PINDAR (Gr. ntvdaPoc), Greek lyric poet: .
b. Cynoscephalae, near Thebes, 521 d.
Argos, probably 443 a.c. For the development of his poetical talent he was sent to Athens, where he became the pupil of Lasus of Her mione, the Athenian school of dithyrambic poetry. On his return to Thebes he was espe cially indebted for the further cultivation of his poetic gifts to Corinna, a distinguished poetess. He was held .in great honor by many princes of Greek states, for whom he composed choral songs. Alexander, king of Macedonia, was one of his most ardent patrons. He regularly at tended the contests at Olympia, Delphi and else where, and frequently attended the victors home to direct triumphal ceremonies. In 472 he visited Sicily, the courts of King Thero of and King Hiero I of Syracuse. chylus made a journey to the island at about the same time; and rival descriptions of the eruption of /Etna appear in the 'Odes) and in Xschylus' Pindar practised all kinds of lyric poetry and excelled equally in all. His works embraced hymns to the gods, paeans, dithyrambs, dancing and drinking songs, dirges, panegyrics on princes and hymns in honor of the victors of the games, but the only poems of his, with one exception, which have come down to us entire belong to the last class, the 'Epinikia.> The one exception
referred to is the ode which appears in editions of Pindar as the 11th Nemean, and was in tended to celebrate the installation of oras as prytanis at Tenedos. Forty-five of the epinilcion odes of Pindar are still extant (including the one just mentioned). Of all, undoubtedly the fourth Pythian, in honor of the victory in the chariot race of Arcesilas, king of Cyrene, is the finest. His poems cele brated not alone the conquerors and their fel low-citizens, but all assembled Greece, and thus were soon spread wherever the Greek language was spoken. To understand Pindar it is neces sary to be intimately acquainted with Greek antiquities. In the judgment of the best critics his poems belong to the most beautiful remains of ancient literature. They are marked by profundity of thought, elevation of diction and majesty of rhythm. Fragments of his other works have also been preserved.