Pindar's eighth Nemean Ode

Abstract

The Eighth Nemean has never been reckoned among Pindar's more difficult odes. It has its own problems, as does every other ode, yet beside the Seventh Nemean, for instance, or the Second Pythian, these problems pale into insignificance. But although the significance of the central myth has generally been recognized, scholars have failed, I believe, to appreciate the overall cohesion of the ode and the single-mindedness with which Pindar pursues his argument. I should like to offer a personal appreciation of this poem, to demonstrate its striking unity of design and its impressive economy. The text is based on that of A.Turyn.