The εὐνοµώτατος ἔρανος in Pindar O. 1.25-27 and the Myth of Pelops

Abstract

The reference to Pelops emerging from the cauldron in verses 25-27 of Pindar O. 1 is one of the most enigmatic passages in the ode. Scholars have regarded it as an allusion to the tale of a cannibalistic banquet or as a new story invented by Pindar himself, but both of these interpretations fail to satisfy. Many of the problems caused by this passage derive from the evidence used to reconstruct pre-Pindaric traditions. A second boiling to restore Pelops, preserved only in a scholium to O. 1, is an ad hoc interpretation of the annotator. Based on evidence provided by Apollodorus the mythographer, a different version of this episode may be inferred, whereby the cauldron evokes mythical representations, involving rejuvenation and immortality, which can fully account for the enigmatic passage of O. 1.