TWO DISTINCT EPINICIAN STYLES: UNIQUENESS OF POETIC EXPRESSION IN BACCHYLIDES’ AND PINDAR’S VICTORY ODES

Two Distinct Epinician Styles: Uniqueness of Poetic Expression in Bacchylides’ and Pindar’s Victory Odes

2013, "Two Distinct Epinician Styles: Uniqueness of Poetic Expression in Bacchylides’ and Pindar’s Victory Odes." şurada: Book of Proceedings 13th International Language, Literature and Stylistics Symposium: Simple Style September, 26-28, 2013, Kars: Kafkas University, 615-627.

Abstract

Beginning with the criticism in antiquity scholars have commonly perceived Bacchylides “the Cean nightingale” and Pindar “the Theban eagle,” as two rival poets inepinician poetry with totally different styles. Dionysius of Halicarnassus is one of theearliest critics who explores this stylistic bifurcation clearly. Dionysius’ distinctionbetween “austere” (austêra) and “polished” (glaphyra) forms of composition makes theidentification of the prominent bifurcation between the styles of Bacchylides and Pindar possible. Defining this stylistic bifurcation accurately is only possible by scrutinizing thecategories represented by the music in the archaic epoch, which is an integral part of epinician poetry. These musical categories clarify how the style chosen by the Archaic Greek poet is parallel to the ethical references of the performed music of epinician. In thispaper which takes its point of departure from the above-mentioned stylistic bifurcation, I will argue that both poets have their “unique” expressions in stylistic contexts via acomparative study of some pieces of Bacchylides’ and Pindar’s victory odes.

Keywords: austere style, Bacchylides, epinician poetry, Pindar, polished style, stylistic bifurcation.