Only Mostly Dead: Immortality and Related States in Pindar's Victory Odes

Only Mostly Dead: Immortality and Related States in Pindar's Victory Odes

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Eisenfeld, Hanne Ellen
Language:English
Published: The Ohio State University / OhioLINK 2014
Subjects:
Classical Studies
Pindar
epinician
Greek religion
Online Access:http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1402919442
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spelling ndltd-OhioLink-oai-etd.ohiolink.edu-osu14029194422021-08-03T06:25:18Z Only Mostly Dead: Immortality and Related States in Pindar's Victory Odes Eisenfeld, Hanne Ellen Classical Studies Pindar epinician Greek religion Pindar's victory odes have long been the subject of frustration, admiration, and bafflement - often all at the same time. Their perceived obscurity, however, derives largely from a lack of the contexts that surrounded fifth century audiences. In this study I argue that an important element of that context lies in the complex religious landscapes inhabited by Pindar and his contemporaries.The communities of fifth century Greece were shaped by their experiences - communal and individual - of the divine. Interaction with the gods was as much a part of life as interaction with one's neighbors or the state. Despite the integration of what we, as modern scholars, would call 'religious' experience into every aspect of fifth century life, the importance of the divine in Pindar's victory songs has been insufficiently appreciated. Epinician representations of the divine draw on the stories and hymns that the audience already knew, the festivals they attended, the traditions of their cities and families. These contexts are now fragmentary, but by looking to the many types of evidence we have - from visual representations to cult inscriptions to mythical narratives - I have tried to glimpse the interwoven frameworks that expressed contemporary conceptions of the divine.When Pindar sings about gods and heroes he is neither simply repeating tired scripture nor telling empty stories for entertainment. Instead, representations of these beings in the odes articulate the order of the world and (re)constitute the appropriate relationships between humans and the gods. As part of the project of asserting order Pindar introduces into the odes figures who exist in a borderland between mortality and immortality. The elements of ambiguity inherent to these beings constitute a challenge to which the surrounding material of the ode responds, reaffirming the validity of the human/divine distinction. Four of these figures - Amphiaraos, Herakles, and the Dioskouroi - are examined here within the contexts of their individual odes and with reference to the broader epinician project. 2014-11-19 English text The Ohio State University / OhioLINK http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1402919442 http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1402919442 unrestricted This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws.
collection NDLTD
language English
sources NDLTD
topic Classical Studies
Pindar
epinician
Greek religion
spellingShingle Classical Studies
Pindar
epinician
Greek religion
Eisenfeld, Hanne Ellen
Only Mostly Dead: Immortality and Related States in Pindar's Victory Odes
author Eisenfeld, Hanne Ellen
author_facet Eisenfeld, Hanne Ellen
author_sort Eisenfeld, Hanne Ellen
title Only Mostly Dead: Immortality and Related States in Pindar's Victory Odes
title_short Only Mostly Dead: Immortality and Related States in Pindar's Victory Odes
title_full Only Mostly Dead: Immortality and Related States in Pindar's Victory Odes
title_fullStr Only Mostly Dead: Immortality and Related States in Pindar's Victory Odes
title_full_unstemmed Only Mostly Dead: Immortality and Related States in Pindar's Victory Odes
title_sort only mostly dead: immortality and related states in pindar's victory odes
publisher The Ohio State University / OhioLINK
publishDate 2014
url http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1402919442
work_keys_str_mv AT eisenfeldhanneellen onlymostlydeadimmortalityandrelatedstatesinpindarsvictoryodes
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