carson 1984- bacchylides' third epinician ode

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The Burners: A Reading of Bacchylides' Third Epinician OdeAuthor(s): Anne CarsonSource: Phoenix, Vol. 38, No. 2 (Summer, 1984), pp. 111-119Published by: Classical Association of CanadaStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1088895 .

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THE BURNERS: A READING OF BACCHYLIDES'THIRD EPINICIAN ODEANNE CARSON

IT IS A POEM ABOUT EXPENDITURE.1 That of the horses is takenforgranted s they weeppastto victory, heirphysical ffortmplied n00ao... o-evovro 3-5), their costliness n 6dXp3ov8). Our attention s directedat once by this adjective, 6X3Lov, to a particular aspect of the victor, anaspect hat s shaped ntopraiseat theend ofthe firsttrophe13-14) andrichlyexemplifiedn the following ntistrophe15-18): forthis poem,what s significantbout Hieron is howheuses hismoney.At hisexpense,Syracusebrimswithfestivitynd Delphi is illustriouswithgold. Yet theexpenditurehatdominateshepoem s Croesus', itup ona houseof wood.This pyreglowsunnervinglyright tthepoem'score,melodramatizednan arrangementfgold and black that ooksmorethanornamental.Whatdoes Bacchylidesmean by celebratingHieron's greatest ictoryfromafuneral yre?A metaphor f lightthroughout he poem providesthe clues to thisquestion.We see Aglaia2 runningwith Hieron's horses t Olympia (6),gold tripodsflashing romDelphi (17-19), and Croesuslighting firewhosefuel s tobe human ife 49). Within achof these hree ctivities,transformationfenergy eemsto be inprocess. n thecontest,nHieron'sgenerosity,n Croesus' immolation, xpenditures attested y lightgivenoff.The stuffpentdiffers rom ctivityo activity ut the terms emain'"Theres analmost ensationalnsistencenHiero'sopulencend n exorbitanceftonethat oeswitht," ommentsdamM. Parryn hisnotesoRobert agles, r.,Bacchylides:CompleteoemsNew Haven and London 1961) 108. See also Sir RichardC. Jebb,Bacchylides: hePoems nd FragmentsCambridge 1905) 195; P. T. Brannan,HieronandBacchylides:iterary tudyofOdes 3, 4 and 5 andfrg. 20c (diss. Stanford1971) 142; C.Segal, Bacchylideseconsidered,"UCC 22 (1976) 109-112;C. Carey, Bacchylides.85-90,"Maia 29-30 (1977/78)70; J. Peron,"Cr6sus t Me1MagrehezBacchylide,"REG 91 (1978) 326-329; G. Arrighetti,Contributii Esegesi indarica Bacchilidea,"Ricerche i Filologia Classica 1: Studi di letteraturareca Pisa 1981) 80; H. Maehler, DieLieder esBakchylides(Leiden 1982)42, 44. Theseworkswillbecited y uthor's ame.2Aglaias theGraceoftriumphantmotionmadevisible ndsplendid, ifferingromher sister uphrosunas aspect rom ct: cf. Hom. Il. 6.510 (=15.267); Od. 17.310;18.180;Hes. Th.906-909, 945;Sc. 272, 285; Soph.El. 211 andJebb dloc.;Pind.01.13.14; 01. 14.13. On &yXa6, ndrelated ordsnBacchylides'iction,eeL. Mallinger,Musde elge (1899) 21-49; J. Stern, AnEssay nBacchylideanriticism,"nW. M.Calder ndJ. Stern,ds.,PindarosndBakchylidesDarmstadt970)295. On the orce fthesewordsnPindar nd in epinician oetryenerally,eeJ. Duchemin,Essai sur esymbolismeindarique: r, lumibre tcouleurs,"bid.278-289;D. E. Gerber, indar'sOlympian ne: A CommentaryToronto 1982) 142; G. Norwood,Pindar Berkeley nd LosAngeles 945)67; Segal109-110; Maehler 2.

111PHOENIX,VOL. 38 (1984) 2.

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112 PHOENIXthe same: neither gnition,nor generosity, or Olympic effort ccurswithout onsumption f vital matter.Racing horsesspend strengthndspirit,as the giver gives his gold, to make fame catchand flare.AtCroesus' pyre the areta of wealth and of victory like is symbolized,conspicuousnexpenditure. ebbreminds s thatCroesus'voluntaryesolvetodie is a Bacchylideanddition,not found nother ncient ersions fthetale.3The gesture s extravagant.ts verbalchiaroscuro53-56)4 and theunreal erms f itsresolution57-60) embody hehighstyle fmyth.Noathletecompeteson such terms,nor can Hieron manifesthis wealthwithout sing tup. Yet thefabulous lareof Croesus'pyrehasa relevanceforthedaylight-worldf princes nd contests.Bacchylides xpounds hatrelevancewitha symbol fgold.Gold is a substance hat has two differentymbolicfaces n epinicianpoetry.On theonehand, tstands orwealth ndshouldbe spent.As such,gold is the cost of areta for princes.The generosityf a Croesus or aHieron, channellingwealth ntothepublicsplendour fgames,cults, ndpoems,spends tself o keep civilization light.The role of wealth n thisepinician ystem f values has been masterfullyummarizedby LeonardWoodbury.sAs gold, it emblematizes rinces,gods, and all the great,deriving tspowerfromTheia, goddessof the valueofvictoryPind. Isth.5.1-3). Rightlyused, wealth s not hiddenbut public and conspicuous,d&rorip dpitf'Xo,drVLy(rarov/ d&v8pi 0yyo' (Pind. 01. 2.55-56). Itsobligations to finance othoccasionsofvictorynd thepoetry hat avesthemfromdecay, n tireless xercise fthevirtue alledmegaloprepeiay

3Jebb195; see also J. Harrison, "Notes Archaeological nd Mythicalon Bacchylides,'CR 12 (1898) 85; H. StuartJones,"Bacchylides nd the Fate ofCroesus," bid. 84-85; F.Cornelius, Kroisos,"Gymnasium4 (1957) 346-347; B. Gentili,BacchilideUrbino 1958)84-90; C. Segal, "Croesus on thePyre: Herodotus and Bacchylides,"WS (1971) 40-41;Maehler 33-35.4Bacchylides' enebroso annerherebringsCaravaggiotomind,for he aestheticntent swell as its visual vehemence;cf. Walter Friedlaender'sremarks n The Conversion fSt.Paul: "It is this concentration f almost dialecticallycontrasted lements within anintentionally arrow and enclosed space which produces the explosive power of thisConversion . . . When light is given a psychological nd dramatic mpact, thenthespectators inevitablyed toseek ts source.Indeed; theeffectf ightmaybe so enhanced rexaggerated hatobjectsstruckby it seem to transcend atural xperience, o be endowedwithmiraculous ontent"CaravaggioStudies Princeton1955] 19, 10).sL. Woodbury, "Pindar and the MercenaryMuse," TAPA 99 (1968) 537-539; withPindar's view of wealth cf. Theog. 16.22-33; Democr., Diels-Kranz 68 B 282 andGorg., Diels-Kranz 82 B 20; and see P. Colace, "Considerazioni ul concetto i IIAOYTOYin Pindaro," Studi in onore di AnthosArdizzoni 2 (Rome 1978) 737-745; Carey 70.Maehler's discussionof thismatter57-58) seems to me misleading,for t compounds heepiniciannotion thatgold must evince its value in expenditure)withtexts rom olon andHesiod concerning he nsecurityf 6X/30o nd 7rXofirogn orderto positfor theancientsregularuse of gold to imply "Unsicherheitund Verginglichkeit:" valuable distinctionbetween ransienceof all good fortune, nd wealth n particular, n thearchaicview) andmanifestationof gold in epinicianexpenditure) s overlooked.



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THE BURNERS 113AristotleEth. Nic. 4.2). This aristocraticispositions seenby Woodburyto be diffusedthroughout he odes of Pindar, but findsa particularparadigmnCroesus:ov'BOi~ELKpotioov Xh6optovpEr(aPind. Pyth.1.94).On the otherhand,thearetaofgold is said bythepoets o dependon itsbeing elementally xemptfromconsumption y time, rust,or decay.6(Bacchylides lludes to thistraditionn his final riad, 85-87, as we willexplorefurther elow.) Gold furnishes potential orparadox,then,toepinician thics. f it is to instrumentalizehe aretaofmen,theproperlyincorruptibleretaofgold mustoffertself orexpenditurend consump-tion.Hieron'stripods laze as brightlys Croesus'pyre, orCroesus ettinghimself light s an imageof wealth n use (X&WTATe,7; Xarlrpov,4).7Criticsofthethird de have tended o impoverish acchylides'meaningbyan exclusive ocuson one side or theother fgold'ssymbolic alue. Butthepoemputsboth ides nplay, norder omaketheparadox fgold itselfan imageoftheterms nwhich mortal ife s conceivedbyepinician erse.To setoutthese erms,Bacchylides eploys hemetaphorf ight, fwhichgold is one aspect, n close associationwith certain atternfverbalandmetrical ffects. he overalldesignwouldhave beenmadesensible o hisaudiencebymusical and choreographicmeans, believe,heighteninghelearnedpleasureof "the alert" o poveovrTs;cf. 85). The designbeginswith a lighting ffect nhancedby verbalecho. Radiance is shedby twocognatewordson themoment fvictoryo-iv AyXatau,) andon Hieron'sgiftof gold to Delphi (&yXaCVW'dj,2). Sound and rhythmicffectshenextend his relation hrough hepoemin a sequenceof metrical nomalies,forthe forma&yXa'gEdoJs itself n "unparalleled" rasisand is set n exactresponsionwiththe"remarkable"xamples fhiatus t line64 and line 92(cf. Jebb, ad loc.). The triple responsion ulminatesn a third kind oflight,the0Eyyo of human excellence 92). A parallel, then, betweenHieron's use ofgold andtheterms fmortal ifemaybe inferred rom he

6See,e.g., Sappho fr. 204 Lobel-Page; Theog. 450-452; Sim. fr.541.4 PMG; [Arist.]de Mir. Ausc. 834a49; J. Duchemin, Pindare:Poite et PropheteParis 1955) 225; H. L.Lorimer,"Gold and Ivory in GreekMythology,"GreekPoetryndLife: Essays resentedoGilbertMurray Oxford 1936) 14-33.7The themeof self-immolation as otheroccurrencesn Greekmyth nd these, lthoughwithoutdirect relevance forBacchylides' poem, maysuggesthow theGreek imaginationconstrued his motif.Gold in various forms s a recurrent eature f such tales e.g., thegolden sandal cast up fromAetna afterEmpedocles' leap, the 5000 talentsdedicatedbyPeregrinusto his native land beforedeath and the gold statueanticipatedby him as amemorial: ee Luc. Peregr. ndH. Lorimer, above, n. 6); so too are the dvanced ge oftheprotagonistnd his translation o some kind of immortalityas bird, man, or memory) iatheflames.The Olympic games providea popular location fortheself-sacrifice,s in thestoryof Peregrinus recountedby Lucian. By Hellenistic times the gestureconnoted amountebanknd was officially iscouraged cf. story fHerostratusnVal. Max. 8.14.5).On self-immolationee Martin P. Nilsson, "Der Flammentod es Heracles aufdemOite,"Opuscula electa1 (Lund 1951) 349; on evidence forcremation f thekingsofSardis seeJ.G. Pedley, ed., Ancient iterary ources nSardis (Cambridge,Mass. 1972) 41.



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114 PHOENIXresponsionfline 92 with ines64 and 22, while theverbalechoofline 6in line 22 alignshisgenerosity ith specificmortal ffort-theOlympiccontest. uminous expenditure ould seemto attest o properuse ofbothwealth nd mortal ife.But a flaw s at once apparent t thecentreof thisschema-Croesus,whosemode ofself-expenditureepresentsdrasticmproprietyn theuseofwealth and mortal ife. Believinghis gold ill-spent n ungrateful odsCroesuselects o burnup hislife,provoking ivinecorrection. s a result,a black cloud strays crossthemetaphor f light nd the value attachedoexpenditurelsewherenthe de sreversed.nHieron'sworld xpenditurespraised nd itsmanifestationtipulated: o darkcovering hould hidethebrightness f Hieron's gold (13-14) nor silence obscure his princelyactions94-96). Within hemyth, n theotherhand,standardonceptsreinverted47, cf. 51-52) and unexpectednessrevails 29). For Croesus,quenching arkness unctionss a good (55). The verses nwhichCroesus'pyre s extinguishedaketheform alledring-composition,n aba-shape nwhich gold (UELvoi 7rvpo' / kXap.rpdv&8ta'To-eV,pvEo', 53-54) and black(tLEXayKEV9vEico / o-/3EVVVEV,5-56) and gold (eavO&evA6ya, 56) aresharplylternated. s mayeasilybe seen,thewholepoemhassucha form,forthecentralmyth f Croesus is framedby praisesof Hieron on eithersidein an aba-shape.Butmorespecificbservations calledfor.A numberof motifsthat occur in both Hieron-sections re featuredwithintheCroesus-mythnreverse.Pointforpoint, hedisaster hat vertakes roesusis representeds theantithesisf Hieron's prosperity.8 ost significantorour purpose re theconcepts fgratitudend ingratitudehat nform ndinspire hisfigure.At theheart f thepoemis thegratitudefwhichCroesusdespairs: roTOEov EOrTLV xaPL&; (38). Encircling this fire-damagedXapL

is therecompenseorwhichHieron mayhope,to be awardedbyClio (3) andbythe poet himself 96-98) in the formof epinicianhymn. It is ourhypothesishat n aba-structures appropriateo thepoembecause t is theshapeof xipu. That whichtravels n a ringeventuallyomes backto theplacewhere tbegan, ustas theXaP'pofgratitudendrecompenseeturnsothegiverof a gift n theend.9The principle fXaP'p furnishespinician

8Thepoetsets frame flight 6, 17, 21, 54 and 55, 80, 87, 91) around dark 55-56);success 10 and 94) aroundcatastrophe40); shouts f ubilation 9 and 97) aroundcriesofdespair 35, 37, 39); harmonybetweengods and men (2, 3, 10, 20-22 and 66, 76, 92)arounddivinehostility37); knowledge 13 and 85) around gnorance 38-39); riv 21 and97) around oii-rc 63); manifestation13-14 and 93-95) around concealment55-56);X&dp' (3 and 97) around lack of Xaiptg 38); Graces (Aglaia, 6, and Euphrosuna, 87)around4066vo (68). Segal records omeofthese ontrasts ut I do notfollowhis scheme f"contractingnd expanding epithets" 114) as an interpretationf the poem. See alsoMaehler 38-39; Peron 327.9The assumption,ubiquitous in Greek usage fromHomer throughBekker'sAnecdota,thatx&ptwntails countergiftr responding avour s fullydocumented yJ. W. Hewitt,"The Terminology f Gratitude' n Greek," CP 22 (1927) 142-161.



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THE BURNERS 115ethicswith a rationalefor expenditure:what is spentwill return.Bac-chylides'metaphor f light s a poetic argument orXaopLg,hapedto defythephysics f mortalityhatgovernmortalo-4'tara (cf. 88-90). Withinthismetaphor,gold functions s a symbolof transcendentxpenditure,sharingwitho-asTa henecessityo expend tself nceforall, sharingwithperai the potential o defythatfinitude. hese two faces of gold reflectthetrue nature fXaipug:cts ofgraceentailbothspecific ost and infiniterecompense.Doubleness,ofgraceand ofgold,has one furthereflectionnthepoem.Time is also double. Apollo speaks to this pointin verses78-84 and,although extual ncertaintiesn thepreceding tanzasmake nterpretationdifficult, thinkwe can see howBacchylidesntendedhemyth fApolloand Admetus oconnectwith he rest ftheode. His concept fXdiuP s theconnectingink-more precisely, aipLgn its relation o time.Diverse talescomposethemyth fApollo andAdmetus utthey harecentral heme:misprizing hesituation f man in time.Apollo acquiescesin such a misprision"0nd wins a yearof servitude n Admetus'fields;Admetus, n his turn,contrives o revise the time-limitet for him bysendinghis wife to hell early. The myth f Croesus,as it is shapedinBacchylides' oem,also conveys lesson bout mortal ime-limits:roesus"was not aboutto waitanylonger" olK E"/EXXE/i/LVELV ?T' 30-3 1) to seewhat the futurewould bring. Impatient f thiscontingencye rushes oanticipate is ownappointment ithdeath. But mortal hronometrys notso adjustable.As a creature ound to die in theend (Ovardvdbvra,8) andboundto thepresent ay nthemeanwhile(4(aplEpiwov,6) man ssubject otime nd, on thisbasis,Apollo commends oAdmetus doublestrategyfwaiting79-82). The form nwhichhisrecommendations castestablishesa stillmorecogent inkbetween hemyths f Admetus nd Croesus.Apollo's advice derives from a paraenetic radition f 'ASLpiyrovdyoLwhichfiguredn thepoetic gendaat symposia.Our singleextantxampleofthisgenre s provocative, or ts theme s thesecuring fXaipus:

'ANh,'rovXyovo 'raZipEaOd roka&yaOoieiXAEL,rov 6eLXWV6'aiT'EXovyvolV OTL6ELXeovdhXiyaXapu.Praxilla 49 PMG, cf. Ar.Vesp. 238and schol.That Xa'pLgshould be the theme of a genre named afterAdmetus isunderstandableince t s theXaPp ofApolloand then ffriends ndfamilyto whichAdmetus aysclaim whenseeking death-substitutee.g., Eur.Alc. 299, 660, etc.). More importantorour reading, hisconcern lignshimdirectlywithCroesuswho, in Bacchylides'narrative t least,has his

1oThetoryfhowApollo cquiescedntherestorationf a dead mortal o life s mostfullyold nApollodorosBibl.1.9.15; 3.10.3-4). Professor. Robbins aspointedut omethat indar's haping fthe aleputs ramaticmphasisnthe heme fgoldmisused:Pyth. .54-57.



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116 PHOENIXownurgent laim to makeupon drapt. t is thisforwhichhe will notwait:iroiOE6oo-Vrt Xapt~;Croesus demands s hegoesto thepyre 38). To waitforXa6pt, s fordeath,withoutknowingwhen it will come, is a mortalnecessity.Through that necessity, s throughthe pinhole in a cameraobscura,11 acchylidesfocuses our gaze upon the strategyf living thatwill bringhighestprofit84). It is a double strategy, onceptualized yApollo inverses78-84 and embodied n thedoubleness fgold throughoutthepoem: "spendikethere's o tomorrow"s theEnglish diom.Thatsuchafiscal ttitude s as valid forspendingmoney s forspending he timeofahuman ife,Bacchylidesmakes lear nhisfinal riad,whenhesets ut bothsidesoftheparadoxofgold bymeansof a priamel.This priamel deservesscrutiny, or criticalassessment f it remainsdivided. Detractors ee here a botchedecho of Pindar's FirstOlympian1-7. On thisview, thepoetbeginsby assertinghe ncorruptibilityf airand sea, thenveers offtrack o identify old withet4cpoor-va."'Gold is ajoy,' butthesentiments not pthere," aysCampbell.12 "The effectivenessof theclimax, n which thepoetimitates indar01. 1, is checkedbytheintrusion f thesentimentgold rejoicesthe heartof man' (etc4pocrvaEt4p6rvvrov)"s thecomment f Weir Smyth.3 "A lapsecomes t thetameword E30poor-va (which has to mean 'a joy forever')"Jebb decides.'4Housman had less patiencewith the text: Gold makesglad, but it is notgladness:write 0pJ6o-vvoq."15 Otheremendations avebeen advanced ndstrategemspplied (including he nvention fwordsnotextant)16 ithoutgeneral satisfaction.Bacchylides' llusive manner-he does not specifythe relationship etween the elements nd man-and staccatophrasingpresentmore ofa riddlethan clearstatementuch as that f0/. 1.1.ff" isthe conclusion of William H. Race in his recent study of thepriamel-form.17Criticswhofind omethingoadmire nthepriamelnterprettvariouslybut greeon onething, hat he ense ssigned o&E3poo-vva '6d vo-6' n ine87 is crucial.There aretwoaspects o thecrux,for hequestion Whatdothewordsmean?"nvolves hequestion Inwhich irection oes the entenceface?"Taken as a climaxto whatprecedes, hesentence as struck ebb nd

"Also as in a camera bscura,he mage t thecentrefBacchylides'oem Croesus)presentsealitynreverse: f.above,114and n. 8.12D. A. Campbell, GreekLyricPoetry London 1967) 422, cf. The GoldenLyre: TheThemes ftheGreekLyricPoets London 1983) 72.'3HerbertWeirSmyth, reekMelicPoetsLondon ndNewYork1900)397.14Jebb64.15A.E. Housman, Notes nBacchylides,"R 12 (1898) 69.'6BlassdevisedeJXpo01va,glory f colour" Jebb265) whileF. W. Thomaswasmoved o broach6bpvo-oq,asgood sgold" n"Notes nBacchylides,"R 12 1898) 78.'7William H. Race, TheClassicalPriamelfrom omerto BoethiusLeiden 1982) 86. Onthepriamelee also D. E. Gerberabove,n. 2) 3-7 andscholarshipodate urveyedyRace,1-5.



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THE BURNERS 117others s inadequate.A differentssessmentsavailable,however, oreaderswhoregard vO(poon'va '6Xpvo-6 s preparationor heverses hat ollow.18"So considered,gold"need notbe interpreteds one of the ternal lements,"joy"doesnot mplymerely rivate motion, nd"gold s oy"maybe morethan a feeble cap for the imperishabilityf air and sea. This criticalapproach does some justice to Bacchylides' poetic skill but is sus-ceptible o thecriticismsee note5, above), that toffers nlya one-sidedview of themeaning fgold. Herwig Maehler, in his recent ommentaryon thepoet,forexample,prefers o excludeassociations f imperishabilityand incorruptibilityrom ine 87 and insists n gold hereas one of thetransientoodsof life. Gold is identifiable ith"Freude" n the sensethat"es schaffttwas,worandie Menschen sich freuen."n Hieron's case thisamounts o"WeihgeschenkendSiegesfeste;"uch oy is categorizedn thepriamelwith fjp3as a pleasing hing hathasno longduration.9Maehler is surelyrightto referebppoo-va in line 87 to theDelphicgiftsand epinician festivityn whichHieron's gold has manifestedt-self.20EVi3poo-iva,as is inferablefrom his usage of this noun in 9.53and 10.12, does not mplyforBacchylides rivate leasure r a causeto re-joice inpossession,much ess"a joy forever" sJebbwouldhave t,but n-volves thepublicand communalfestivitieshatfollowvictorynd conveyits splendourto the victor's fellow-citizens.We may comparePindar'svenerationfEi34poO-rvas LthXo-L'/oX7rEnd sister f AyXata01. 14.13-15; cf. also Nem. 4.1-5). In Bacchylides'poemApollo uses thecognateverb (ev"ipawE, 4) of a stateof mind evinced n solemnreligious ction(ro-aa pwov, 4). In an epiniciancontext, old that s joy is spentgold.But the relevance f epiniciangold cannotbe limited o suchexpenditure,and all association f gold withtheimperishablend incorruptiblehouldnot be expelledfrom ur interpretationfline 87. The verypersistencefthe critical reaction "Line 87 ought to say something ike gold isindestructible"21s strong vidence hat he inedoesnotneed to state his norder to make the point. With justifiedconfidence, t would seem,Bacchylidesssumes standardharacterizationfgoldas imperishablendincorruptiblencontext ith ther uch elementsndproceeds oexploit healternativeradition.Gold is useful oBacchylides erefor ts mbivalence,that s, for tsmetaphoric owertorepresentimultaneouslyhatmust ndwhatcannotbe expended.

Structurally,s well as conceptually, acchylides' old is an ambivalentfactorn thepriamel.Most analysesof thepassagesee a simplecontrastbetween lementalndestructibilityntheone handandhumandecay nthe18So,e.g.,Brannan,egal,Carey, eron,Arrighetti,ndMaehler; . Gentiliabove,n.3); R. Wind, BacchylidesndPindar:A Questionf mitation,"J67 (1971) 9-12.19Maehler6-57 and seeabove,n. 5.20So ooPeron336 andArrighetti2-83.21See rannan12-218onthe ongevityfthis omplaint.



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118 PHOENIXother (althoughopinions differ as to which side of the contrast anproperlyayclaimtothegold). Maehlersorts hepriamelnto hree arts yleaving out the gold.22 But Bacchylides' houghthas fourcomponents,articulatedy heparticles iv.... a. ..ad... E .ThefirstU8scontinuative,othat he firstwocomponentsair and sea) togetherompose ne side ofthecontrast,whilethe fourth omponentmortal ife) supplies he other ide.In betweenstandsa pivotal or transitionalomponent, he problematicet6poc-nva8'6Xpvo-o6.his sentences pivotal n that t facesbothforwardandback in theprocess fthoughtnd serves o bridgethat hought romone side of itscontrast o the other."Gold is festivity"efers ack to thatwhichdoes notrot air and sea) byvirtueof thetraditionaleputationfgold as incorruptible,nd refers orward o thatwhichmustexpend tself(man) bythe dentificationfgold withprincelyelebration.Have we anyprecedent orreadingBacchylides' riamel s a four-partstructurehatopens like a hingeupon its third omponent?indar'sfirstOlympianode at oncepresentstself orcomparison. indar'spriamelhasfourparts proceedingUiiv.. 8 ...8.. . 8. Its firstwocomponents(supremaciesf theelementalworld,1-2) are oinedto each other ya con-tinuativeU. Theyarebalanced gainst heclimactic ourthomponentthesupreme ontest, ) by meansof a conditional entence3-6) whichun-folds s a transition rom he elementalworldto thatofhuman,epinicianaffairs.This sentence, he pivotalthirdcomponent, ffects ts transitionbycombining eferenceso contests3) and to cosmic lements5-6), andso looks bothforward nd back in thesequenceof thought, s does Bac-chylides' ivotal nd demanding llipse "gold is joy."Such a shapingof thought s notuncommon or thepriamel-form,savailable evidencedemonstrates.23he format s unsurprising:ince the

22Maehler58. In anunpublished issertationacobStern xaminesBacchylidean seofthe"pivotword,"whichhe defines s "a wordambiguous n either tsessenceor in thespecialcontext n which it functions,which is used by the poet to make some sort of thematictransition. ts two possible senseswill referbackwardto the old and forward o the newideas:" Metrical ndVerbalPatternsn thePoetry fBacchylidesdiss. Columbia 1965). Sterndoes not takeup gold or thepriamelof thethirdode.23Parallels epresentingwidespectrum fgenres ndperiodsmaybegleanedfromRace'sstudyabove, n. 16; Race does notapproachthepriamel n thesameterms s I proposebutthere eemsno incompatibilityetween ur conclusions).Zeus, for nstance, xecutes defttransition rom therwomentoHera, amidsthisLeporello-cataloguenIl. 14, bymeansofthe pivotal phrase oz8 oe'oa1v7 (327), which makes Hera her own rival withinthepriamel,permitting er both to enterand to surpasstheforegoing ist. The fragmentaryHomericHymntoDionysus reservedbyDiod. Sic. (3.66.3) demonstrates fullerform fthis structure. ts initialcomponent otLgv) is followedby a secondcomponentn threeparts oi&U .. oi 8.. . oi 8e), then he hird omponentoiaXxot) nserts udgment nall theforegoing(tiev86oueoL)as transition o the fourth nd contrastedtatement:oid8' CLKTETran~p. appho's fr. 16 exhibits hesamestructure:n overallcontrast etween heviews ofothers oi ~yv . i. .E . oi Se8) nd thatof thespeaker yoSe e) pivotsfromgeneraltopersonalupon its penultimate omponent,namelythecriterion fT KaixtWTOVywhichtheseviewsare seen to differ.This penultimateomponent acesboth forward nd back inthesequenceofthought or,as Race observes, Sappho shifts heargument oanotherevel



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THE BURNERS 119essential im of thepriamel distinguishingt from mere ist)is to singleout its finalmember for emphasis,24 t makes immediate ogical andrhetorical ense for the penultimate omponent o preparethatemphasiswitha bridgeor pivotof meaningand focus.No moresurprising, ndequallydemonstrable,s the fact hat nterpretationalifficultyypifieshepivotalmember.25 ridgesare miraculouslyricky,s Croesus'translationto theHyperboreansllustrates. ut the&pEr&ofa Hieron,where tchoosesto expend tself s a lightformen, can cross mortalboundsof timeandquantity.To transcend uch laws requiresmore than mortalmediation:Apollo's xaipt,evokedbyCroesusin theepodeof thethird riad 38), ismatched ytheXa&pt fBacchylides imself, escending n Hieron in therespondingfinalepode (97). Both acts of grace conveytheirrecipientsbeyond heworldwherewhatburnsmustbe consumed,ndchange hegoldofhumancurrencyntoan &XaOeia o competewith hepermanencefairand sea.26

PRINCETON UNIVERSITY ANDCENTER FOR HELLENIC STUDIES, WASHINGTON

bystating principlewhichembraces heir hoices s well as her own" [above, n. 16] 64).Plato furnishes prosaic exampleof the pivotal role playedby thepriamel's penultimatecomponentn Lys. 211d-e. In thispriamelPlato's first omponentntroduces hegeneralnotion hatmendesiredifferenthings; he secondcomponenttemizes ypical esires ntheform CLUyap 7L . .. 6 8... .. 6. The third omponentxecutes pivotfrom hedesires fothermen to the unique preference f the speaker yd 68) by means of a pri . . . 8Cconstruction hichglancesback at typicalhumandesires(rp6o p~e& ainTa rpay wo)ndmoves forwardto the speaker's choice (rrpo U7v r7iv 4Oikowv KrITLv); finally, hespeaker ssertshis own preference esoundingly,fovXolurv v ... ).24Race above, n. 16) 7, 13-16, 45-46.2SBacchylides' enth pinicianode providesan exampleof suchdifficulty, hichrepayscomparisonwith our crux n the thirdode. This priamel 10.35-56) is acknowledged obe"notentirely lear" by Race (86), who locatesthedeepestopacity t lines 47 ff., "a verydifficultassagewhichseemstobeginanother riamel."This difficultassagewould seemtoform hepenultimateink in a trainof thought:1. variouspeoplewin glory n variousways 35-38)2. a catalogueofways n whichpeoplewin glory 39-45)3. thecatalogue s checkedwithsummary tatementsefining heparticular lorywonbyan athletic ictor,viz. ev'poor,va which s furnished y7rXoi)To0nd renders tsrecipient"noV4~Xwro1 (45-53)4. an exhortation o strikeup flutes nd activatesuch glory for the presentvictor

(54-56).In thissequence,as in thepriamelofBacchylides' hird pinician, hethird r penultimatecomponent xecutes transitionnd injectswhatappearsto us an ellipse in theexpression.Ellipse occursupon thefactor fwealth n bothpriamels.Moreover,wealth s essential obothsequencesof thought n the same terms-as thatwhichgenerates6i6poo6va in theformofepiniciancelebration nd so providesa bridgebetweenhumanachievement nd itsproperreward n song. The moralsyntax eflectsherhetorical:withoutwealth o conceived,thepriamelmakes no senseand thevictoryoses itsmeaning.26Iwould like to expressgratitude oProfessors . Woodbury nd E. Robbinsand tothetwoanonymous eadersforPhoenix.

carson 1984- bacchylides' third epinician ode

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