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Ode 14 For Cleoptolemus of Thessaly Chariot-Race at the Petraia Date unknown
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To have a good allotment from the gods is the best thing for men. Fortune can destroy even a noble man, if she comes as a grievous burden,
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and can make a worthless man shine on high, if she works out well. Different people have different honors.
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There are countless forms of excellence among men, but one stands out among all of them:
when a man has conducted whatever lies at hand with a just mind. The voice of the lyre and clear-sounding choruses do not harmonize with the deep griefs of battle,
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nor does the clang of clashing bronze with festivities. For every work of men [appropriateness] is the finest thing. When someone does well, a god [advances?] him too. In gratitude to Cleoptolemus,
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we must now sing of the precinct of Poseidon Petraios, and of the glorious son of Pyrrichus, victorious with his horses,
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who
of hospitable and just
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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.