Was Pindar "Honest" or Not?

Was Pindar "honest" or not in his praises of victors? To answer this question we should deal with each ode separately, for his odes were written for different men, on different occasions. I discuss three cases in this paper(the text used is that of Bowra). First, Isthmian 2. I interpret its proem in line with Farnell and Bowra. The poet is asking Thrasybulos in indirect words for the payment promised, seemingly, by the late Xenocrates in exchange for this ode or the odes including this. Now, the poet's veiled requestruns through the ode. In vv. 23-27, "ανεγνον" and "ασπαζοντο" point, as a preliminary suggestion, to vv. 43-45, where Thrasybulos is required not to reject "these hymns". In vv. 35-42, the long praise of the late father hints, "You, the son, should be equaly hospitable". The poet tries to bring home this hint by quoting his own Pyth.6 (vv. 50 ff.) , an ode which was written to praise the son's filial devotion to the father. Thrasybulos is asked to perform as a dutiful son this Isthm. 2 which celebrates his father's memory. Now, in conclusion in this ode, Pindar's praises of his Standesgenossen are never wholly false on any occasion. In this case, however, we cannot but feel that the words to Thrasybulos(v. 12, 48) are somewhat "cajoling", and that the praise of the father is intended in part as a"tool". Secondly, Ol. 13 and fr. 107. It is argued by Norwood and Meautis that the poet dislikes Xenophon, the receiver of these odes. One of Norwood's points is that Xenophon receives not a word of praise in Ol. 13 except the mere naming of his victories. But, the words of v. 1 or vv. 30-1 serve fully as praise. Moreover, the long praise of Corinth or the Corinthian virtues in vv. 4-23b is not irrelevant, but intensifies as a foil the value of the rare achievement of Xenophon praised in vv. 30-1. In the section after the myths no mention of Xenophon is made(Hamilton, Epinikion 108 n. 5). It is not a mark of Pindar's coldness to Xenophon. Fr. 107 for the hieroduloi is also called to witness by the two scholars. The poet is playful in this fragment through and through. Vv. 1-9 recall to us the Greek "prejudice" about women's lewdness shown mythologically in Teiresias' story. Pindar is jokingly indignant of the license given to the hieroduloi. Vv. 13-15 are also playful. Pindar was doubtlessly embarassed at first by the order of a song for the hieroduloi, but he performed this difficult task with professional sincerity and tact. This is the point of v. 16. To sum up, we probably cannot say Pindar "loved" Xenophon, to be sure, but the argument that Pindar disliked him is out of the question. The fragment shows the smiling attitude of the poet to Xenophon. Finally, Pythian 10. This is one of the most fervent odes of the poet. The twentyyear-old poet, who feels great gratitude(cf. vv. 64-68)to Thorax for receiving an order for a Pythian victory for the first time in his poetic career, and who is filled with hopes of his own future glory, idealizes the aristocratic Thessaly as an aristocrat himself, and compares admiringly its happiness which has now been brought about by Hippocleas' victory with the blessedness of the Hyperboreans. His praise of the Thessalian aristocrats is whole-hearted.