“The Bank of Greece has announced (20th June) new silver Proof coins which pay tribute to one of ancient Greece’s most eloquent and celebrated poets who utilised a style of lyric verses which survives to this day. Pindar of Thebes (522-443 B.C.) was born in Boeotia, a region in Central Greece, into an aristocratic family and was educated in neighbouring Athens, but as an adult, he lived much of his life in Thebes. Almost all his early poems have been lost, but his reputation was probably established by his later hymns in honour of the gods. He developed into the greatest lyric poet of ancient Greece, respected throughout the Greek world. Of his 17 volumes, comprising almost every genre of choral lyric, only four have survived complete, however, they lack his musical settings. The extant poems, probably representing his masterpieces, are odes commissioned to celebrate triumphs in various Hellenic athletic games. Proud and religious in tone, they are noted for their complexity, rich metaphors, and intensely emotive language and it is this work from the ancient Greek lyric poet that was best preserved.”
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