Page:The Theatre of the Greeks, a Treatise on the History and Exhibition of the Greek Drama, with Various Supplements.djvu/61

 THE TRAGIC CHORUS. — ARIOX. 43 took an immediate part in the public performance of his ode. On the contrary, as the triumphal ode was generally celebrated in the victor's native city, and sometimes repeated from time to time on the anniversary of his success, the poet would more frequently than otherwise be absent, and if the ode contained any direct aTrayyekLa from the author, he must have been represented by the leader of the chorus, who thus became, to all intents and purposes, an actor or the exponent of an assumed personality. It is probable in itself that there was a class of persons, who laid themselves out for this species of impersonation, and the fact that it was so is proved by the Orchomenian Inscription (Xo. 1583), quoted in the Appendix to this chapter. We find there that a certain Theban named Xicostratus gained the prize at the Charitesia as kco/jlmSo^ in regard to the eiTLvUia, i.e. not the celebration of the victory, as Bockh supposes, but the songs composed for that celebration. For in order to sing the eiriKw^lav dvSpoov Kkvrav oTra, as Pindar calls it*, it was necessary that there should be a K(ofJb(ph6<^, a leader of the band, that is, either the poet himself who is mentioned in the following inscription^, or some professional leader, like this Xicos- ti-atus. There is sufficient e^Tidence in Pindar's odes to prove that the cLTrwyyeXla of the poet himself was thus undertaken by a pro- fessional representative, who was distinct from the teacher of the Chorus. There are two of Pindar's Epinicia, the sixth Olympian and the second Isthmian ode, in which the poet directly addresses the ')(opohLhaaKaXo<^. In the fifth strophe of the former he says^: ''now urge your comrades, ^neas, first to sing of Hera Parthenia, and then to make known whether we truly escape from the old re- proach — Boeotian sow! For you are a true messenger, the des- patch-staff of the fair-haired Muses, a sweet mixing- cup of loudly uttered songs. Then tell them to remember Syracuse and Ortygia." There is every reason to believe that this ode was sung at Stym- phalus in Arcadia. Agesias had driven the mule-car himself at Olympia, otherwise the allusion to his danger^ would have no meaning ; but the chariot driven by his friend Phintis formed part of the triumphal procession which accompanied the performance of the ode, as appears from the address to the charioteer ^ The 1 PytJi. X. 6. ^ 1-47: '''a iTrwiKta KU),a(fdiQv TroirjTTj^. 2 vv. 87 sqq. * vv. 9 — 11. ° vv. 22 sqq.