Epinicians (4.15-5.55)

he can be crowned with garlands, as the only man on earth who has accomplished this in the vale of Cirrha by the sea; and he has two Olympian victories to sing of as well. What is better than to be loved by the gods

and to be granted a share of every kind of noble deed?

Fortunate in your fate, commander of the Syracusans, riders of whirling horses: you,

if any man on earth today, will rightly understand this honor, sweet gift of the violet-garlanded Muses. Now, calm your righteous mind; rest it from cares, and consider: a hymn, woven with the help of the deep-waisted Graces,

is sent from the holy island [*] to your glorious city by your guest-friend, the brilliant servant of Ourania with her golden headband. He wants

to pour forth his voice from his heart

to praise Hieron. High above, slicing the deep air with his swift golden wings, the eagle, messenger of loud-thundering, wide-ruling

Zeus, trusts boldly in his powerful strength, and thin-voiced birds crouch in fear. The peaks of the great earth do not restrain him,

nor the rough, choppy waves of the untiring sea. In the everlasting void he shifts his delicate wings, riding the gusts of the west wind,

a conspicuous sight for men.

So now for me there are countless paths of song leading in every direction, thanks to dark-haired Nike and Ares with his bronze breastplate, to sing of your excellence,

noble sons of Deinomenes. May the god not tire of doing good. Beside the wide-whirling Alpheus, golden-armed Dawn saw the victory of the chestnut horse Pherenicus, a runner swift as a wind-storm,

and she saw him win in very holy Pytho. Laying my hand on the earth, I make this declaration: never in any contest has he been fouled by the dust of faster horses

as he strained toward the finish-line. In force he is like Boreas; obeying his rider, he speeds a new victory and new applause to hospitable Hieron.

Prosperous is he to whom a god has given a share of fine things, and a rich life to live out with enviable luck. For no man on earth

was born to be fortunate in everything.