From this story Pindar passes to moral and philosophical reflections, adapted to the circumstances of his patron, and illustrated by appropriate myths. He consoles Hiero for his sufferings by reminding him that not even the old heroic kings, Peleus and Cadmus, "happiest of mortals," were wholly blest. He recalls the misfortunes of Cadmus's daughters, and the early death of Peleus's only son, Achilles. And the Ode closes with another reference to mythology, the immortal fame of Nestor and Sarpedon, which Hiero may rival if he imitates their virtues:—
"But few there are such bliss may lightly gain."
The opening verses of the First Pythian have already been quoted at the end of the first chapter. They contain that "Invocation of the Lyre" which is imitated by our own poet Gray, in his well-known "Ode on the Progress of Poesy." The mythological element in this Ode is slight. There is a brief allusion to the lame hero Philoctetes, whose assistance was needed to enable the Greeks of old to capture Troy. Hiero, physically infirm, yet a valiant and successful general, is compared to this fabled champion. And, complimenting Hiero on the constitution which he has established in his new city Ætna, "true to the good old Dorian type," Pindar pauses for a moment to dwell on the legendary migration of the Dorians from Northern Greece to Amyclæ in Laconia.
But the chief purpose of the Ode is to celebrate the military exploits of Hiero and his family, and especially their victories at Himera and Cumæ, which had
