reading a name and naming. In the third triad Herakles names certain geographical locations thereby giving them a new identity, a 'life' of their own, and making them part of the continuity represent- ed by the Olympic Games. In the fourth triad the poet 'reads' the names of the first Olympic victors, just as in the passage quoted above he had asked that the name of the present victor be read. The reading of names, as I will attempt to show, is associated with being reminded while naming is connected with remembering. Reading is also related to Atrekeia, who presides over the commercial aEpect of the poet's song. In order to clarify the significance of reading in 0. IO it will be helpful to mention several passages which illustrate the Greek attitude toward written language .

The proliferation of the written word in Greek society was already manifested in the late seventh century with the writing down of laws by such quasi- mythical figures as Dracon of Athens and Zaleukos of Epizephyrian Lokri. This development was contemporary with a number of social and political changes including the growth of commerce and the increase in the use of money. Pindar's reference to written language is not unparalleled in the first half of the fifth century. His contemporary Aeschylus contrasts written and spoken language in this passage of the Suppliants:

TOT 0' 7LVOCXv ?TLV ?yyeypo?tevc

0U eV 7tU'MfLq4 pL[XC)V x0reaCpoXyLa VC..

6aocv cx8' axoLec: ?g 'XeU,&epO0ar0,t0

yXc6aa-. (PAGE, I972)

These things are not inscribed on tablets or sealed up in the folds of books, but you hear them clearly from a freely speaking tongue. (Supp., 946-949)

Implicit in these lines is the idea that the spoken word is more vital, more dynamically expressive, than the written word. Elsewhere in the plays of Aeschylus the idea of remembering something is expressed through the image of writing it down in one's heart (Supp., 99I-992; P. V., 789). The opening lines of 0. IO represent a slightly different version of this image, for the poet cannot find the place in his heart where the words are 'written' but asks someone else to do so.

6 In general see L. R. PACKARD, The Beginning of a Written Literature in Greece, TAPA ii, i880, 34-5I and W. C. GREENE, The Spoken and the Written Word, HSCP 6o, 1951, 23-59.

424 GRETCHEN KROMER

The contrast between written and spoken word was later elaborated by Plato in the Phaedrus (274C ft.) where he developed ideas already implicit in the passage from the Suppliants and, as I will argue below, in Olympian io. In the Phaedrus Socrates says that Theuth, the inventor of writing, was also the originator of numbers, calculation, and geometry (&pL$4L6v Te xoal XoyLatolv

X.. l yX&?stpWv, 274C-D). Thus the art of writing is here connected with various skills basic to a mercantile society. Socrates then tells how Theuth went to Thamus to demonstrate his discoveries. For writing Theuth makes the following claim:

toi-L-o 8 . .o. TO &a.JLh . . . aocpOUg

Atyu-n=Lou; xacl ,LVoVLxXWpoU; Ketp . rL .1e ' p XI' coy'&x ,nop?it ,uv,u L ya a oac,

OcppaxOv eupe?hf. (ROBIN, I947)

This knowledge ... will give the

Egyptians greater wisdom and better memories, for a drug of both memory and wisdom has been discovered. (Phaedr. 274E)

But Thamus replies that writing will actually produce the opposite effect, for people will rely on the written words and will no longer use their memories

(275 A-B):

ouxouv dxk,ocS unoLvjaeco

o(pScxov e6paq.

... you have invented a drug not of memory but of reminding. (275A)

The users of this drug will have the appearance of wisdom (aocpLocq . .. g6o, ~) not the real thing (a?$*Lov). The relationship of writing to memory and wisdom is then further elaborated by Socrates, who states that writing only serves to remind the individual of something he already knows (275 C) . Writing is like painting, for it has no power to answer back when it is criticized but always needs its father to protect it (275D-E). It has a certain rigidity: it always signifies one and the same thing (tv tL aIve t6vov OrCXroV &oc,

275 D). These ideas may now be related to the opening lines of Olympian io. The

poem begins with a reference to certain 'written' words which represent an unfulfilled contract. The connection between poem and contract is particularly close, for the initial request that a 'written' name be read is answered by the completed poem which is itself a written text. Just as the 'written' words link the poet's song with the world of financial calculation and commercial

The Value of Time in Pindar's Olympian io 425

exchange, so in the Phaedrus the invention of the alphabet is associated with the discovery of mathematics and geometry. The existence of the contract implies that the poem has an exact and finite value which may be expressed in material terms, that it may be exchanged for a certain amount of money. So in the Phaedrus a written text is said to be rigid, for it always signifies one and the same thing. In the Phaedrus writing can only serve to remind the individual of something he already knows, while in 0. io the 'written' words are intended to remind the poet of his obligation to the victor. As I will attempt to demonstrate below, the material or commercial aspect of the poet's song corresponds to a particular group of images which appear throughout 0. io. Included in this group are objects whose only function is to represent or remind. Such objects are like money, for they have no intrinsic meaning or value. They depend on the entities represented by them just as the written text in the Phaedrus depends on the spoken words of its 'father'-interpreter. Thus I hope to show that the material poem is not only worth money but also resembles money in some respects. At this point, however, I must make a few further comments on the first strophe of 0. Io.

In lines 4-7 the poet asks the Muse and Alatheia to help him compose a song for the victor. The Muse has a >>rectifying hand(, for she will aid him in settling the account. Alatheia, as I have already suggested, is to be contrasted with Atrekeia and therefore with the commercial aspect of the poet's song. Its function is suggested by its proximity to L-trXoc' whose meaning indicates that the poet's memory, his perception of pact events, is faulty. Alatheia is allied with the poet's persona, with the self and with personal experience, and comes to represent the possibility of evaluating the song in non-economic terms. In this connection it is useful to mention some of the recent work on the etymology and meaning of &X&t?cx. Most scholars now believe that the word is related to Xocv4&Ovw, Xr45w, ?n4hX, etc. 6. Following HEIDEGGER, E. HEITSCH and others define &XaBLx with the German word

Unverborgenheit, )>unhiddenness ((. The difficulty with this definition, as T. KRISCHER has shown, is that words of this group in their original sense do not indicate a quality of the object of perception but of the act of perceiving. In Homer ocWq denotes the type of truth which may be communicated by an individual on the basis of his own experience. With its implied reference to the perceiver ocX7) may be contrasted with "ruTVo, ))real(( or Y>factual#, which implies no such reference. (Thus the contrast &C t/&nTUO; in Homer is roughly, but not exactly, parallel to the contrast Alatheia/Atrekeia in 0. io). In the works of later Greek writers `rutoq was eventually displaced

6 For bibliography see E. HEITSCH, Das Wissen des Xenophanes, RhM N. S. IO9, I966, I93-235 (199-200 n. i6). See also L. WOODBURY, Truth and Song: Bacchylides 3, 96-98, Phoenix 23, 1969, 331-335.

426 GRETCHEN KROMER

by &XYNW07. In 0. IO, however, Pindar seems to refer back to the early use and etymological meaning of &XoeL, for in 11. 53-55 he says that it is time )>who alone vindicates the exact truth(( (&X*sex tumvov).

In addition to its connection with the self Alatheia has a second function in 0. io. In lines 3-4, where it is juxtaposed with its etymological cognate

TCXYXx', and in the passage I have just mentioned (11. 53-55) Alatheia is associated with time. While Atrekeia presides over finite entities which may be measured or counted, Alatheia is consistent with vitality and continuity. In the lines I have been discussing the poet says that he forgot his debt to the victor. But at the end of the ode, having composed the song with the help of the Muse and Alatheia, he will assert that he remembers what is most essential and is therefore able to confer immortality upon the victor. To anti- cipate the next stage of the discussion, Alatheia becomes the means for resolving a conflict between the self and time.

In the first antistrophe of 0. io time i explicitly introduced:

exaftv y&p eiteXMV O .tL2BcWV XPOV0o

O,U&g ??Xu8avL 8UVZ'q EeioLav t %pv 'T6XOg bvsatiXv vu3v 4&CpOV ?Laaostvav

oXa, x5uto xM-7MxXu6aaeL peov, o67E T' XOLV6V ?O6yov

?pXM'V t66aotLev q ox,pLV.

For the future, approaching from afar, has shamed my deep debt but payment of interest can wipe out sharp rebuke. See how* the stream now washes the rolling pebble along and how we will pay the common account for the sake of friendship. (11. 7-I2)

* I translate FENNEL'S conjecture OP&-o) vi3v for the mss. reading 45VTc-rcv.

Lines 7-8 have never been adequately explained but they become somewhat clearer when read in conjunction with NORWOOD'S comments on the image of

I E. HEITSCH, Die nicht-philosophische aBLa, Hermes go, I962, 24-33; Wahrheit als Erinnerung, Hermes 9I, I963, 36-52; T. KRISCHER, 'wj.toU und &?oWI, Philologus I09, I965, I6l-I74.

The Value of Time in Pindar's Olympian io 427

the pebble and the stream of water. NORWOOD remarks that ))pebbles were used by the Greeks in money-calculations ( and later say.:

The point is a play on the two usages of focCpoq, in a brilliantly effective phrase: the pebble- calculation shall be obliterated by a flood of song. But the meta- phor alludes not to a beach or tides: what did Pindar know of tides? He has in mind what was far more familiar, described so vividly by Homer, the work of the gardener who irrigates his land, making a channel for the bubbling water that thrusts along all the little pebbles in its course8.

With this interpretation of the pebble-calculation it is amusing to find that Demosthenes uses the phrase xoc4poct -CpGL, )>clean pebbles(( to mean ))balanced accounts# (de Cor., 227).

In his explication of these lines NORWOOD does not mention that the Homeric description occu1s as part of Achilles' fight with the river (II., (D 257- 262). This fact, however, helps to explain lines 7-8 where time is said to move toward the poet. In that passage there is a confrontation between the future (t VikX?cov xp6voq) and the self as represented by 4Thv . .. . xpeoq, #my deep debt (. In temporal terms the self may be identified with the present: the 'I' can only talk about the past and future in relation to its present situation. Time, on the other hand, may be seen as future-becoming-present or as future- moving-toward-present 9. Here the future is said to move toward the self/ present. It has had to come a long way (`xra4ev) to get to this particular 'present', that is, a considerable amount of time has passed. Thus the future moves toward the poet just as the river moves toward Achilles and the stream toward the pebble'0. The two images, one unfavorable to the poet, the other

" NORWOOD, III 12 and 243 n. 39. According to NORWOOD, the reference to the 'channel of ruin' (6x'tv &,=4, 1. 37) into which the possessions of Augeas sink refers to the 6xe6q in the Homeric simile. If this is true, the stream which sweeps away the pebble is analogous to the water which cleanses the stables of Augeas - an analogy rather unflattering to the pebble.

9 Cf. the opening lines of T. S. ELIOT'S 'Burnt Norton': i)Time present and time past I Are both perhaps present in time future, / And time future contained in time past. / If all time is eternally present / All time is unredeemable . Four Quartets, London, 1959, I.

10 It is interesting that Herakles, the main mythological figure of 0. IO, is also said to have fought with a river. The story of Herakles' fight with the river Achelous was used

428 GRETCHEN KROMER

unfavorable to the pebble-calculation, are a kind of microcosm of the whole poem. At the beginning of the ode the passage of time is potentially threatening to the poet because of the unpaid debt. At the end ot the poem, however, Pindar indicates that the passage of time would have become increasingly threatening to the victor and his deeds if the song had not been written.

The lines quoted above illustrate the generative/destructive character of time. The passage of time has caused the poet's debt (XP7o4) to become deep (PoxTh ). The delay may elicit reproach (SMvLra&) and is potentially harmful to the relationship between poet and victor. But the debt may be eliminated through the payment of interest. In a situation where money is loaned the passage of time becomes a positive force, for the delay in redeeming the obligation produces interest and the greater the delay, the greater the interest. So the poet here claims that the quality of his song will correspond to the length of time it has been delayed. The generative function of time implied by the word ro6xoq is taken up later in the myth and in the reference to the birth of the child (11. 86-go).

Having described his plight, Pindar introduces the Epizephyrian Lokrians and their major 'goddess': 4LS,ui yocp 'ATp&xeLoc %o?Lv Aoxp6v ZepupLwV, )>For Accuracy rules the city of the Western Lokrians<(. The words are some- what ironic in view of the poet's own debt'1. While he invokes Alatheia, the Lokrians put their trust in Atrekeia. Although it is Atrekeia who demands fulfillment of his pledge, Alatheia will help him fulfill it. But why are the Lokrians ruled by this particular 'goddess'? In the first place, Atrekeia is an appropriate 'deity' for a city which was noted as a commercial center. A second and more important reason is given by MEZGER, who develops in a different context an idea suggested by one of the scholia'2. The Lokrians were singled out by various ancient writers as an exceptionally law-abiding people (De- mosthenes, Contra Timocr., I39; Plato, Tim., 20A; Leg., 638B; Strabo 6,i,8 = Ephorus fr. I39 J)13. This virtue of theirs is usually connected with the name of Zaleukos, who presumably lived in the seventh century and is supposed to have been the first to write down laws for his countrymen'4.

by Pindar, according to one of the scholia to Il., (D 194. The scholiast's comment is quoted as part of fr. 70b in SNELL'S I964 edition.

11 NORWOOD, 112. 12 MEZGER, 428-429. 13 On the Lokrians generally see W. A. OLDFATHER, Lokroi, RE, Erste Reihe XIII, 2,

I927, 1289-I363; Lokrika, Philologus 67, 1908, 411-472; Locris and Early Greek Civilization, Philological Quarterly 3, 1924, I-22, especially I8-22.

14 On Zaleukos in the context of the history of Western Greece see T. J. DUNBABIN,

The Western Greeks, Oxford, 1948, 68-74. The most recent discussion is K. VON FRITZ,

Zaleukos, halb legendarer unteritalischer Gesetzgeber, RE, Zweite Reihe, I967, 2298-2301.

See also F. E. ADcocK, Literary Tradition and Early Greek Code-Makers, CHJ 2, I927,

95-IO9 and the works cited in the previous note. The law code of Zaleukos was notable not only for its harshness but also for its inflexibility. Demosthenes (contra Timocr., 139;

The Value of Time in Pindar's Olympian io 429

Zaleukos is sometimes credited with simplifying contracts between indi- viduals (Strabo 6, i, 8 = Ephorus fr. I39 J; Diodorus I2, 2I, 3). More inter- esting in relation to 0. IO, although more doubtful as to authenticity, is the assertion by a Byzantine writer that Zaleukos forbade the writing of loan contracts15. In spite of the lateness of the source, this idea is consistent with the earlier references to his simplification of contracts. That legislation con- cerning debts was being made not long after Zaleukos' lifetime is shown by the reforms of Solon in the early sixth century. Finally, for the purpose of this study it is not so important to know what the legislator actually did in the seventh century, as what the fifth century contemporaries of Pindar thought he did. It is possible, for example, that legislation concerning contracts and particularly loan contracts might have become attached to the name of Zaleukos in the sixth/fifth century by analogy to the more recent reforms of Solon.

If, as seems probable, the words v?pLE y&p 'A-tpixem refer to the most famous of Lokrian law-givers, the first strophe and antistrophe become even more closely linked. The poem begins with a request that certain 'written' words be read and Zaleukos was the first to write down legislation for his people. Zaleukos thereby established institutions for the Lokrians just as, in the main myth of the poem, Herakles establishes one of the most famous Panhellenic institutions. The 'written' words represent a contract between Pindar and Hagesidamos, a contract involving a long-unpaid debt. The poet calls upon Alatheia to aid him, while the businesslike Lokiians with their 'patron goddess' Atrekeia have laws governing the making of contracts and

perhaps forbidding the writing of loan contracts. The strictness of the Lokrians' adherence to such agreements ensures that the poet will be censured if he defaults.

Two other gods, Kalliope and Ares, are mentioned in connection with the Lokrians. This pair may refer to the musical and military achievements of the Lckrians16. Within the context of an epinician ode, however, Ares suggests the struggle involved in athletic or heroic feats and Kalliope the song which is the reward of the successful contender in such a strugle. Immediately after

this (1. i6) the name of Herakles, the principal mythological figure in the ode,

cf. Polybius 12, i6, I-14) describes the intimidating procedure by which new legislation

was proposed among the Lokrians. As a result of this procedure, only one piece of new

legislation was adopted in the course of more than two hundred years.

15 Zaleukos' interdiction is cited as an explanation of the proverbial expression, 'Lokrian

contracts' (Corp. paroem. gr. I, II6). A different interpretation is given in Corp. paroem.

gr. I, II4 (cf. Polybius I2, I2a, I-3). On the proverb and its relation to Zaleukos' law

(an association which may date back to Aristotle) see F. W. WALBANK, A Historical

Commentary on Polybius, Oxford, I967, II, 351-352. See also C. WUNDERER, Der Streit

um das Sprichwort Aoxpoi rt&q auvTh'xog, Philologus 56, I897, I72-177; OLDFATHER,

Lokroi, I322; Lokrika, 448. 16 See the works cited in n. I3 above.

430 GRETCHEN KROMER

is introduced. Ares, the god of the Lokrians, is so powerful that with his help his son Cycnus succeeded in repelling even Herakles. But Herakles, with the aid of Athena, finally overcame him'7. Like Herakles, the poet has at first been impeded in his task but with divine help will finally complete it. Just as both the hero and the poet owe their victories in part to the help of their respective patron goddesses, so Hagesidamos is similarly indebted to the trainer, Ilas. Thus the figure of Herakles is used to connect the victor's task with that of the poet. The relationship between Hagesidamos and Ilas is then compared with that between Patroclus and Achilles'8. Patroclus is appropriately chosen to represent the present victor, for the hero was said to have been born in Opuntian Lokris (II., E 324-327; cf. Il., IF 83-88)19.

The second strophe begins with a general statement that few have won glory without suffering. Passing over for the moment the sufferings of Herakles which will be described later in this triad Pindar speaks of an event which demonstrates his glory. He sings of the Olympic contest both by praising the present victor and by commemorating the founding of the Games by Herakles. )>The laws of Zeus< urge him to sing just as the private law represented by the contract had prompted him to fulfill his debt. The theme of accuracy or precision introduced in the first triad is evident here, for the adjective ?&pLD-

,uov (1. 25) suggests mathematical calculation. In originating the contest Herakles is 'founding' or 'establishing' it (ixr[L6act0o, 1. 25) like Zaleukos, who established the laws of the Lokrians.

Atrekeia and the related idea of being reminded are also suggested by the image of the >)ancient grave of Pelops<( (&pXoacy a0,[LUTL . . . r1?O7COq, 1. 24).

The grave of Pelops is a memorial to him, a reminder of his existence and exploits. (Mviuta is sometimes used as a synonym of ai[Loc). It therefore resembles the pebble-reminder in the first triad. The debt represented by the pebble has been unhonored for a long time and the grave of Pelops is ))ancientL(. The pebble and the grave are dead and meaningless in themselves, for they have significance only to the individual who knows about the real events or persons to which they refer. The relationship between these reminders and the entities represented by them is the same as that between the written text of a song and an oral, spontaneous tribute. In the Phaedrus Theuth invents

17 H. J. ROSE, Herakles and Kyknos (Pindar, 0. X. I5), Mnemosyne Series 4, 10,

I957, IIo-ii6. According to the scholiast, Pindar here follows Stesichorus' version of the story. An earlier account given in the Shield of Herakles concludes with the burial of Cycnus and the washing away of the grave at the command of Apollo ([Hes.] Scut., 472-480).

Perhaps this part of the story was in Pindar's mind when he used the image of the pebble and the stream and that of the 'ancient grave of Pelops'.

18 The mention of Achilles tends to support the view that lines 7-8 contain an implicit reference to that hero's fight with the river.

19 Opuntian Lokris was perhaps the mother city of Epizephyrian Lokri. See DUNBABIN,

36.

The Value of Time in Pindar's Olympian Io 43I

writing and numbers at the same time, while in 0. io writing/reminding is connected with the pebble-calculation and with Atrekeia. I have already suggested that images like the pebble and the grave resemble money. Like coins, they have a kind of empty materiality, for their value is representative rather than intrinsic. A coin signifies both an exact and specific value and no value at all or valuelessness because it has a precise 'meaning' among people who understand its use but none at all outside its own system. Like the written text in the Phaedrus it needs a 'father'-interpreter who will give it life and meaning.

Atrekeia and the elements governed by her reflect a concern with defining and making distinctions, with controlling and bringing to order. Just as Alatheia is connected with time, so Atrekeia is associated with nomos. In the first triad the poet was seen to have neglected the private law embodied in his contract with the victor. In the second antistrophe and epode he demon- strates the consequences of neglecting such rules. The situation here is like that of humanity before the introduction of law. In lines 26-29 the narrative moves back in time to the slaying of the Moliones by Herakles. At first he is said to have killed them in order to exact >wages for his services(( (?atpLov ...

tLL,8a6v, 11. 28-29) from Augeas. In lines 30-34 there is a more detailed version of the death of the Moliones and an additional reason is given for it. They are killed because they destroyed Herakles' army and the hero is thus 'paying them back'. The wrongs inflicted by Augeas are also avenged, for his city sinks )>into a deep trench of ruin(( (11. 34-38). In spite of its emphasis on violence and disorder the account of events here has a quality of preciseness which is brought about by the use of names: in lines 26-35 there are no less than ten proper names.

The character of the narrative changes as it progresses, being very general at the beginning and more detailed and explicit at the end. At first the poet gives the bare fact that the hero killed the Moiones, followed by the general reason why they were killed; because he was trying to exact payment from Augeas. Then there is a more specific account of how they died, followed by the specific reason for their death and finally by the death of Augeas. Thus the order of events is B-A-B'-A'-C, with two references to the killing of the Moliones, B and B', each followed by a past event giving a reason for it, then the death of Augeas, which is related to the first reason, A. The first two accounts of Herakles' actions are in reverse chronological sequence; first effect, then cause; while the third is in its correct position chronologically. The disordering of chronological sequence complements the description of disorderly human relationships.

In the first strophe of the poem the relationship between poet and victor was described as a business contract which involved a certain type of exchange between the two parties. The second triad also deals with reciprocal exchange but there it is acts of violence which are exchanged. In that world orderly

432 GRETCHEN KROMER

human relationships are impossible and one can only survive by being the stronger as the poet indicates in the gnome (11. 39-40). Herakles, who is often the slayer of monsters, is here the opponent of men who disregard the con- ventional rules governing the behavior of men in a civilized society. In the first triad the unkept promise was potentially harmful to friendship (Ci4ro'6evov, 1. 6) and in the second Augeas is described as vevat',raxq, (1. 34).

The third triad contains the principal mythological episode of 0. IO;

the founding of the Olympic Games by Herakles. Here the tone changes radi- cally and chronological sequence is resumed, emphasizing the ordering activities of the hero. The vocabulary of measuring is prominent in the description of the dividing up of the land for various purposes (arepTo, 8p natc,, 8L'XpLvz, "ffxs, 11. 45 47 20. (It will be remembered that in the Phaedrus geometry is invented together with writing and mathematics.) Numbers are also used in the reference to the )dtwelve divine lords(( (1. 49) and to the >>five year festival< (1. 57). I have already said that the setting up of the Olympic Games by Herakles is analogous to the writing down of laws by Zaleukos. Both Herakles and Zaleukos are founders of important social institutions: each establishes a type of nomos. The analogy becomes more plausible in the light of several comments made by M. K. LEFKOWITZ, who says, ))Words of measure and apportionment comprise the Greeks' vocabulary of justice .. .( According to LEFKOWITZ, v6o.toq as it is used in Pindar retains the coloring of its etymological cognates vs,ux and vo,uo. Thus in fr. I69 No,oq 6o nra'Vcov

amxtlk is to be viewed as a surveyor2l. Following this line of reasoning it is possible to interpret the central myth of 0. IO as an elaborate pun on

ve,u/v6v4oq/voV,0. Herakles is a surveyor who divides and apportions the future site of the Olympic Games but he is also, like Zaleukos, the originator of a group of nomoi, of social conventions and institutions. Herakles 'rules' the Olympic Games just as Atrekeia rules (v4Le, 1. I3) the city of the Lokrians.

At the beginning of the ode the poet had asked that a name be read. The 'written' words resemble the image of the tomb of Pelops, for both are reminders of a living or once-living entity. In this triad Herakles does not read names but rather gives names to certain geographical points thereby providing them with a purpose and a 'life' of their own. He dedicates the grove to >his father most high (x(1. 45) and names the )>rock of Kronos which had previously been unnamed and covered in the obscurity of snow (11. 49-51). He also honors flowing water, now no longer a nameless stream but the river Alpheus: river and rock now become compatible parts of the same landscape.

The significance of the hero's actions is indicated by the approving presence of the MoZpoL, who are also witnesses to the birth of lamos (O. 6, 42). Through

20 NORWOOD, II3- II4 21 M. K. LEFKOWITZ, Cultural Conventions and the Persistence of Mistranslation,

CJ 68, 1972-I973, 3I-38 (33 n. 5).

The Value of Time in Pindar's Olympian io 433

the activities of Herakles the site is 'born' and 'brought to perfection' simultane- ously (Op&Toy6vcY TeXsa4, 1. 5I). The founding of the Olympic Games satisfies both the demand for accuracy, completeness, and perfection implied by Atre- keia and the desire for a vital and continuing force suggested by Alatheia22*

The reconciliation of the two is made explicit in the phrase &ahXr0 v 0 tTUoOV

(1. 54), which implies both preciseness and the reference to a perceiving individual living in time. Time is now seen as the 'vindicator' of the )exact truth ((, for it both satisfies the demanos of the Lokrians and defends the poet from their charges.

Time no longer moves threateningly toward the poet but instead moves forwa-d and its movement is united with that of the narrative. The forward movement of time, which is emphasized by the use of chronological sequence, implies progress out of the violent and disordered world of lines 26-42. In its positive function it indicates continual regeneration as well as a movement toward perfection. The spoils of war are no longer ococv . .. o c0aCv (1. 44) but have become 10Cv noX46to 80a6cv oCxpotp6c >the gift of war, the first fruits(( (11. 56-57). In founding the Olympic Games Herakles sets up an institution which, unlike laws which are written down and possibly forgotten, is renewed every four years. Time does not move uncontrollably like the stream but is marked off and ordered by the existence of the festival. This function of the Games is shown when Greek historians later used them as a means of dating.

The strophe and antistrophe of the fourth triad have sometimes been condemned as dull and unimaginative. FARNELL says, >The chronicle itself may be regarded as a flaw .. . .( and speaks of the ))rather dry chronicle form(( of the lines23. Their true function is suggested by NORWOOD, who calls the passage )>a business-like list((24. It is Atrekeia who is in charge here and gives free rein to her fondness for factual detail. The list is introduced by the poet's request to be told the names of the first Olympic victors. This request is parallel to that in lines I-2 of the poem where he had asked to be read the name of the present victor. The reading of a list of names may be contrasted with the naming of real objects by Herakles in the previous triad. Whether or not it is true, as some commentators have suggested, that the lines are based on an actual written record to which Pindar had access, it is clear that he is imitating the style of such records. The list of victors is followed by a lyrical description of the victory celebration with the moon lighting up the evening and the place ringing with song (11. 73-77). The naming of the first Olympic victors is followed by a reference to the odes sung for Olympic victories. Thus in the fourth triad the two types of truth which had been brought together by Herakles are separated but have related functions.

22NORWOOD, 252 n. 43: ))Truth which does indeed repel oblivion (A-XOC8-stoc) . J. H. QUINCEY, Etymologica, RhM Io6, 1932, I42-I48 (146) disagrees but sees a play on Kronos/Chronos.

23 L. R. FARNELL, The Works of Pindar, London, I932, I, 62. 24 NORWOOD, II2.

Herme8 104, 4

434 GRETCHEN KROMER

The evocation of the first celebration of the Olympic Games is now connected with the present occasion which is >named after's it (1. 78). The present celebra- tion is a descendant of the earlier one and inherits its name just as in the last triad of the poem the child is born and inherits his father's wealth. The reference to the ))earlier beginnings<( (1. 78) which introduces the description of the thunderbolt of Zeus implies both the narration of the first celebration of the Games and the literary convention of 'beginning with Zeus' (N. 2, 1-3).

The thunderbolt of Zeus, which is #fitting in every victory<( (11. 82-83) provides the link between the founding of the Games and the writing of the present song.

In the last triad of the poem the poet describes the present song which ))has appeared in time beside the famous Dirke<( (1. 85). Just as the )>exact truth< manifests itself with the passing of time so the poem too develops over a period of time. It appears beside the Dirke, for its movement and vitality are consistent with the character of water, unlike the pebble which is swept away by the stream. In the opening lines of 0. IO the song was seen to have a particular material or commercial value. In 11. 86-93 wealth and song are again brought together but the relationship is no longer one of equivalence. The value of material possessions and of personal achievement is called into question by the fact that men exist in time. Here as in the first triad time is seen as a generative/destructive force, for it brings about old age but it may also allow for the birth of a son who will grow up to inherit his father's wealth. The objects valued by Atrekeia take no account of the passage of time. If a man dies childless his money is passed on to a stranger (11. 88-go). To a man who has grown old, a son is ))longed for<( (11. 86-87) since through him the father's possessions may 'live on'. In the same way great deeds need a song which will cause them to be remembered even after the individual who accom- plished them is dead. Just as wealth becomes a source of bitterness to a man who dies without an heir, so in the absence of song great deeds will have been accomplished in vain (xZvvoc rxvZaatL Z`Ope 1?6t& PPOC TL TpErV6v,

1. 93). Like the son who is all the more prized because he is born when the father is already old, the song is all the more to be valued because it comes after a long delay.

In the last antistrophe the poet applies the simile to the present situation. The music of lyre and flute sprinkle glory upon the victor and the singer ))has rained honey upon the manly city#. This glorifying rain may be compared with the obscuring snow which had covered the >>rock of Kronos# before it was named by Herakles. The last epode of 0. IO contains the final description of the relationship between the poet and the victor. The poet )>has embraced< the city of the Lokrians and the victor is described as )>lovely<( (4po6rov, 1. 99). At the beginning of the ode Pindar had indicated that he had forgotten a business obligation. Here the obligation is instead associated with love and

The Value of Time in Pindar's Olympian io 435

the charge of forgetfulness is countered by a statement that he has not forgotten what is most essential; his personal experience of the victory. The words, )J saw him at that time by the Olympic altar conquering with the strength of his handsa(, are a strong assertion that he has not forgotten the event. They also demonstrate the value of Alatheia with its implicit reference to the role of the perceiver, as opposed to Atrekeia, which is essentially impersonal.

At the end of the ode the present victor is compared with Ganymede. Just as Ganymede's beauty inspired admiration and caused Zeus to make him immortal, so the appearance of Hagesidamos inspired the poet to immortalize him in song. He is compelled to write, not by the belated recollection of a business agreement, but by his memory of the victory which fills him with love and admiration for the young man. By recreating his own experience, the poet causes the victor to live on as he was at the time of his triumph. In the context of the previous lines in which the ode was compared with a son and heir the reference to Ganymede seems slightly ironic. In several early versions of the myth it is said that when the boy was taken his father grieved for him and the gods therefore gave him a precious gift in exchange for his son (Il., E 265-267; Hymn to Aphrodite, 202-2I7; Ilias Parva, pp. 4I-42 KINKEL).

Thus the son who was giieved for, like the poem which is compared with a son who is )>longed for<, is exchanged for a certain material possession. The use of this particular myth may therefore be intended to emphasize again the incapacity of material goods to replace that which is part of the personal experience of the individual. The fact that the poem is given in exchange for material goods or money does not mean that its worth may be measured in commercial terms, any more than the value of a beloved child may be equated with that of a precious gift, even a gift from the gods.

In Olympian io, as I have attempted to demonstrate, Pindar contrasts two types of truth, Alatheia and Atrekeia. Alatheia, who is invoked by the poet at the beginning of the ode, is identified with subjective, personal experi- ence, with vitality and continuity. Atrekeia, on the other hand, implies precision and accuracy and is associated with the world of business and finance. While Alatheia has a particular relation to time, Atrekeia is connected with nomos. It is the poet's task to compose a song which will satisfy the demands of both types of truth. The accomplishment of his task and the consequent reconcilia- tion of the two is signified by the narration of the setting up of the Olympic Games. The description of the activities of Herakles is therefore a symbol of the poem itself. Within the poem as a whole, however, the two 'goddesses' are contrasted with each other in relation to time. At the beginning o- the ode it was shown that the poet's delay in fulfilling his obligation made the passage of time increasingly threatening to him. In the last triad the situation is reversed, for the passage of time undermines the worth of things valued by Atrekeia. Thus the deeds of the victor need the poet's song to preserve them

28*

436 GRETCHEN KROMER: The Value of Time in Pindar's Olympian io

from oblivion. The poet's song stands between the two 'goddesses': it is a written product with a finite material value but it has the aspect of a sponta- neous, oral encomium based on love. In relation to time, however, it is Alatheia who takes precedence, for it is only she who can confer immortality25.

South Hadley, Massachusetts USA GRETCHEN KROMER

25 This paper was delivered in somewhat different form as a Shoptalk at the American Academy in Rome. I am grateful to the various people who made helpful comments at that time. Further suggestions from D. E. GERBER and from my colleagues, A. D. JONES

and S. STAMBLER have also been useful. Add: A. M. KOMORNICKA, Quelques remarques sur la notion d' &0Oe?to et de 0i58os chez Pindare, Eos 6o, 1972, 235-253, was not available to me when I wrote this paper but does not alter my views on 0. IO.