Olympian 2

For Theron of Acragas Chariot Race 476 B. C.

Songs, rulers of the lyre, what god, what hero, what man shall we celebrate? Ind
eed, Pisa belongs to Zeus; and Heracles established the Olympic festival, as the
finest trophy of battle; [5] and Theron must be proclaimed because of his victo
rious four-horse chariot, Theron who is just in his regard for guests, and is th
e bulwark of Acragas, the strength of the city, the choicest bloom of illustriou
s ancestors, who labored much with their spirits, and won a sacred home by the r
iver, and were [10] the eye of Sicily; their allotted lifetime attended them, br
inging wealth and grace to their inborn excellence. But you, son of Cronus and R
hea, who rule over your home on Olympus, and over the foremost of festivals, and
over the ford of Alpheus, be warmed by our songs and graciously preserve their
ancestral land [15] for their future generations. When deeds have been accomplis
hed, whether justly or contrary to justice, not even Time the father of all thin
gs could undo the outcome. But forgetfulness may come, with favorable fortune. U
nder the power of noble joys, malignant pain [20] is subdued and dies, whenever
god-sent Fate lifts prosperity on high. This saying applies to the daughters of
Cadmus on their lovely thrones: they suffered greatly, but their heavy sorrow co
llapsed in the presence of greater blessings. [25] Long-haired Semele, who died
in the roar of the thunderbolt, lives among the Olympians; Pallas is her constan
t friend, and indeed so is father Zeus, and she is loved by her ivy-crowned son.
And they say that even in the sea, among the ocean-daughters of Nereus, immorta
l life [30] is granted to Ino for all time. Truly, for mortal men at least, the
time when we will reach the limit of death is by no means fixed, nor when we wil
l bring a peaceful day, the sun's child, to an end in unworried well-being. But
at various times various currents, both of pleasure and of toil, come to men. [3
5] In such a way does Fate, who keeps their pleasant fortune to be handed from f
ather to son, bring at another time some painful reversal together with god-sent
prosperity, since the destined son met and killed Laius, and fulfilled the orac
le of Pytho, [40] spoken long before. But the sharp-eyed Erinys saw it, and dest
royed his warlike sons through mutual slaughter. Yet Polyneices, when laid low,
left behind him a son, Thersander, honored in youthful contests and in the battl
es of war, [45] a scion to defend the house of the descendants of Adrastus. And
it is fitting that the son of Aenesidamus, whose roots grew from that seed, shou
ld meet with songs of praise and with the lyre. For in Olympia he himself receiv
ed a prize of honor; at Pytho [50] and at the Isthmus, the Graces who love them
both brought garlands of flowers to his equally blessed brother for his four-hor
se team, victorious in the twelve courses of the race. To attempt a contest and
be successful brings release from sadness. Wealth adorned with excellence brings
many opportunities, rousing deep wild ambitions; [55] it is a brilliant star, a
man's true light, at least if one has and knows the future, that the reckless s
ouls of those who have died on earth immediately pay the penalty and for the crime
s committed in this realm of Zeus there is a judge below the earth; with hateful
[60] compulsion he passes his sentence. But having the sun always in equal nigh
ts and equal days, the good receive a life free from toil, not scraping with the
strength of their arms the earth, nor the water of the sea, [65] for the sake o
f a poor sustenance. But in the presence of the honored gods, those who gladly k
ept their oaths enjoy a life without tears, while the others undergo a toil that
is unbearable to look at. Those who have persevered three times, on either side
, to keep their souls free from all wrongdoing, [70] follow Zeus' road to the en
d, to the tower of Cronus, where ocean breezes blow around the island of the ble
ssed, and flowers of gold are blazing, some from splendid trees on land, while w
ater nurtures others. With these wreaths and garlands of flowers they entwine th
eir hands [75] according to the righteous counsels of Rhadamanthys, whom the gre
at father, the husband of Rhea whose throne is above all others, keeps close bes
ide him as his partner. Peleus and Cadmus are counted among them, and Achilles w
ho was brought there by his mother, when she had [80] persuaded the heart of Zeu
s with her prayers Achilles, who laid low Hector, the irresistible, unswerving pi
llar of Troy, and who consigned to death Memnon the Ethiopian, son of the Dawn.

I have many swift arrows in the quiver under my arm, [85] arrows that speak to t
he initiated. But the masses need interpreters.1 The man who knows a great deal
by nature is truly skillful, while those who have only learned chatter with rauc
ous and indiscriminate tongues in vain like crows against the divine bird of Zeu
s. Now, bend your bow toward the mark; tell me, my mind, whom are we trying to h
it [90] as we shoot arrows of fame from a gentle mind? I will aim at Acragas, an
d speak with true intent a word sworn by oath: no city for a hundred years has g
iven birth to a man more beneficent in his mind or more generous with his hand [
95] than Theron. But praise is confronted by greed, which is not accompanied by
justice, but stirred up by depraved men, eager to babble and to bury the fine de
eds of noble men. Since the sand of the shore is beyond all counting, [100] who
could number all the joys that Theron has given others?
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