Page:History of the Literature of Ancient Greece (Müller) 2ed.djvu/250

228 viz., systems of dactyls and trochaic dipodies, which most nearly approach the stateliness of the hexameter. Accordingly, a serene dignity pervades these odes; the mythical narrations are developed with greater fulness, and the ideas are limited to the subject, and are free from personal feeling; in short, their general character is that of calmness and elevation. The language is epic, with a slight Doric tinge, which adds to its brilliancy and dignity. The rhythms of the Æolic odes resemble those of the Lesbian poetry, in which light dactylic, trochaic, or logaœdic metres prevailed; these rhythms, however, when applied to choral lyric poetry, were rendered far more various, and thus often acquired a character of greater volubility and liveliness. The poet's mind also moves with greater rapidity; and sometimes he stops himself in the midst of narrations which seem to him impious or arrogant. A larger scope is likewise given to his personal feelings; and in the addresses to the victor there is a gayer tone, which at times even takes a jocular turn. The poet introduces his relations to the victor, and to his poetical rivals; he extols his own style, and decries that of others. The Æolic odes, from the rapidity and variety of their movement, have a less uniform character than the Doric odes; for example, the first Olympic, with its joyous and glowing images, is very different from the second, in which a lofty melancholy is expressed, and from the ninth, which has an expression of proud and complacent self-reliance. The language of the Æolic epinikia is also bolder, more difficult in its syntax, and marked by rarer dialectical forms. Lastly, there are the Lydian odes, the number of which is inconsiderable; their metre is mostly trochaic, and of a particularly soft character, agreeing with the tone of the poetry. Pindar appears to have preferred the Lydian rhythms for odes which were destined to be sung during a procession to a temple or at the altar, and in which the favour of the deity was implored in a humble spirit.