The Landscape and Heritage of Pindar’s Olympia

Olympia provided Pindar with material that he could use in his narratives of praise, and Pindar manipulated the primeval landscape, the ancient man-made monuments, and the mythological heritage of Olympia. Whether using Alpheios, the hill of Kronos, the Pelopion, or the ash altar of Zeus, Pindar weaves rich connections between the heritage-laden physical landscape of Olympia and his patrons, so that his patrons can bolster their social status. Similarly, Pindar composes myths that revolve around the origins of Olympia, astutely connecting ancient and contemporary practice to reinforce the importance of the present moment’s ideological relationship to the past.