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Ode 10 For an Athenian Foot Race at the Isthmus Date unknown
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Fame, you visit the races [of men?], and
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eyes
peaceful respite
now for him his sister's husband
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has moved the clear-voiced island bee
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1
so that the immortal ornament of the Muses will be at hand as a common joy for men, revealing your excellence to men on earth,
by the will of Victory you have crowned your golden head with blossoms and brought glory to broad
Athens
and fame to the Oeneidae, when, in Poseidon's far-famed games,
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you displayed to the Greeks the swift surge of your feet.
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For when he reached the finish-line of the racecourse, breathing out a storm of hot breath, and again moistened the cloaks of the spectators with olive oil, rushing into the close-packed crowd
when he rounded the fourth turn of the course, the spokesmen of the wise judges proclaimed him twice an Isthmian victor,
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2
and twice in
Nemea
, beside the sacred altar of Zeus son of Cronus.
Glorious
Thebes
also welcomed him fittingly, and spacious
Argos
, and
Sicyon
, and those who dwell in
Pellene
, and in
Euboea
rich in grain, and on the holy
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island
Aegina
. Each man seeks a different path on which to walk to attain conspicuous glory; and the forms of knowledge among men are countless.
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2
Indeed, a man is skillful if he has a share of honor from the Graces
and blooms with golden hope, or if he has some knowledge of the prophetic art; another man aims his artful bow at boys; others swell their spirits with fields and herds of cattle.
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The future begets unpredictable results: which way will fortune's scale incline? The finest thing is to be envied by many people as a noble man.
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I know also the great power of wealth,
which makes even a useless man valuable. Why have I steered my song in its straight course so far off the road? Delight is appointed for mortals after victory
of flutes
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mix
must
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Epinicians. Bacchylides. Diane Arnson Svarlien (Translator). New Haven, CT. 1996.
Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.
Funding provided by The Annenberg CPB/Project.