User:Peter Eldredge/Kallipateira

Fireless Sacrifices: Pindars Olympian 7
In his seventh ode, Pindar writes of the glorious Olympic victories of Diagoras. This poem carries itself in a very Diagoras like fashion, telling the mythical tale of his home island of Rhodes. This further entrenches Diagoras' legacy not just in his personal victories, but also in his homeland and with the people he wished to carry that legacy. Pindar acknowledges his numerous boxing victories in Olympian 7 writing: "Diagoras has had himself crowned twice, and at the renowned Isthmus four times, in his good fortune, and again and again at Nemea and in rocky Athens". Pindar also then incorporated greek mythology into his work in honoring Diagoras in Olympian 7 saying: "Father Zeus, you who rule over the ridges of Atabyrium, grant honor to the hymn ordained in praise of an Olympian victor, and to the man who has found excellence as a boxer, and grant to him honored grace in the eyes of both citizens and strangers. For he walks a straight course on a road that hates arrogance, knowing clearly the sound prophetic wisdom of his good ancestors." . There is a pattern of Diagoras being connected in writings such as Olympian 7 to his land and his people. This connection is modeled through his boxings victories and the mythology surrounding Rhodes, creating a vessel in which his legacy has been carried.

Victory and Fatherhood
Diagoras of Rhodes was unique in his sporting conquests due to way he embedded his family into the legacy of his victories. The great boxer went to new lengths to make his victories in sporting and the future of his family synonymous. It seems that there were two reasons for the unique manner in which Diagoras honored his family through statues and oral tradition. The first was his affection for his family, especially his children. But to understand that as the only function of this tight association would not paint the whole picture. The second reason for this close association was as a personal angle. Diagoras likely rejected the altering of the legacy of mortal men in oral tales into immortal heros due to their actions. Nigel Nicholson argues that Diagoras may have wanted to avoid being passed down through moral tradition and replaced with some kind of god or hero that would take the credit for his achievements. He wanted to lead his own legacy and get the credit for his athletic accomplishments. By embedding his children into his legacy, he could leave a personal footprint that emphasized his connections to his family and the areas of Greece in which he left his legacy. His legacy could be carried out through his children when they eventually spread around through the surrounding area, creating a sort of Diagoras dispora. Those children would then always be anchored to Diagoras, the man who shared his victories with his children, thus cementing the boxer as a athletic champion and not allowing him to be replaced by a god-like figure through oral tradition that would be accredited for his great feats.