Book contents
- Pindar and Greek Religion
- Pindar and Greek Religion
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Acknowledgments
- Editions, Abbreviations, and Frequent References
- Chapter 1 Pindar Mythologus and Theologus
- Chapter 2 Herakles Looks Back at the World
- Chapter 3 The Dioskouroi in Existential Crisis
- Chapter 4 Exaltation at Akragas: Herakles, the Dioskouroi, and Theron
- Chapter 5 The Isolation of Amphiaraos
- Chapter 6 Asklepios and the Limits of the Possible
- Chapter 7 An Invitation
- References
- Subject Index
- Index Locorum
Chapter 3 - The Dioskouroi in Existential Crisis
(Nemean 10)
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 18 November 2022
- Pindar and Greek Religion
- Pindar and Greek Religion
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Acknowledgments
- Editions, Abbreviations, and Frequent References
- Chapter 1 Pindar Mythologus and Theologus
- Chapter 2 Herakles Looks Back at the World
- Chapter 3 The Dioskouroi in Existential Crisis
- Chapter 4 Exaltation at Akragas: Herakles, the Dioskouroi, and Theron
- Chapter 5 The Isolation of Amphiaraos
- Chapter 6 Asklepios and the Limits of the Possible
- Chapter 7 An Invitation
- References
- Subject Index
- Index Locorum
Summary
“The Dioskouroi in Existential Crisis,” deals with Nemean 10 and its extended mythical narrative. That myth is an aitiology of the entry of Kastor and Polydeukes into immortality, framed as a choice made by Polydeukes between claiming immortality for himself or sharing both mortality and immortality with his brother. I argue that Pindar’s epinician aitiology intervenes in and revalues enduring ambiguities surrounding the relationship of the Dioskouroi to mortality and immortality by valorizing Polyedeukes’ perspective, which privileges the parameters of mortal experience. This case study emphasizes the resonances evoked by the structure of the ode itself between the disorientation of the Dioskouroi from mortal experience and from the surrounding contexts of the ode.
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- Pindar and Greek ReligionTheologies of Mortality in the Victory Odes, pp. 89 - 115Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2022