Pindar's Songs for Young Athletes of Aigina [Hardcover]

This book consists of individual studies of Pindar's eleven odes for Aiginetan victors, preceded by a brief survey of the history of the island and the nature of its aristocracy. Anne Pippin Burnett's discussion is particularly attentive to questions of mythic self-presentation, as exemplified in the pedimental sculptures of the Aphaia Temple and the parallel narrative sections of the odes. The overall concern is with Pindaric techniques for unifying an audience and leading it into a shared experience of inspired success, but there is also a concern with the realities of athletic contest and its celebration.

I. The Audience
1. Aiginetans and Aiakids
2. The Pediments of the Aphaia Temple
3. Contest and Coming of Age
II. The Performances
4. Nemean Five. Peleus' Wedding Song
5. Isthmian Six. Engendering Ajax
6. Isthmian Five. Achilles and Telephos
7. Isthmian Eight. A Monster Avoided
8. Nemean Four. Wrestling with a Form-Changer
9. Nemean Three. The Education of Achilles
10. Nemean Six. Athletes as Heroes
11. Nemean Eight. Slander and Praise
12. Nemean Seven. Neoptolemos at Delphi
13. Olympian Eight. Snakes at the Walls of Troy
14. Pythian Eight. A Phantom's Dream
15. Afternote: The Audience Again

Anne Pippin Burnett was formerly Professor Emerita, Classics, University of Chicago.