games thou hast won glory by thy steeds, and hast received this triumphal song of men, Apollo's joy.
Therefore forget not, while at Kyrene round Aphrodite's pleasant garden thy praise is sung, to set God above every other as the cause thereof: also love thou Karrhotos[1] chiefest of thy friends; who hath not brought with him Excuse the daughter of late-considering Afterthought back to the house of the just-ruling sons of Battos; but beside the waters of Kastalia a welcomed guest he crowned thy hair with the crown of the conquering car, for the reins were safe[2] in his hands throughout the twelve swift turns along the sacred course.
Of the strong harness brake he no whit: but there is hung up[3] all that cunning work of the artificers that he brought with him when he passed over the Krisaian hill to the plain within the valley of the god: therefore now the chamber of cypress-wood possesseth it, hard by the statue which the bow-bearing Kretans dedicated in the Parnassian shrine, the natural image in one block[4]. Therefore with eager heart it behoveth thee to go forth to meet him who hath done thee this good service.
Thee also, son[5] of Alexibios, the Charites of lovely hair make glorious. Blessed art thou for that after much toil thou hast a monument of noble words. Among forty charioteers who fell[6] thou didst with soul undaunted bring thy car unhurt, and hast now come back from the glorious games unto the plain of Libya and the city of thy sires.
- ↑ The charioteer.
- ↑ I. e. well-handled and un-broken in the sharp turns round the goal.
- ↑ I. e. in Apollo's temple at Delphi.
- ↑ This would seem to have been a piece of wood growing naturally in the form of a man.
- ↑ Karrhotos.
- ↑ This seems great havoc among the starters. Probably besides the forty who fell there were others who were not actually upset but yet did not win. No doubt the race must have been run in heats, but these must still have been crowded enough to make the crush at the turns exceedingly dangerous.
