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    In a 4-page essay consider one or more of Pindar's epinician odes. The choice might be influenced by theme, event in which the victory was gained, where the victor was from, values expressed, myths alluded to, etc. Important: as with discussion of Pythian X above, look up all the references to place-names, historical and mythological figures, geographical features (mountains, rivers, etc.). Pindar nearly always draws these together into a kind of thematic unity, or unity of praise. Some questions to bear in mind in formulating your essay: -Do Pindar's Odes serve a pan-Hellenic function? How? -What, in Pindar's estimation, is the nature and significance of victory? -what is the significance of the agones, the athletic contests themselves? -what is the proper role of pride? Of what can one be proud? -what is the role of memory in these commemorations? -the figure of Pindar as poet -the proper role of fame the religious element in the poems -the ethical element -gnomic and didactic functions of the odes -what is the achievement beyond the ahtletic contests being extolled? -the idea of exalation double spaced Book: Pindar. The Odes, tr. C.M. Bowra (New York: Penguin, 1982)

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