Iamos und Pindar

Abstract

Every Pindaric ode poses the question of literary unity, which is a main issue of Pindaric scholarship. But every ode presents a specific form of unity. The ways of achieving unity in the Sixth Olympian, one of Pindar’s most accomplished poems, are the chief concern of this paper. I argue that unity in O. 6 comes about by a metaphoric correspondence between the poet (Pindar) and the prophet (Hagesias, the victor, and Iamos, the mythic protagonist). This constellation is based on two significant aspects, which are typical of both prophet and poet: the moment of inspiration and of the utterance (of the oracle viz. poem). These aspects are emphasized in vv. 58-70 concerning Iamos, the prophet, and in vv. 82-91 (the main stumbling block in the interpretation of the poem) with regard to the poet Pindar. These metaphors of prophetic-poetic activity permeate the whole ode.