(for Theron of Akragas, winner in the chariot race)

This translation is by Elroy L. Bundy, late professor of Classics, University of California at Berkeley, edited and revised by Helen Pinkerton. In certain disputed passages the translator sought to ascertain the meaning of the passage rather than the exact letter, thus they are not in every sense literal. The editor gratefully acknowledges the criticism and assistance of Steven Shankman of Princeton University, William R. Race of Vanderbilt University and of Andrew M. Miller of the University of Pittsburgh. However, she takes full responsibility for editorial changes. The text used is Alexander Turyn (Oxford, 1952).

I

Hymns, great rulers of the Iyre,
What god, what hero, and what man
Are we to sing? Pisa belongs to Zeus;
And Herakles established with war's spoils
The Olympian festival; so, Theron, too,
Must be acclaimed, the man victorious
In the four-horse chariot race. He honors, justly,
Guests who are just, bulwark of Akragas
And blossom of a famed paternal line
That holds, through him, the city upright still.

After great toil borne valiantly,
They founded this, their sacred home,
Beside the river and became the eye
Of Sicily. The appointed day drew near,
Bringing both wealth and glory as attendants
...