Editing Pindar (section)

==Works==
Pindar's strongly individual genius is apparent in all his extant compositions but, unlike [[Simonides]] and [[Stesichorus]] for example, he created no new lyrical genres.<ref name=j41>Jebb, Richard (1905) [https://openlibrary.org/books/OL20591590M/Bacchylides_The_Poems_and_Fragments ''Bacchylides: the poems and fragments''], Cambridge University Press, p. 41</ref> He was however innovative in his use of the genres he inherited{{spaced ndash}}for example, in one of his victory odes (''Olympian'' 3), he announces his invention of a new type of musical accompaniment, combining lyre, flute and human voice (though our knowledge of Greek music is too sketchy to allow us to understand the full nature of this innovation).<ref name=Conway72-17>Pindar (1972) p. 17</ref>

Although he probably spoke [[Boeotian Greek]], he composed in a literary language that tended to rely more on the [[Doric Greek|Doric]] dialect than his rival [[Bacchylides]], but less insistently than [[Alcman]]. There is an admixture of other dialects, especially Aeolic and epic forms, and an occasional use of some Boeotian words.<ref name="Douglas E. Gerber 1997 page 255">Gerber, p. 255</ref>

He composed 'choral' songs yet it is by no means certain that they were all sung by choirs{{spaced ndash}}the use of choirs is testified only by the generally unreliable scholiasts.<ref>Gregory Nagy, ''Greek Literature in the Hellenistic Period'', Routledge (2001), p. 66</ref>

Scholars at the [[Library of Alexandria]] collected his compositions in seventeen books organized according to genre:<ref>M.M. Willcock: ''Pindar: Victory Odes'' (1995). Cambridge University Press, p. 3.</ref>
* 1 book of ''hymnoi''{{spaced ndash}}''"[[hymn]]s"''
* 1 book of ''paianes''{{spaced ndash}}''"[[paean]]s"''
* 2 books of ''dithyramboi''{{spaced ndash}}''"[[dithyramb]]s"''
* 2 books of ''prosodia''{{spaced ndash}}''[[Prosodion|"processionals"]]''
* 3 books of ''parthenia''{{spaced ndash}}''"songs for maidens"''
* 2 books of ''hyporchemata''{{spaced ndash}}''[[Hyporchema|"songs for light dances"]]''
* 1 book of ''enkomia''{{spaced ndash}}''"[[Encomium|songs of praise]]"''
* 1 book of ''threnoi''{{spaced ndash}}''"laments"''
* 4 books of ''epinikia''{{spaced ndash}}''"[[epinikion|victory odes]]"''

Of this vast and varied corpus, only the ''epinikia''{{spaced ndash}}odes written to commemorate athletic victories{{spaced ndash}}survive in complete form; the rest survive only by quotations in other ancient authors or from [[papyrus]] scraps unearthed in [[Egypt]]. Even in fragmentary form however, they reveal the same complexity of thought and language that are found in the victory odes.<ref>Bowie, p. 110</ref>

[[Dionysius of Halicarnassus]] singled out Pindar's work as an outstanding example of austere style ({{lang|grc|αὐστηρὰ ἁρμονία}}) but he noted its absence in the maiden songs or ''parthenia''. One surviving fragment of a maiden song does seem to be different in tone, due however to the fact that it is spoken in the character of a girl:<ref>Dionysius of Halicarnassus, ''de Comp.'' 22, ''de Dem.'' 39</ref>{{sfn|Bowra|1964|p=193}}{{sfn|Bowra|1964|p=363}}
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{{lang|grc|ἐμὲ δὲ πρέπει παρθενήια μὲν φρονεῖν<br />
γλώσσᾳ τε λέγεσθαι.}} 
|
{{grc-transl|ἐμὲ δὲ πρέπει παρθενήια μὲν φρονεῖν<br />
γλώσσᾳ τε λέγεσθαι.}}
|
I must think maidenly thoughts<br />
And utter them with my tongue.{{sfn|Bowra|1964|p=363}}{{sfn|Bowra|1964|p=84}}{{sfn|Bowra|1964|p=25}}{{sfn|Bowra|1964|p=26}}
|}

Enough of his dithyrambic poetry survives for comparison with that of Bacchylides, who used it for narrative. Pindar's dithyrambs are an exuberant display of religious feeling, capturing the wild spirit of [[Dionysus]] and pointing forward to the ecstatic songs of [[Euripides]]' ''[[The Bacchae|Bacchae]]''. In one of these, dedicated to the Athenians and written to be sung in Spring, he depicts the divine energy of the revitalized world.{{sfn|Bowra|1964|p=62}}{{sfn|Bowra|1964|p=63}}
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{{lang|grc|φοινικοεάνων ὁπότ' οἰχθέντος Ὡρᾶν θαλάμου<br />
εὔοδμον ἐπάγοισιν ἔαρ φυτὰ νεκτάρεα.<br />
τότε βάλλεται, τότ' ἐπ' ἀμβρόταν χθόν' ἐραταί<br />
ἴων φόβαι, ῥόδα τε κόμαισι μείγνυται,<br />
ἀχεῖ τ' ὀμφαὶ μελέων σὺν αὐλοῖς<br />
οἰχνεῖ τε Σεμέλαν ἑλικάμπυκα χοροί.}} 
|
{{grc-transl|φοινικοεάνων ὁπότ' οἰχθέντος Ὡρᾶν θαλάμου<br />
εὔοδμον ἐπάγοισιν ἐάρ φυτὰ νεκτάρεα.<br />
τότε βάλλεται, τότ' ἐπ' ἀμβρόταν χθόν' ἐραταί<br />
ἴων φόβαι, ῥόδα τε κόμαισι μείγνυται,<br />
ἀχεῖ τ' ὀμφαὶ μελέων σὺν αὐλοῖς<br />
οἰχνεῖ τε Σεμέλαν ἑλικάμπυκα χοροί.}}
|
When the chamber of the scarlet-clothed Hours is opened<br />
And the nectareous flowers usher in the fragrant spring,<br />
Then are scattered, then, on the immortal ground<br />
The lovely petals of violets; roses are wound in our hair;<br />
Loudly echo the voices of songs to the flutes,<br />
And choirs step in procession to dark-ribboned [[Semele]].{{sfn|Bowra|1964|p=63}}{{sfn|Bowra|1964|pp=15–20}}
|}

===Victory odes<!--linked from 'Loeb Classical Library'-->===
[[File:Farnese Diadumenos BM 501.jpg|right|thumbnail|The so-called 'Farnese Diadumenos' is a Roman copy of a Greek original attributed to [[Polykleitos]] c. 440 BC, depicting an athlete tying a victory ribbon round his head.]]
Almost all Pindar's victory [[ode]]s are celebrations of triumphs gained by competitors in [[Panhellenic festivals]] such as the Olympian Games. The establishment of these athletic and musical festivals was among the greatest achievements of the Greek aristocracies. Even in the 5th century BC, when there was an increased tendency towards professionalism, they were predominantly aristocratic assemblies, reflecting the expense and leisure needed to attend such events either as a competitor or spectator. Attendance was an opportunity for display and self-promotion, and the prestige of victory, requiring commitment in time and/or wealth, went far beyond anything that accrues to athletic victories today, even in spite of the modern preoccupation with sport.<ref>Antony Andrewes, ''Greek Society'', Pelican Books (1971), pp. 219–22</ref> Pindar's odes capture something of the prestige and the aristocratic grandeur of the moment of victory, as in this stanza from one of his Isthmian Odes, here translated by Geoffrey S. Conway:

:::::If ever a man strives
:::With all his soul's endeavour, sparing himself
:::Neither expense nor labour to attain
:::True excellence, then must we give to those
:::Who have achieved the goal, a proud tribute
:::::Of lordly praise, and shun
::::All thoughts of envious jealousy.
:::To a poet's mind the gift is slight, to speak
:::A kind word for unnumbered toils, and build
:::For all to share a monument of beauty. (''Isthmian'' I, antistrophe 3)<ref>Pindar (1972) p. 235</ref>

His victory odes are grouped into four books named after the [[Ancient Olympic Games|Olympian]], [[Pythian Games|Pythian]], [[Isthmian Games|Isthmian]], and [[Nemean Games]]{{spaced ndash}}Panhellenic festivals held respectively at [[Olympia, Greece|Olympia]], [[Delphi]], [[Corinth]] and [[Nemea]]. This reflects the fact that most of the odes were composed in honour of boys, youths, and men who had recently enjoyed victories in athletic (and sometimes musical) contests at those festivals. In a few odes however much older victories, and even victories in lesser games, are celebrated, often as a pretext for addressing other issues or achievements. For example, ''Pythian 3'', composed in honour of Hieron of Syracuse, briefly mentions a victory he had once enjoyed at the Pythian Games, but it is actually intended to console him for his chronic illness (similarly, ''Pythian'' 2 is like a private letter in its intimacy).<ref name=Conway72-88-96>Pindar (1972), p. 88. 96</ref> ''Nemean 9'' and ''Nemean 10'' celebrate victories in games at [[Sicyon]] and [[Argos, Peloponnese|Argos]], and ''Nemean 11'' celebrates a victory in a municipal election on [[Ancient Tenedos|Tenedos]] (though it also mentions some obscure athletic victories). These three odes are the final odes in the ''Nemean'' book of odes, and there is a reason for their inclusion. In the original manuscripts, the four books of odes were arranged in the order of importance assigned to the festivals, with the Nemean festival, considered least important, coming last. Victory odes that lacked a Panhellenic subject were then bundled together at the end of the book of ''Nemean'' odes.<ref name=Conway72-xx>Pindar (1972) Introduction p. xx</ref>

====Style====
Pindar's poetic style is very distinctive, even when the peculiarities of the genre are set aside. The odes typically feature a grand and arresting opening, often with an architectural metaphor or a resounding invocation to a place or goddess. He makes rich use of decorative language and florid compound adjectives.<ref name="Charles Segal 1985 page 232">Charles Segal, 'Choral Lyric in the Fifth Century', in Easterling, p. 232</ref> Sentences are compressed to the point of obscurity, unusual words and periphrases give the language an esoteric quality, and transitions in meaning often seem erratic, the images seem to burst out{{spaced ndash}}it is a style that sometimes baffles but also makes his poetry vivid and unforgettable.<ref>de Romilly, p. 38</ref>
{{Blockquote|Pindar's power does not lie in the pedigrees of ... athletes ... It lies in a splendour of phrase and imagery that suggests the gold and purple of a sunset sky.{{spaced ndash}}[[F. L. Lucas]]<ref name="greekpoetry">{{cite book | title=Greek Poetry for Everyman | author=Lucas, F. L. | publisher=Macmillan Company, New York | page=262}}</ref>}}
{{Blockquote|He has that force of imagination which can bring clear-cut and dramatic figures of gods and heroes into vivid relief...he has that peculiar and inimitable splendour of style which, though sometimes aided by magnificent novelties of diction, is not dependent on them, but can work magical effects with simple words; he has also, at frequent moments, a marvellous swiftness, alike in the succession of images, and in the transitions from thought to thought; and his tone is that of a prophet who can speak with a voice as of [[Delphi]].{{spaced ndash}}[[Richard Claverhouse Jebb]]<ref name=j41/>}}
His odes were animated by...
{{Blockquote|one burning glow which darted out a shower of brilliant images, leapt in a white-hot spark across gaps unbridgeable by thought, passed through a commonplace leaving it luminous and transparent, melted a group of heterogeneous ideas into a shortlived unity and, as suddenly as a flame, died.{{spaced ndash}}[[Gilbert Highet]]<ref>Gilbert Highet, ''The Classical Tradition'', Oxford University Press (1949), p. 225</ref>}}

Some of these qualities can be found, for example, in this stanza from ''Pythian 2'', composed in honour of Hieron:
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{{lang|grc|θεὸς ἅπαν ἐπὶ ἐλπίδεσσι τέκμαρ ἀνύεται,<br />
θεός, ὃ καὶ πτερόεντ᾽ αἰετὸν κίχε, καὶ θαλασ-<br />
:σαῖον παραμείβεται
δελφῖνα, καὶ ὑψιφρόνων τιν᾽ ἔκαμψε βροτῶν,<br />
ἑτέροισι δὲ κῦδος ἀγήραον παρέδωκ᾽. ἐμὲ δὲ χρεὼν<br />
φεύγειν δάκος ἀδινὸν κακαγοριᾶν.<br />
εἶδον γὰρ ἑκὰς ἐὼν τὰ πόλλ᾽ ἐν ἀμαχανίᾳ<br />
ψογερὸν Ἀρχίλοχον βαρυλόγοις ἔχθεσιν<br />
πιαινόμενον: τὸ πλουτεῖν δὲ σὺν τύχᾳ πό-<br />
:τμου σοφίας ἄριστον.}}<ref>Bowra, Pythia II 49–56</ref>
|
God achieves all his purpose and fulfills his every hope,<br />
God who can overtake the winged eagle, or upon the sea<br />
:outstrip the dolphin;
and he bends the arrogant heart of many a man,<br />
But gives to others eternal glory that will never fade. Now for me<br />
Is it needful that I shun the fierce and biting tooth of slanderous words.<br />
For from old have I seen sharp-tongued Archilochus in want and struggling,<br />
Grown fat on the harsh words of hate.<br />
The best that fate can bring is wealth<br />
:joined with the happy gift of wisdom.<ref>Pindar (1972) pp. 92–3</ref>
|}

The stanza begins with a celebration of divine power, and then abruptly shifts to a darker, more allusive train of thought, featuring condemnation of a renowned poet, [[Archilochus]], ''Grown fat on the harsh words of hate''. Archilochus was an [[Iambus (genre)|iambic]] poet, working within a genre that licensed abusive and scurrilous verse{{spaced ndash}}a regrettable tendency from the viewpoint of Pindar, whose own persona is intensely earnest, preaching to Hieron the need for moderation (wealth with wisdom) and submission to the divine will. The reference to the embittered poet appears to be Pindar's meditative response to some intrigues at Hieron's court, possibly by his rivals, condemned elsewhere as ''a pair of ravens'' (''Olympian 2''). The intensity of the stanza suggests that it is the culmination and climax of the poem. In fact, the stanza occupies the middle of ''Pythian 2'' and the intensity is sustained throughout the poem from beginning to end. It is the sustained intensity of his poetry that Quintilian refers to above as a ''rolling flood of eloquence'' and Horace below refers to as the ''uncontrollable momentum'' of a river that has burst its banks. [[Longinus (literature)|Longinus]] likens him to ''a vast fire''<ref>''De Subl.'' 33.5</ref> and [[Athenaeus]] refers to him as ''the great-voiced Pindar''.<ref>Athenaeus 13.5.64c</ref>

Pindar's treatment of myth is another unique aspect of his style, often involving variations on the traditional stories,<ref>Bowie, pp. 107–8</ref> since his original audience was familiar with the myths and this allowed him to concentrate on unique and surprising effects. Reversing the chronological order was one such effect, as in ''Olympian VII'' dedicated to Diagoras of Rhodes, but this could also resemble a circular pattern, beginning with a culminating event, followed by scenes leading up to it, and ending with its restatement, as in his account of the [[Dioscuri]] in ''Nemean 10''.{{sfn|Bowra|1964|p=310}} Myths enabled him to develop the themes and lessons that pre-occupy him{{spaced ndash}}in particular mankind's exulted relation with the gods via heroic ancestors and, in contrast, the limitations and uncertainties of human existence{{spaced ndash}}but sometimes the traditional stories were an embarrassment and were carefully edited, as for example:
"Be still my tongue: here profits not / to tell the whole truth with clear face unveiled," (''Nemean 5'', epode 1); "Away, away this story! / Let no such tale fall from my lips! / For to insult the gods is a fool's wisdom," (''Olympian 9'', strophe 2); "Senseless, I hold it, for a man to say / the gods eat mortal flesh. / I spurn the thought," (''Olympian 1'', epode 2).<ref>Pindar (1972) pp. 192, 54, 4, respectively</ref> His mythical accounts are edited for dramatic and graphic effects, usually unfolding through a few grand gestures against a background of large, often symbolic elements such as sea, sky, darkness, fire or mountain.<ref name="Charles Segal 1985 page 232"/>

====Structure====
Pindar's odes typically begin with an invocation to a god or the Muses, followed by praise of the victor and often of his family, ancestors and home-town. Then follows a narrated myth, usually occupying the central and longest section of the poem, which exemplify a moral, while aligning the poet and his audience with the world of gods and heroes.<ref>Bowie, p. 108</ref> The ode usually ends in more eulogies, for example of trainers (if the victor is a boy), and of relatives who have won past events, as well as with prayers or expressions of hope for future success.<ref name="Geoffrey S. Conway 1972">Pindar (1972)</ref> The event where the victory was gained is never described in detail, but there is often some mention of the hard work needed to bring the victory about.

A lot of modern criticism tries to find hidden structure or some unifying principle within the odes. 19th century criticism favoured 'gnomic unity' i.e. that each ode is bound together by the kind of moralizing or philosophic vision typical of archaic [[Gnomic poetry]]. Later critics sought unity in the way certain words or images are repeated and developed within a particular ode. For others, the odes are just celebrations of men and their communities, in which the elements such as myths, piety, and ethics are stock themes that the poet introduces without much real thought. Some conclude that the requirement for unity is too modern to have informed Pindar's ancient approach to a traditional craft.<ref name="Douglas E. Gerber 1997 page 255"/>

The great majority of the odes are triadic in structure{{spaced ndash}}i.e., stanzas are grouped together in three's as a lyrical unit. Each triad comprises two stanzas identical in length and meter (called 'strophe' and 'antistrophe') and a third stanza (called an 'epode'), differing in length and meter but rounding off the lyrical movement in some way. The shortest odes comprise a single triad, the largest (''Pythian 4'') comprises thirteen triads. Seven of the odes however are monostrophic (i.e., each stanza in the ode is identical in length and meter). The monostrophic odes seem to have been composed for victory marches or processions, whereas the triadic odes appear suited to choral dances.<ref name="Geoffrey S. Conway 1972"/> Pindar's metrical rhythms are nothing like the simple, repetitive rhythms familiar to readers of English verse{{spaced ndash}}typically the rhythm of any given line recurs infrequently (for example, only once every ten, fifteen or twenty lines). This adds to the aura of complexity that surrounds Pindar's work. In terms of meter, the odes fall roughly into two categories{{spaced ndash}}about half are in [[Greek prosody#Dactylo-epitrite|dactylo-epitrite]]s (a meter found for example in the works of [[Stesichorus]], Simonides and Bacchylides) and the other half are in [[Aeolic verse#Choral Aeolics|Aeolic metres]] based on iambs and choriambs.<ref name="Douglas E. Gerber 1997 page 255"/>

====Chronological order====
Modern editors (e.g., Snell and Maehler in their [[Teubner]] edition), have assigned dates, securely or tentatively, to Pindar's victory odes, based on ancient sources and other grounds. The date of an athletic victory is not always the date of composition but often serves merely as a ''terminus post quem''. Many dates are based on comments by ancient sources who had access to published lists of victors, such as the Olympic list compiled by [[Hippias of Elis]], and lists of Pythian victors made by [[Aristotle]] and [[Callisthenes]]. There were however no such lists for the Isthmian and Nemean Games<ref>Currie, p. 25</ref>{{spaced ndash}}[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] (6.13.8) complained that the Corinthians and Argives never kept proper records. The resulting uncertainty is reflected in the chronology below, with question marks clustered around Nemean and Isthmian entries, and yet it still represents a fairly clear general timeline of Pindar's career as an epinician poet. The code '''M''' denotes monostrophic odes (odes in which all stanzas are metrically identical) and the rest are triadic (i.e. featuring strophes, antistrophes, epodes):

{|class="wikitable"
|+Victory odes in estimated chronological order
! Date<br />(BC)
! Ode
! Victor
! Event
! Focusing myth
|-
| 498
| Pythian 10
| Hippocles of [[Thessaly]]
| [[Dolichos (running race)|Boy's long foot-race]]
| [[Perseus]], [[Hyperboreans]]
|-
| 490
| Pythian 6 ('''M''')
| Xenocrates of [[Agrigento|Acragas]]
| Chariot-race
| [[Antilochus]], [[Nestor (mythology)|Nestor]]
|-
| 490
| Pythian 12 ('''M''')
| Midas of [[Agrigento|Acragas]]
| [[Aulos|Flute-Playing]]
| Perseus, [[Medusa]]
|-
| 488 (?)
| Olympian 14 ('''M''')
| Asopichus of [[Orchomenus (Boeotia)|Orchomenus]]
| Boys' foot-race
| None
|-
| 486
| Pythian 7
| [[Megacles]] of [[Athens]]
| Chariot-race
| None
|-
| 485 (?)
| Nemean 2 ('''M''')
| Timodemus of [[Acharnae]]
| [[Pancration]]
| None
|-
| 485 (?)
| Nemean 7
| Sogenes of [[Aegina]]
| Boys' Pentathlon
| [[Neoptolemus]]
|-
| 483 (?)
| Nemean 5
| Pythias of Aegina
| Youth's Pancration
| Peleus, [[Hippolyta]], [[Thetis]]
|-
| 480
| Isthmian 6
| Phylacides of Aegina
| Pancration
| [[Heracles]], [[Telamon]]
|-
| 478 (?)
| Isthmian 5
| Phylacides of Aegina
| Pancration
| [[Aeacus|Aeacids]], [[Achilles]]
|-
| 478
| Isthmian 8 ('''M''')
| Cleandrus of Aegina
| Pancration
| [[Zeus]], [[Poseidon]], Thetis
|-
| 476
| [[Pindar's First Olympian Ode|Olympian 1]]
| [[Hieron of Syracuse]]
| Horse-race
| [[Pelops]]
|-
| 476
| Olympians 2 & 3
| [[Theron of Acragas]]
| Chariot-race
| 2. [[Isles of the Blessed]]<br />3. Heracles, [[Hyperboreans]]
|-
| 476
| Olympian 11
| Agesidamus of [[Epizephyrian Locris]]
| Boys' Boxing Match
| Heracles, founding of Olympian Games
|-
| 476 (?)
| Nemean 1
| Chromius of [[Aetna (city)|Aetna]]
| Chariot-race
| Infant Heracles
|-
| 475 (?)
| Pythian 2
| [[Hieron of Syracuse]]
| Chariot-race
| [[Ixion]]
|-
| 475 (?)
| Nemean 3
| [[Aristocleidas]] of Aegina
| Pancration
| [[Aeacus|Aeacides]], Achilles
|-
| 474 (?)
| Olympian 10
| Agesidamus of [[Epizephyrian Locris]]
| Boys' Boxing Match
| None
|-
| 474 (?)
| Pythian 3
| Hieron of Syracuse
| Horse-race
| [[Asclepius]]
|-
| 474
| Pythian 9
| Telesicrates of [[Cyrene, Libya|Cyrene]]
| Foot-race in armour
| [[Apollo]], [[Cyrene (mythology)|Cyrene]]
|-
| 474
| Pythian 11
| Thrasydaeus of [[Thebes (Greece)|Thebes]]
| Boys' short foot-race
| [[Orestes]], [[Clytemnestra]]
|-
| 474 (?)
| Nemean 9 ('''M''')
| Chromius of Aetna
| Chariot-race
| [[Seven against Thebes]]
|-
| 474/3 (?)
| Isthmian 3 & 4
| Melissus of Thebes
| Chariot race & pancration
| 3.None 4.Heracles, [[Antaeus]]
|-
| 473 (?)
| Nemean 4 ('''M''')
| Timisarchus of Aegina
| Boys' Wrestling Match
| [[Aeacus|Aeacids]], Peleus, Thetis
|-
| 470
| [[Pindar's First Pythian Ode|Pythian 1]]
| [[Hieron I of Syracuse|Hieron of Aetna]]
| Chariot-race
| [[Typhon]]
|-
| 470 (?)
| Isthmian 2
| Xenocrates of Acragas
| Chariot-race
| None
|-
| 468
| Olympian 6
| Agesias of [[Syracuse, Sicily|Syracuse]]
| Chariot-race with mules
| [[Iamus]]
|-
| 466
| Olympian 9
| Epharmus of [[Opous]]
| Wrestling-Match
| [[Deucalion]], [[Pyrrha]]
|-
| 466
| Olympian 12
| [[Ergoteles of Himera]]
| [[Dolichos (running race)|Long foot-race]]
| [[Tyche|Fortune]]
|-
| 465 (?)
| Nemean 6
| Alcimidas of Aegina
| Boys' Wrestling Match
| Aeacides, Achilles, [[Memnon (mythology)|Memnon]]
|-
| 464
| Olympian 7
| [[Diagoras of Rhodes]]
| Boxing-Match
| [[Helios]] and [[Rhodos]], [[Tlepolemus]]
|-
| 464
| Olympian 13
| [[Xenophon of Corinth]]
| Short foot-race & pentathlon
| [[Bellerophon]], [[Pegasus]]
|-
| 462/1
| Pythian 4 & 5
| [[Arcesilaus IV of Cyrene|Arcesilas of Cyrene]]
| Chariot-race
| 4.[[Argonauts]] 5.[[Battus I of Cyrene|Battus]]
|-
| 460
| Olympian 8
| Alcimidas of Aegina
| Boys' Wrestling-Match
| Aeacus, [[Troy]]
|-
| 459 (?)
| [[Pindar's Eighth Nemean Ode|Nemean 8]]
| Deinis of Aegina
| Foot-race
| [[Ajax the Lesser|Ajax]]
|-
| 458 (?)
| Isthmian 1
| Herodotus of Thebes
| Chariot-race
| [[Castor and Pollux|Castor]], [[Iolaus]]
|-
| 460 or 456 (?)
| Olympian 4 & 5
| Psaumis of [[Kamarina, Sicily|Camarina]]
| Chariot-race with mules
| 4.[[Erginus (Argonaut)|Erginus]] 5.None
|-
| 454 (?)
| Isthmian 7
| Strepsiades of Thebes
| Pancration
| None
|-
| 446
| Pythian 8
| Aristomenes of Aegina
| Wrestling-Match
| [[Amphiaraus]]
|-
| 446 (?)
| Nemean 11
| Aristagoras of [[Ancient Tenedos|Tenedos]]
| Inauguration as [[Prytanis]]
| None
|-
| 444 (?)
| Nemean 10
| Theaius of [[Argos, Peloponnese|Argos]]
| Wrestling-Match
| Castor, [[Castor and Pollux|Pollux]]
|}

===Manuscripts, shreds and quotes===
Pindar's verses have come down to us in a variety of ways. Some are only preserved as fragments via quotes by ancient sources and papyri unearthed by archeologists, as at [[Oxyrhynchus]]{{spaced ndash}}in fact the extant works of most of the other [[Nine lyric poets|canonic lyric poets]] have survived only in this tattered form. Pindar's extant verses are unique in that the bulk of them{{spaced ndash}}the victory odes{{spaced ndash}}have been preserved in a manuscript tradition, i.e., generations of scribes copying from earlier copies, possibly originating in a single archetypal copy and sometimes graphically demonstrated by modern scholars in the form of a [[Stemmatics|stemma codicum]], resembling a 'family tree'. Pindar's victory odes are preserved in just two manuscripts, but incomplete collections are located in many others, and all date from the mediaeval period. Some scholars have traced a stemma through these manuscripts, for example [[Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff]], who inferred from them the existence of a common source or archetype dated no earlier than the 2nd century AD, while others, such as [[C.M. Bowra]], have argued that there are too many discrepancies between manuscripts to identify a specific lineage, even while accepting the existence of an archetype. Otto Schroeder identified two families of manuscripts but, following on the work of Polish-born classicist, Alexander Turyn,<ref>{{cite journal|title=Alexander Turyn|journal=Gnomon|volume=54|year=1982|pages=97–98|jstor=27688007|author=Miroslav Marcovich|issue=1}}</ref> Bowra rejected this also.<ref>Bowra, Praefatio iii–iv, vii</ref> Different scholars interpret the extant manuscripts differently. Bowra for example singled out seven manuscripts as his primary sources (see below), all featuring errors and/or gaps due to loss of folios and careless copying, and one arguably characterized by the dubious interpolations of Byzantine scholars. These he cross-referenced and then supplemented or verified by reference to other, still more doubtful manuscripts, and some papyrus fragments{{spaced ndash}}a combination of sources on which he based his own edition of the odes and fragments. His general method of selection he defined as follows:
{{Blockquote|Where all the codices agree, there perhaps the true reading shines out. Where however they differ, the preferred reading is that which best fits the sense, meter, [[scholia]] and grammatic conventions. Wherever moreover two or more readings of equal weight are found in the codices, I have chosen that which smacks most of Pindar. Yet this difficulty rarely occurs, and in many places the true reading will be found if you examine and compare the language of the codices with that of other Greek poets and especially of Pindar himself.<ref>Bowra, Praefatio iv</ref>}}

{|class="wikitable"
|+Selected manuscripts: a sample of preferred sources (Bowra's choice, 1947)
!Code
! style="width:16em;"|Source
! style="width:10em;"|Format
! Date<br />(century)
! Odes contained
|-
| A
| codex Ambrosianus C 222inf.
| Paper 35×25.5&nbsp;cm
| 13th–14th
| Olympian 1–12, with some unique readings that Bowra considered reliable, and including [[scholia]].
|-
| B
| codex Vaticanus graeca 1312
| Silk 24.3×18.4&nbsp;cm
| 13th
| Olympian 1 to Isthmian 8 (entire corpus), but with some leaves and verses missing, and includes scholia; [[Zacharias Calliergi|Zacharias Callierges]] based his 1515 Roman edition on it, possibly with access to the now missing material.
|-
| C
| codex Parisinus graecus 2774
| Silk 23×15&nbsp;cm
| 14th
| Olympian 1 to Pythian 5, including some unique readings but also with many Byzantine interpolations/conjectures (Turyn rejected this codex accordingly), and written in a careless hand.
|-
| D
| codex Laurentianus 32, 52
| Silk 27×19&nbsp;cm
| 14th
| Olympian 1 to Isthmian 8 (entire corpus), including a fragment (Frag. 1) and scholia, written in a careless hand.
|-
| E
| codex Laurentianus 32, 37
| Silk 24×17&nbsp;cm
| 14th
| Olympian 1 to Pythian 12, largely in agreement with B, including scholia but with last page removed and replaced with paper in a later hand.
|-
| G
| codex Gottingensis philologus 29
| Silk 25×17&nbsp;cm
| 13th
| Olympian 2 to Pythian 12, largely in agreement with B (thus useful for comparisons), including Olympian 1 added in the 16th century.
|-
| V
| codex Parisinus graecus 2403
| Silk 25×17&nbsp;cm
| 14th
| Olympian 1 to Nemean 4, including some verses from Nemean 6; like G, useful for supporting and verifying B.
|}