epinicion, lyric ode honouring a victor in one of the great Hellenic games. The epinicion was performed usually by a chorus, or on occasion by a solo singer, as part of the celebration on the victor’s triumphal return to his city; alternatively, a less elaborate form was offered on the site of his triumph immediately after his victory. The word derives from the Greek adjective meaning “for a victory,” and melos (song) is understood as the modified noun.
Although the epinicion originated in improvised celebration, the form of surviving works is highly literary. Twentieth-century papyrus finds identified the 6th-century-bc poet Ibycus as the earliest known author of epinicia; the first datable example is an ode composed in 520 bc by Simonides of Ceos for the victory of Glaucus of Carystus in the boxing match for youths at Olympia. The genre’s structure was not rigidly fixed, but there was a typical uniformity in content and arrangement. The occasion demanded the mention of the victor, as well as the nature and place of his victory. References to victories by members of his family and compliments to his trainer could be added. Generally a more or less relevant myth would be narrated. Finally, a gnomic element of wise sayings and reflections on life served as a bridge between the myth and the description of events surrounding the victory.
The poets did not use traditional lines or stanzas for epinicia. Instead, the metre was formed afresh for each poem and was never used again in exactly the same form. The strophes, or stanzas—either single or in systems of three—were repeated throughout the poem, and often their form was related to the accompanying dance. The performance of epinicia called for a choir trained by a teacher of song and dance (chorodidaskalos), and the singers were accompanied by skilled musicians playing lyres. If the poet sent the poem to the victor, then the text would function as a kind of score that contained indications of rhythm and musical modes, with perhaps some hints for appropriate dance steps.
The genre reached its zenith in the odes of Pindar and his contemporary Bacchylides in the 5th century bc. The epinicion flourished when the Greek world considered athletic competition to be one of the most significant events of social, political, and religious life. Greek aristocrats and rulers saw in the epinicion, as in the figurative arts, an irreplaceable means of persuasion in the service of their personal prestige and political power. Poets began to work freelance, receiving from patrons a conspicuous honorarium. Disputes over fees were sometimes public, as was documented by celebrated cases. For example, Simonides of Ceos agreed to compose a victory ode for Anaxilas, tyrant of Rhegium, for his victory in the mule-drawn-chariot race at the Olympian games only after Anaxilas agreed to pay Simonides more than he had originally offered; the poet could retaliate with ridicule if his terms were not met.