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1 results

  • Chapter 12 - Herodotus and Epinician Poetry I

  • from Part II - Herodotus and Greek Lyric Poetry
  • Charles C. Chiasson, University of Texas, Arlington
  • Book:
    Herodotus and the Greek Poetic Tradition
    Published online:
    04 November 2025
    Print publication:
    06 November 2025, pp 457-513

  • Summary

    Herodotus and the epinician poets alike commemorate extraordinary deeds, with an essential interest in the relationship between past and present events. Their divergent perspectives on the past are revealed by comparison of their accounts of the fall of Sardis and the colonization of Libyan Cyrene. Herodotus modifies Bacchylides’ version of the former (Ode 3) in characteristic ways, rationalizing Apollo’s rescue of Croesus, citing a Lydian source for the marvel, and focusing on the transience of human prosperity, the key to Herodotus’ view of history. This principle challenges the transgenerational stability of aristocratic excellence that informs the epinician perspective, demonstrated by Pindar’s presentation of Cyrene’s settlement (Pythians 4, 5, 9). Drawing upon family traditions, Pindar highlights the sacred origins and continuity of the Battiad dynasty. By contrast, Herodotus cites several communal sources in a less idealized narrative that downplays heroic antecedents and acknowledges the difficulties involved in such a colonial expedition.