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{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Ta tou Pindarou Sesosmena''}}
 
{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Ta tou Pindarou Sesosmena''}}
 
===by Pindar===
 
===by Pindar===
__NOTOC__
 
Pindar was a Greek lyric poetry born around 518BCE in Cynoscephalae, Boeotia. <ref>[http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780192801463.001.0001/acref-9780192801463-e-1728 " Pindar "] in ''Oxford Dictionary of the Classical World'', ed. by John Roberts (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007).</ref> He already had ''panhellenic'' (across Greece) recognition by the age of 20 when he was commissioned by the rulers of Thessaly, which was followed by many commissions by ruling and aristocratic families which required him to travel all over Greece.  His ancient reputation is clearly established through the praise of Herodotus and attribution “by many in antiquity as the greatest of the nine poets of the lyric canon.”<ref>Ibid.</ref><br/> 
 
<br/>Pindar’s only four works which survive intact—and are contained in this Glasgow edition in the original ancient Greek (''Ta tou Pindarou Sesomena: Olympia, Pythia, Nemia, Isthmia'')—are the celebratory choral victory songs composed for the four great panhellenic athletic festivals: the Olympic Games (in Olympia), the Pythian Games (in Delphi – so named for the mythical Python killed by Apollo prior to establishing his oracle and games there), the Nemean Games (in Nemea), and the Isthmian Games (in Corinth – so named for the fact that Corinth is an isthmus).  Athletic competitions were very important to the ancient Greeks, as they provided a measuring ground for the “highest human qualities” of physical fitness and prowess. Pindar’s victory songs, like other poets’, were sung either right after the victory while still at the Games or when the victor went back to his native city.  The victory songs consist of a usually elaborate announcement of victory though rarely were details of the victory provided beyond the location and specific victorious event.  The victor’s association with any previous victors in his family or his patron is listed, then the song takes a somber turn by delving into moralizing themes reminding the victor of his mortality and the necessity of divine aid.  For this moral component, Pindar often chose myths from the victor’s city and describes specific scenes (assuming that the audience has a familiarity with the myth) which highlight his moral message and illuminate particular traits of the victor or his situation.<ref>Ibid.</ref><br/>
 
<br/>This work was published by two well-known and regarded Scottish publishers.  Robert and Andrew Foulis (''ne'' Faulls) were brothers who opened their own publishing company and printing press in 18th century Glasgow.  [David Murray, ''Robert & Andrew Foulis and the Glasgow Press with some account of The Glasgow Academy of the Fine Arts'' (Glasgow: James Maclehose and Sons, Publishers to the University), 8.] Robert was a barber before enrolling in University of Glasgow courses, while Andrew “received a more regular education…[as] a student of Humanity” who taught Greek, Latin and French for a time after he graduated.<ref>Ibid 3.</ref> The brothers began as booksellers and then transitioned to publishing and printing books, with Robert initiating each endeavor before later being joined by Andrew.<ref>Ibid 6-10.</ref>  In 1740-42, Robert had other printers print what he chose to publish, but began printing his own books in 1742 which continued until his and his brother’s deaths in 1775 and 1776, respectively, when Andrew’s son Andrew took over The Foulis Press.<ref>Philip Gaskell, ''The Foulis Press'' (Hampshire, England: St. Paul’s Bibliographies), 15-17.</ref>  The Foulis Press primarily produced text books and other “works of learning…and of general literature,” as it was the printer to the University of Glasgow.<ref>Ibid 17-18.</ref>  The press is unique for the plethora of variant issues and editions of published books on special paper, in special font, or even on copper plates.<ref>Ibid 18-19.</ref>
 
 
 
{{BookPageInfoBox
 
{{BookPageInfoBox
 
|imagename=PindarTaTouPindarou1754v1.jpg
 
|imagename=PindarTaTouPindarou1754v1.jpg
|link=https://catalog.swem.wm.edu/law/Record/3621119
+
|link=https://wm.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01COWM_INST/g9pr7p/alma991021473209703196
 
|shorttitle=Ta tou Pindarou Sesosmena
 
|shorttitle=Ta tou Pindarou Sesosmena
 
|vol=volume one
 
|vol=volume one
|author=Pindar
+
|author=[[:Category:Pindar|Pindar]]
|publoc=Glasguae
+
|publoc=[[:Category:Glasgow|Glasguae]]
 
|publisher=Excudebat R. & A. Foulis
 
|publisher=Excudebat R. & A. Foulis
|year=1754-58
+
|year=1754-1758
 
|edition=Ex editione Oxoniensi
 
|edition=Ex editione Oxoniensi
|lang=Greek
+
|lang=[[:Category:Greek|Greek]]
 
|set=4 volumes in 3
 
|set=4 volumes in 3
|pages=101
+
|desc=[[:Category:Trigesimo-secundos|32mo]] (8 cm.)
|desc=80 mm. General t.p. in 1st vol. only; each volume has individual t.p. Signatures: v. 1. A-K⁸; v. 2. A-M⁸ (G1 not signed, M6-M8 blank, present); v. 3. A-H⁸; v. 4. A-E⁸.
+
|shelf=I-2
Individual t.p. to v. 1 printed as leaf K8 (v. 1.), and is bound in signature K in library copy.
+
}}[[wikipedia:Pindar|Pindar]] (c. 522 &ndash; 443 BCE) was a Greek lyric poet born in Cynoscephalae, Boeotia.<ref>[http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780192801463.001.0001/acref-9780192801463-e-1728 "Pindar"] in ''Oxford Dictionary of the Classical World'', ed. by John Roberts (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007).</ref> He already had ''panhellenic'' (across Greece) recognition by the age of 20 when he was commissioned by the rulers of Thessaly, followed by many commissions by ruling and aristocratic families requiring him to travel all over Greece. His ancient reputation is clearly established through the praise of Herodotus and attribution "by many in antiquity as the greatest of the nine poets of the lyric canon."<ref>Ibid.</ref>
}}
+
 
 +
{{BookPageBookplate
 +
|imagename=PindarTaTouPindarou1754v1Bookplate.jpg
 +
|display=left
 +
|caption=Bookplate, front pastedown.
 +
}}Only four of Pindar's works survive intact and they are contained in this Glasgow edition in the original ancient Greek. ''Ta tou Pindarou Sesomena: Olympia, Pythia, Nemia, Isthmia'' are the celebratory choral victory songs composed for the four great panhellenic athletic festivals: the Olympic Games (in Olympia), the Pythian Games (in Delphi &mdash; so named for the mythical Python killed by Apollo prior to establishing his oracle and games there), the Nemean Games (in Nemea), and the Isthmian Games (in Corinth &mdash; so named for the fact that Corinth is an isthmus).
 +
 
 +
Athletic competitions were very important to the ancient Greeks, as they provided a measuring ground for the "highest human qualities" of physical fitness and prowess.<ref>Ibid.</ref> Pindar’s victory songs, like those of other poets, were sung either immediately after the victory while still at the Games or when the victor went back to his native city. Each victory song consistsof an elaborate announcement of victory, but usually without details beyond the location and specific victorious event. The victor’s associations with any previous victors in his family or his patron are listed, then the song takes a more somber turn by reminding the victor of his mortality and the necessity of divine aid. For this moral component, Pindar often chose myths from the victor’s city and described specific scenes highlighting his moral message and illuminating particular traits of the victor.<ref>Ibid.</ref><br/>
 +
 
 
==Evidence for Inclusion in Wythe's Library==
 
==Evidence for Inclusion in Wythe's Library==
Listed in the [[Jefferson Inventory]] of [[Wythe's Library]] as ''Pindar. 3.v. p.f. Foul. Gr.'' and given by [[Thomas Jefferson]] to his grandson [[Thomas Jefferson Randolph]]. The Foulis Press published a four-volume, Greek, trigesimo-segundo (32mo) edition of Pindar between 1754 and 1758. It is the only Greek edition they published.<ref>Philip Gaskell, ''A Bibliography of the Foulis Press'', 2nd ed. (Winchester, Hampshire, England: St Paul's Bibliographies, 1986), 190.</ref> Both [http://www.librarything.com/profile/GeorgeWythe George Wythe's Library]<ref>''LibraryThing'', s. v. "Member: George Wythe," accessed on November 14, 2013, http://www.librarything.com/profile/GeorgeWythe </ref> on LibraryThing and the [https://digitalarchive.wm.edu/handle/10288/13433 Brown Bibliography]<ref> Bennie Brown, "The Library of George Wythe of Williamsburg and Richmond," (unpublished manuscript, May, 2012) Microsoft Word file. Earlier edition available at: https://digitalarchive.wm.edu/handle/10288/13433</ref> include this edition and note a copy of volume two at the University of Virginia with the inscription "T. J. Randolph" inside the front board which may be Wythe's actual copy (there are no Wythe markings). The Wolf Law Library purchased the 1746 edition.
+
Listed in the [[Jefferson Inventory]] of [[Wythe's Library]] as "Pindar. 3.v. p.f. Foul. Gr." and given by [[Thomas Jefferson]] to his grandson [[Thomas Jefferson Randolph]]. The Foulis Press published a trigesimo-segundo (32mo) edition of Pindar in Greek in a four-book/three-volume set between 1754 and 1758. It was the only Greek edition they published.<ref>Philip Gaskell, ''A Bibliography of the Foulis Press'', 2nd ed. (Winchester, Hampshire, England: St Paul's Bibliographies, 1986), 190.</ref> Both [http://www.librarything.com/profile/GeorgeWythe George Wythe's Library]<ref>''LibraryThing'', s. v. "Member: George Wythe," accessed on November 14, 2013, http://www.librarything.com/profile/GeorgeWythe </ref> on LibraryThing and the [https://digitalarchive.wm.edu/handle/10288/13433 Brown Bibliography]<ref> Bennie Brown, "The Library of George Wythe of Williamsburg and Richmond," (unpublished manuscript, May, 2012) Microsoft Word file. Earlier edition available at: https://digitalarchive.wm.edu/handle/10288/13433</ref> include this edition and note a copy of volume two at the University of Virginia with the inscription "T. J. Randolph" inside the front board which may be Wythe's actual copy (there are no Wythe markings). The Wolf Law Library purchased the same edition.
 +
 
 +
[[File:PindarTaTouPindarou_v2_1754Inscription.jpg|left|thumb|250px|<center>Inscription, front flyleaf, volume two.</center>]]
  
 
==Description of the Wolf Law Library's copy==
 
==Description of the Wolf Law Library's copy==
 
Bound in mottled crimson calf with covers framed in gilt beaded roll. Spines with gilt-stamped title and compartment decorations and board edges with gilt roll. Each front fly-leaf with early inked inscription of Henry Moore, Worcester College, Oxford. Front pastedowns have bookplate of H.M. Purchased from SessaBks.
 
Bound in mottled crimson calf with covers framed in gilt beaded roll. Spines with gilt-stamped title and compartment decorations and board edges with gilt roll. Each front fly-leaf with early inked inscription of Henry Moore, Worcester College, Oxford. Front pastedowns have bookplate of H.M. Purchased from SessaBks.
  
View this book in [https://catalog.swem.wm.edu/law/Record/3621119 William & Mary's online catalog.]
+
Images of the library's copy of this book are [https://www.flickr.com/photos/wolflawlibrary/sets/72157658502773283 available on Flickr.] View the record for this book in [https://wm.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01COWM_INST/g9pr7p/alma991021473209703196 William & Mary's online catalog.]
 +
 
 +
==See also==
 +
<div style="overflow: hidden;">
 +
*[[George Wythe Room]]
 +
*[[Jefferson Inventory]]
 +
*[[Wythe's Library]]
 +
</div>
 +
 
 
==References==
 
==References==
 
<references/>
 
<references/>
  
 +
__NOTOC__
 
[[Category:George Wythe Collection at William & Mary's Wolf Law Library]]
 
[[Category:George Wythe Collection at William & Mary's Wolf Law Library]]
 
[[Category:Greek Literature]]
 
[[Category:Greek Literature]]
 +
[[Category:Pindar]]
 
[[Category:Probable Surviving Wythe Volumes]]
 
[[Category:Probable Surviving Wythe Volumes]]
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[[Category:Thomas Jefferson Randolph's Books]]
 
[[Category:Titles in Wythe's Library]]
 
[[Category:Titles in Wythe's Library]]
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[[Category:Glasgow]]
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[[Category:Greek]]
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[[Category:Trigesimo-secundos]]

Latest revision as of 08:23, 17 July 2024

by Pindar

Ta tou Pindarou Sesosmena
PindarTaTouPindarou1754v1.jpg

Title page from Ta tou Pindarou Sesosmena, volume one, George Wythe Collection, Wolf Law Library, College of William & Mary.

Author Pindar
Editor {{{editor}}}
Translator {{{trans}}}
Published Glasguae: Excudebat R. & A. Foulis
Date 1754-1758
Edition Ex editione Oxoniensi
Language Greek
Volumes 4 volumes in 3 volume set
Pages {{{pages}}}
Desc. 32mo (8 cm.)
Location Shelf I-2
  [[Shelf {{{shelf2}}}]]

Pindar (c. 522 – 443 BCE) was a Greek lyric poet born in Cynoscephalae, Boeotia.[1] He already had panhellenic (across Greece) recognition by the age of 20 when he was commissioned by the rulers of Thessaly, followed by many commissions by ruling and aristocratic families requiring him to travel all over Greece. His ancient reputation is clearly established through the praise of Herodotus and attribution "by many in antiquity as the greatest of the nine poets of the lyric canon."[2]

Bookplate, front pastedown.

Only four of Pindar's works survive intact and they are contained in this Glasgow edition in the original ancient Greek. Ta tou Pindarou Sesomena: Olympia, Pythia, Nemia, Isthmia are the celebratory choral victory songs composed for the four great panhellenic athletic festivals: the Olympic Games (in Olympia), the Pythian Games (in Delphi — so named for the mythical Python killed by Apollo prior to establishing his oracle and games there), the Nemean Games (in Nemea), and the Isthmian Games (in Corinth — so named for the fact that Corinth is an isthmus).

Athletic competitions were very important to the ancient Greeks, as they provided a measuring ground for the "highest human qualities" of physical fitness and prowess.[3] Pindar’s victory songs, like those of other poets, were sung either immediately after the victory while still at the Games or when the victor went back to his native city. Each victory song consistsof an elaborate announcement of victory, but usually without details beyond the location and specific victorious event. The victor’s associations with any previous victors in his family or his patron are listed, then the song takes a more somber turn by reminding the victor of his mortality and the necessity of divine aid. For this moral component, Pindar often chose myths from the victor’s city and described specific scenes highlighting his moral message and illuminating particular traits of the victor.[4]

Evidence for Inclusion in Wythe's Library

Listed in the Jefferson Inventory of Wythe's Library as "Pindar. 3.v. p.f. Foul. Gr." and given by Thomas Jefferson to his grandson Thomas Jefferson Randolph. The Foulis Press published a trigesimo-segundo (32mo) edition of Pindar in Greek in a four-book/three-volume set between 1754 and 1758. It was the only Greek edition they published.[5] Both George Wythe's Library[6] on LibraryThing and the Brown Bibliography[7] include this edition and note a copy of volume two at the University of Virginia with the inscription "T. J. Randolph" inside the front board which may be Wythe's actual copy (there are no Wythe markings). The Wolf Law Library purchased the same edition.

Inscription, front flyleaf, volume two.

Description of the Wolf Law Library's copy

Bound in mottled crimson calf with covers framed in gilt beaded roll. Spines with gilt-stamped title and compartment decorations and board edges with gilt roll. Each front fly-leaf with early inked inscription of Henry Moore, Worcester College, Oxford. Front pastedowns have bookplate of H.M. Purchased from SessaBks.

Images of the library's copy of this book are available on Flickr. View the record for this book in William & Mary's online catalog.

See also

References

  1. "Pindar" in Oxford Dictionary of the Classical World, ed. by John Roberts (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007).
  2. Ibid.
  3. Ibid.
  4. Ibid.
  5. Philip Gaskell, A Bibliography of the Foulis Press, 2nd ed. (Winchester, Hampshire, England: St Paul's Bibliographies, 1986), 190.
  6. LibraryThing, s. v. "Member: George Wythe," accessed on November 14, 2013, http://www.librarything.com/profile/GeorgeWythe
  7. Bennie Brown, "The Library of George Wythe of Williamsburg and Richmond," (unpublished manuscript, May, 2012) Microsoft Word file. Earlier edition available at: https://digitalarchive.wm.edu/handle/10288/13433