Knights of Pythias

“ The actual victory which gave occasion for the ode is seldom treated at length or in detail—which, indeed, only exceptional incidents could justify. Pindar’s method is to take some heroic myth, or group of myths, connected with the victor’s city or family, and, after a brief prelude, to enter on this, returning at the close, as a rule, to the subject of the victor’s merit or good fortune, and interspersing the whole with moral comment. Thus the fourth Pythian is for Arcesilaus, king of Cyrene, which was said to have been founded by men of Thera, descendants of one of Jason’s comrades. ”

“ Pithias. O mighty king, let some pity your noble heart meve;
You require but one man’s death, take Pithias, let Damon live.
Eubulus. O unspeakable friendship!
Damon. Not so, he hath not offended, there is no cause why
My constant friend Pithias for Damon’s sake should die.
Alas, he is but young, he may do good to many.
Thou coward minister, why dost thou not let me die?
Gronno. My hand with sudden fear quivereth.
Pithias. O noble king, show mercy upon Damon, let Pithias die.
Dionysius. Stay, Gronno, my flesh trembleth. Eubulus, what shall I do? ”

“ PHRY. With a clamor having burst by means of bars the doors and cells where we were waiting, we run to her assistance, each to different parts of the house, one bringing stones, another spears, another having a long-handled sword in his hand. But Pylades came against us, impetuous, like as the Phrygian Hector or Ajax in his triple-crested helmet, whom I saw, I saw at the gates of Priam: but we clashed together the points of our swords: then indeed, then did the Phrygians give clear proof how inferior we were in the force of Mars to the spear of Greece. ”

“ If you always act under the influence of the noble and generous impulses which govern you now, you will never cease to be prosperous and happy."
Real character of Pythius.
The entertainment of silver and gold.
If we could end the account of Pythius and Xerxes here, what generous and noble-minded men we might suppose them to be! But alas! how large a portion of the apparent generosity and nobleness which shows itself among potentates and kings, turns into selfishness and hypocrisy when closely examined. Pythius was one of the most merciless tyrants that ever lived. ”

“ At the solemnity of the Pythian names, there was a consult about taking away all such sports as had lately crept in and were not of ancient institution. For after they had taken in the tragedy in addition to the three ancient, which were as old as the solemnity itself, the Pythian piper, the harper, and the singer to the harp, as if a large gate were opened, they could not keep out an infinite crowd of plays and musical entertainments of all sorts that rushed in after him. ”

“ And the eagle sleeps on the sceptre of Zeus,
Drooping his swift wings on either side,
The king of birds.
Pythia i, 25–28
Whatever things Zeus has not loved
Are terrified, hearing
The voice of the Pierians,
On earth and the immeasurable sea.
Pythia ii, 159–161
A plain-spoken man brings advantage to every government,—
To a monarchy, and when the
Impetuous crowd, and when the wise, rule a city.
As a whole, the third Pythian Ode, to Hiero, on his victory in the single-horse race, is one of the most memorable. ”

“ In Arcadia, Phylarchus tells us that a wordy battle took place between Pytheas and Demosthenes at a public meeting in which Pytheas was advocating the cause of Macedonia, and Demosthenes that of Greece. Pytheas said that we may always know that there is sickness in a house if we see asses’ milk carried into it, and that a city must be in a bad way if it received an embassy from Athens. To this Demosthenes answered by turning his own illustration against him, for, he said, asses’ milk is brought into houses to cure the sick, and Athenians come into other cities to save them from ruin. ”

“ The Galatæ immediately proceeded towards Delphi; they had heard of the riches of the temple and it was primarily for this that they had invaded Greece. The Delphians demanded of the oracle whether they should put the sacred treasure in a place of safety: “The god,” answered the Pythia, “ordains that the votive offerings be left where they are; he will himself protect his sanctuary by means of the White Virgins.” It was thus that the Pythia indicated Artemis and Athene, the moon and the light. It was indeed the terrors of the night which triumphed over the barbarians. ”

“ Ah Pithias, now come is thy doleful hour:
A perfect friend, one [135] such a world to seek.
Though bitter death shall give thee sauce full sour,
Yet for thy faith enroll’d shall be thy name
Among the gods within the book of fame.
Who knoweth his case, and will not melt in tears?
His guiltless blood shall trickle down anon. Then the Muses sing.
Alas, what hap hast thou, poor Pithias, now to die!
Woe worth the man which for his death hath given us cause to cry. ”

“ It is impossible to say how important was the presence of the French nobility, especially in Morea. In the capital itself the number of knights was very small: the greater part of the warriors who had gone campaigning for the sake of Christ and their own gain returned to their countries, bringing with them only the record of an extraordinary, almost fabulous achievement. But in the peninsula of Greece the feudal knights remained: they built strong castles on the tops of mountains and ruled numerous vassals of Greek blood. ”

“ The ensuing day ended the Pythian games; but not the conflict of the youthful pair; Love was the arbiter, and in the persons of these his combatants, determined to exhibit his mightiest contest. Towards the end of the ceremony, when all Greece was looking on, and the Amphictyons sat as judges; when the races, the wrestlings, and the boxing matches were over; a herald came forward, and made proclamation for the men in armour to appear. ”

“ Pithias. For that virtue which yet to you is unknown.
Dionysius. Eubulus, what shall I do? I would despatch this Damon fain,
But this foolish fellow so chargeth me, that I may not call back my word again.
Eubulus. The reverent majesty of a king stands chiefly in keeping his promise.
What you have said this whole court beareth witness,
Save your honour, whatsoever you do.
Dionysius. For saving mine honour, I must forbear my will: go to.
Pithias, seeing thou tookest me at my word, take Damon to thee:
For two months he is thine: unbind him, I set him free ”

“ Now, it happened that Pythias in some way roused the anger of the tyrant, who put him in prison, and condemned him to die in a few days. When Damon heard of it, he was in despair, and vainly tried to obtain his friend's pardon and release.
The mother of Pythias was very old, and lived far away from Syracuse with her daughter. When the young man heard that he was to die, he was tormented by the thought of leaving the women alone. ”

“ And Pylades answered, "This I cannot say; all men have knowledge of what befell the King. But hearken to this. It were shame to me to live if thou diest. I sailed with thee, and will die with thee. For otherwise men will account lightly of me both in Argos and in Phocis, which is my own land, thinking that I betrayed thee, or basely slew thee, that I might have thy kingdom, marrying thy sister, who shall inherit it in thy stead. Not so: I will die with thee, and my body shall be burnt together with thine." ”

“ Demosthenes in the de Corona [165] , calling to witness his country’s gods, says ‘I call on all the gods and goddesses who hold the land of Attica and on Apollo the Pythian, who is ancestral (πατρῷος) to the state.’ The sanctuary in the cave was a Pythion. Apollo coming as he did to Athens from Pytho was always Pythian whatever additional title he might take, and every sanctuary of his was a Pythion; his most venerable sanctuary was not a temple but a hollowed rock.
The Pythion lies before us securely fixed, primitive, convincing. With the ‘sanctuary of Zeus Olympios’ it is alas! ”

“ In this town sat awaiting them a Lydian, Pythius, son of Atys; he entertained Xerxes himself and all the king’s army with the best of good cheer, and declared himself willing to provide money for the war. Pythius thus offering money, Xerxes asked the Persians that were about him who this Pythius was that offered it and how much wealth he possessed: “O king,” said they, “this is he who gave your father Darius that gift of a golden plane-tree and vine; and now he is, next to yourself, the richest man of whom we have knowledge.” ”

“ To commemorate such a doughty deed, he instituted the Pythian Games wherein noble youths should strive for mastery. The prize was a simple green wreath, the symbol of victory. The laurel was not yet the leaf dedicated to the wreaths the gods bestowed upon the happy victors, but every kind of green was worn with promiscuous grace upon the flowing locks of Phœbus.
Flushed with pride in his new success against the Python, Phœbus saw Cupid, Venus' immortal son, bending his bow and aiming his feathered shafts at unwary mortals. ”

“ Let them your playfellows be: but O, you earthly kings,
Your sure defence and strongest guard stands chiefly in faithful friends:
Then get you friends by liberal deeds; and here I make an end.
Accept this counsel, mighty king, of Damon, Pithias’ friend.
O my Pithias! now farewell for ever, let me kiss thee, ere I die,
My soul shall honour thee, thy constant faith above the heavens shall fly.
Come, Gronno, do thine office now; why is thy colour so dead?
My neck is so short, that thou wilt never have honesty in striking off this head. [143]
Dionysius. ”

“ When Pyrochles beheld what had befallen his brother, he was so filled with rage that he cast away all caution and care, and rushed in madman’s fashion upon the Prince. And now might be seen how an evil deed finds its recompense. The sword which the pagan carried was, in truth, the Prince’s own, which had been filched from him by craft. Now Archimage had warned the knight before, saying: “Use not this blade against its rightful lord; it will not serve your will.” ”

“ When one is made away, they take occasion another to kill:
Ever in fear, having no trusty friend, void of all peoples’ love,
And in their own conscience a continual hell they prove.
Pithias. As things by their contraries are always best proved,
How happy then are merciful princes, of their people beloved!
Having sure friends everywhere, no fear doth touch them:
They may safely spend the day pleasantly, at night securè dormiunt in utramque aurem,
O my Damon, if choice were offered me, I would choose to be Pithias,
As I am Damon’s friend, rather than to be king Dionysius.
Stephano. ”

“ Why, all Hellas has known him these hundred years as the King of Cattle Thieves! But he is very old now, and the herdsmen and shepherds have little to fear from him any more. Yet, mind my words, young prince: it does not require the wisdom of the Pythian oracle to foretell that you, his grandson, will become the craftiest of men. With Autolycus for your grandfather and Hermes for your great-grandfather, it would be hard indeed for you to be otherwise. ”

“ True to that dark article of Grecian faith which punished remote generations for ancestral crimes, the Pythian replied, that Croesus had been fated to expiate in his own person the crimes of Gyges, the murderer of his master;—that, for the rest, the declarations of the oracle had been verified; the mighty empire, denounced by the divine voice, had been destroyed, for it was his own, and the mule, Cyrus, was presiding over the Lydian realm: a mule might the Persian hero justly be entitled, since his parents were of different ranks and nations. ”

“ The Pythian contests, which the Greeks regarded with the highest reverence, were instituted many years after the Olympic, and before the Isthmian.
Some authors maintain that they were established by Adrastus, king of Argos, B. C. 1263. At first they were held every ninth, but afterward every fifth year. ”

“ And they despaired of success in the war, so they sent envoys to Delphi. And this was the oracle the Pythian Priestess gave. ‘Phœbus bids you not only apply yourselves to warlike deeds, but as it was by cunning that the people got the Messenian land, by the selfsame cunning as it was got shall it be taken.’ The kings and Ephors, though they were very anxious to do so, could not find out a good plan till they imitated the wiliness of Odysseus at Ilium. They sent 100 men to Ithome to spy out the enemies’ designs, who were to pretend to be deserters. ”

“ That the religion of these several nations had one common origin, and that the priests and prophets of God's chosen people had many imitators among other nations, there is abundant proof.
The story of the origin of the Pythia, for example, contains points not without resemblance to certain passages in our own early sacred history. The Son of God is at enmity with the serpent; the serpent pursues a woman, and is trodden under foot by the Son. Zeus is the god of the Greeks; Apollo is his son; Leto—or Latona—is pursued by Python, the serpent, and is slain by Apollo. ”

“ Never before had such honor been done to the god; for those who came to offer sacrifice were usually content with one or more beasts bred on the neighboring plain of Kirrha. [417] We must recollect, however, that this Pythian festival of 370 B.C. occurred under peculiar circumstances; for the two previous festivals in 374 B.C. and 378 B.C. must have been comparatively unfrequented; in consequence of the war between Sparta and her allies on one side, and Athens and Thebes on the other,—and also of the occupation of Phokis by Kleombrotus. ”

“ The Pythian games, celebrated near Delphi, were under the superintendence of the Amphictyons, or of some acting magistrate chosen by and presumed to represent them. Like the Olympic games, they came round every four years (the interval between one celebration and another being four complete years, which the Greeks called a Pentæteris) : the Isthmian and Nemean games recurred every two years. In its first humble form a competition among bards to sing a hymn in praise of Apollo, this festival was doubtless of immemorial antiquity ”