
The Poetics of Victory in the Greek West
Epinician, Oral Tradition, and the Deinomenid Empire
Nigel Nicholson(Author)
Oxford University Press Inc
Published on 2. November 2015
Book
Hardback
376 pages
978-0-19-020909-4 (ISBN)
Description
The Poetics of Victory in the Greek West examines the relationship between epinician and the heroizing narratives about athletes, or "hero-athlete narratives, " that circulated orally in Sicily and Italy in the late archaic and early classical period. Drawing on the colorful stories told about athletes in later sources, the fragments of Simonides and the surviving odes of Pindar and Bacchylides, it argues that epinician was formed in opposition to orally
transmitted narratives and that these two forms-epinician and the "hero-athlete narrative "-promoted opposed political visions, with epinician promoting the Deinomenid empire and its structures and the hero-athlete narrative opposing Deinomenid rule. Combining an intimate knowledge of the material culture of
the Greek West with an innovative use of available source material, The Poetics of Victory in the Greek West exposes the rich intersections between athletics and politics in Sicily and Italy, offering a new and compelling account of Deinomenid self-promotion and of the varied and complex communities that operated under Deinomenids' control or within their shadow. Further, by establishing models of production and interpretation for the orally transmitted narratives and bringing them
into dialogue with epinician, The Poetics of Victory in the Greek West reveals much about epinician as a form, how it developed in the West, what meanings it already carried and what meanings it accrued as it was appropriated by Hieron after Gelon's death.
transmitted narratives and that these two forms-epinician and the "hero-athlete narrative "-promoted opposed political visions, with epinician promoting the Deinomenid empire and its structures and the hero-athlete narrative opposing Deinomenid rule. Combining an intimate knowledge of the material culture of
the Greek West with an innovative use of available source material, The Poetics of Victory in the Greek West exposes the rich intersections between athletics and politics in Sicily and Italy, offering a new and compelling account of Deinomenid self-promotion and of the varied and complex communities that operated under Deinomenids' control or within their shadow. Further, by establishing models of production and interpretation for the orally transmitted narratives and bringing them
into dialogue with epinician, The Poetics of Victory in the Greek West reveals much about epinician as a form, how it developed in the West, what meanings it already carried and what meanings it accrued as it was appropriated by Hieron after Gelon's death.
Reviews / Votes
"Nicholson meticulously demonstrates that athletic victors adopted a particular stance toward the Deinomenid empire when they chose to be honored either in epinician or through oral narratives. Decoding for the first time the politicization of these competing genres in the Greek west, this book will be required reading for all interested in the ideological operations of ancient Greek literature." -Margaret Foster, Indiana University"This is a brilliant book. Nicholson combines breathtaking control of the history, archaeology, numismatics, and topography of Sicily and South Italy with an ambitious new model of epinician and local oral narratives as co-existing, competing forms. The result is a richly textured account of the politics of form in the history of the Greek West." -Leslie Kurke, University of California, BerkeleyMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Illustrations
20 illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 27 mm
Weight
794 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-020909-4 (9780190209094)
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Nigel Nicholson
The Poetics of Victory in the Greek West
Epinician, Oral Tradition, and the Deinomenid Empire
E-Book
11/2015
1st Edition
OUP eBook
€53.49
Available for download

Nigel Nicholson
Poetics of Victory in the Greek West: Epinician, Oral Tradition, and the Deinomenid Empire
Epinician, Oral Tradition, and the Deinomenid Empire
E-Book
10/2015
1st Edition
Oxford University Press
€57.59
Available for download
Person
Nigel Nicholson is the Dean of Faculty and Walter Mintz Professor of Classics at Reed College. As the author of Aristocracy and Athletics in Archaic and Classical Greece (Cambridge University Press, 2005), his research focuses on epinician, athletics, healthcare and the Greek West. In 2008-09, he served as director of the Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies program in Sicily and was named Oregon Professor of the Year in
2005.
2005.
Content
CONTENTS ; List of Tables ; List of Figures ; Abbreviations ; Preface ; Acknowledgments ; Introduction ; The Hero-Athlete Narrative ; Epinician and the Hero-Athlete Narrative ; Politics and Athlopolitics in Sicily and Southern Italy ; Epizephyrian Locri: Hagesidamus and Euthymus ; Croton: Astylus and Philippus ; Sicily under Gelon: The Two Glaucuses ; Sicily under and after Hieron: Ergoteles of Himera and Tisander of Naxos ; Beyond the Deinomenids: Alexidamus of Metapontum ; Conclusion ; Notes ; List of Works Cited ; Index