But aside from lofty thoughts like these, native to the greater interpretative intelligences of Greece, the recently discovered poems of Bacchylides tell us much of the actual spirit of the games. Bacchylides was nephew of Simonides, the poet-laureate of the nation from Thermopylæ to Platæa, and he was also the grandson and namesake of a famous athlete. He was qualified to sing both the Games and the Graces. And the native of the little island of Ceos did not hesitate to enter the contest with the splendidly arrogant Theban who could compare his inferior rivals to “crows that chatter against the divine bird of Zeus.”[[41]]
Of the twelve epinician odes of Bacchylides three were addressed to Hieron, at whose court he enjoyed especial favour. Two Olympic odes were written for Lachon, a young athlete from the poet’s native island. One of these is a short serenade sung before the victor’s own house by his fellow-citizens. Nothing could better illustrate the intensity of local pride and enthusiasm. Now the victorious athlete is praised, now his very identity is merged in the personification of his native land. It is Ceos herself that has won the boxing and the foot-race. Lachon, as the ode reminds us, has already been greeted by the impromptu choral sung at Olympia on the evening of his triumph. Now he is welcomed at home by another choral for which there has been ample time to make ready. Bacchylides may well have written this little serenade not as a paid commission but as a spontaneous outburst of patriotic pride and affection for his country and his fellow countrymen. We should prefer to have it so. In any case we feel a human interest in the young athlete whose strong body and swift feet have won the prize:—
“Lachon has lot of such renown
From Zeus most-high as yet had none,
Enhancing fame with feet that run
Beside Alphēus flowing down.
For which e’er this with hair wreath-bound
Olympic youths sang songs around
How Ceos, with her vineyards crowned,
The boxing and the foot-race won.